A new Disability Wellbeing Index promises to better measure outcomes for people with disability – thanks in part to its co-design process.
The Disability Wellbeing Index (DWI) was launched this week by Monash University’s Centre for Health Economics.
Its creation was led by the university and supported by the National Disability Insurance Agency.
It’s expected the index will now be used to improve services and guide disability policy, after a comprehensive consultation process with Australians with disability.
What will the index measure?
The Index was developed over four years in consultation with more than 3500 Australians with disability, their families, carers and support networks.
Through a preference-based scoring system it captured the issues that matter to participants.
Questions prompted people to respond to statements like ‘I am satisfied with my mental health,’ ‘I have enough money to meet my needs,’ and ‘I am satisfied with how people treat me’.
To make the index questionnaire more accessible, an “Easy English” version was also developed by the researchers in collaboration with the Victorian Advocacy League for Individuals with Disability (VALID).
The final index covers 14 key items in 10 life domains, including health, safety, relationships, personal care, meaningful activities, finances, learning and support for adults and young people aged over 15.
What will the index be used for?
Project lead, quality of life and health economics researcher adjunct professor Gang Chen from Monash’s Centre for Health Economics, said the index can be used to help measure the impact of the NDIS and other agency services in a meaningful way.
“Measuring wellbeing through the DWI over time will help the NDIA, providers and other agencies in the community to improve services for people with disability,” Chen said.
“Looking at the index results over time and across services for diverse groups of people with disability can inform better planning decisions and assist in prioritising resources.”
Co-author of the research, inequities in health researcher Professor Dennis Petrie from Monash’s Centre for Health Economics, said this is the first time a wellbeing index has been built from the ground up by and for people with disability.
“It captures what really matters to the participants, not just what systems think should matter. This will enable smarter, more compassionate investments in disability services and supports,” Petrie said.
Health economics expert and co-author of the research, Anthony Harris from Monash’s Centre for Health Economics, said the DWI was designed to measure the performance of services and supports delivered to people with a disability, to promote those that perform better, and allow participants to make better choices.
“Ultimately if adopted as a routine measure of performance by providers we hope that it will lead to better support for people with a disability, and improved value for money as investment shifts to services that contribute more to wellbeing,” he said.
To read the full Disability Wellbeing Index report, please visit: http://www.dwi.org.au