title: What do clients expect of community care and what are their needs? The Community care for the Elderly: Needs and Service Use Study (CENSUS).
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the relationship between objectively assessed care needs and expectations for care of older people and their carers, before commencement of community care services.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional research on 55 community-dwelling older adults and carers, recruited after receiving approval for government-subsidised community care services. Care needs and expectations of care were assessed at interview.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Participants' and carers' expectations for their pending community care package did not correspond with unmet participant needs. Instead, expectations corresponded with met needs, that is those for which they already received help, with the exception of expectations of domestic support and personal care. Participants' unmet needs were predominantly in social and recreational activities, eating, and physical and mental health.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  As community care in Australia becomes consumer-directed by 2015, care services will need to empower clients and carers through education about their needs and available services, as part of the assessment and service negotiation process.
authors.affiliation: Dementia Collaborative Research Centre - Assessment and Better Care, School of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Fleur
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Harrison
authors.forename: Lee-Fay
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Low
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Barnett
authors.forename: Meredith
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gresham
authors.forename: Henry
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Brodaty
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology; D003153:Community Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006299:Health Services for the Aged / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020380:Needs Assessment; D009517:New South Wales
keywords: aged; community health services; health services for the aged; health services needs and demand; needs assessment