Specialist Homelessness Services disability flag cluster

Identifying and definitional attributes

• Homelessness, Standard 10/08/2018

The Specialist Homelessness Service disability flag cluster defines information to assess the functional status of a person across a range of life areas.

The cluster collects:

• Type of everyday activity and participation in life areas the client needs help with, including self-care, mobility and communication.
• The level of assistance with activities and participation in a life area the client needs.

In the Specialist Homelessness Services NMDS, these data elements are used together to assess the functional status of a person across a range of life areas.

The cluster combines the two data elements: Person—activity and participation life area, disability flag homelessness code N and Person—need for assistance with activities in a life area, disability flag homelessness code N. The following matrix is completed.

Collection and usage attributes

It is expected that the data elements in this cluster will be used to collect information from the individual being assessed, or a proxy/carer or service worker answering on their behalf. The responses are phrased in answer to the question 'For each of the following activities, do you need help/supervision, have difficulty, or use aids/equipment?

For each activity and participation in life areas, one of the following responses should be selected:

• always/sometimes need help and/or supervision
• have difficulty, but don’t need help/supervision
• don’t have difficulty, but use aids/equipment, or
• have no difficulty.

‘Have no difficulty’ should be selected for young children who do not have a long-term condition or disability, who need help/supervision because of their young age.

Also required is the following preamble to the question:

'The next question is about whether a long-term health condition or disability restricts your everyday activities. A long-term health condition is one that has lasted, or is expected to last, 6 months or more. Examples of long-term health conditions that might restrict your everyday activities include severe asthma, epilepsy, hearing loss, arthritis, depression, autism, kidney disease, chronic pain, speech impairment, stroke.'

Source and reference attributes

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare

Relational attributes