The Evaluation aimed to assist the department to assess the effectiveness of the community health nurse program since its commencement and the extent to which the program was meeting its objectives as outlined in key foundational documents.
The scope included: the role of the community health service model, the advantages and disadvantages of the current scope of the nurses’ role; How the work undertaken by the community health nurse aligns with the Model of Care and Program Guidelines; How the role interacts with other services provided in the MDC to improve client outcomes; The effectiveness of the service model, including integration of the community health nurse service within each MDC and variability between MDCs and potential actions that could be implemented in the short, medium and longer term to address any identified barriers to the service model operating effectively.
The mixed methods evaluation included a desktop review of program documentation; quantitative analysis of program data; qualitative interviews with members of the statewide Reference Group, DHHS project managers; and interviews with key stakeholders at the MDC site level inclusive of CHNs, the nurse managers and representatives of the MDC partner agencies. The evaluation team synthesised the quantitative and qualitative findings to identify key themes and develop recommendations that have been adopted.