Linking homeless children and their families to community health and wellbeing services: Using a Nurse Practitioner model of care to improve child health outcomes
Chief Investigator:
Dr Yvonne Parry
Research Area:
Understanding the social determinants of childhood health and development.
Community Based Study
Funding Year:
2021
Funding Amount:
$90,713
Recipient:
Flinders University
Overview:
Current models of health care do not meet the needs of the 22% of Australian children living in housing instability/homelessness. These children have poorer access to health services and appointment compliance, increased Emergency Department (ED) utilisation, and overall poorer mental and physical health outcomes. An embedded, Nurse Practitioner(NP) model of care for disadvantaged/vulnerable children will lead to enhanced access to health care and increased uptake of referrals leading to improved health outcomes.The project findings will be translated to health service decision makers to inform more appropriate models of health delivery for homeless children currently missing out on urgent acute care.