Latest Research
The HOPE Foundation has released the report of our Research Fellow, Sarah Hood, - An Evaluation of DHB’s Implementation of the Health of Older People Strategy”
This report is a follow-up to the Foundation’s 2008 report on how well DHBs are meeting the Government’s Health of Older People Strategy. The Strategy calls for improved health services for older people by integrating community and hospital based services.
The report shows that while most of the DHBs have implemented parts of the policy, none had fully achieved it by the 2010 due date.
Difficult relationships with primary health organisations (PHOs), poor home-based services, problems with IT and inadequate funding are key sticking points for District Health Boards attempting to improve their services for the country’s growing elderly population.
Foundation Chair Professor Emeritus David Richmond noted that on the positive side, the report showed DHBs to be aware of the gaps in their services and committed to achieving the desired outcomes although this might take considerably longer than originally anticipated.