Home and Community Care Access

Why Do Fewer Older Men Use Home and Community Care Services?

This study is about older men who are physically frail or have a disability, and their access to home and community care (HACC) services in NSW. The aims of the study were to find out:

• The social and support needs of older men with physical limitations
• Attitudes to services and barriers to access:  why older men with physical limitations are not accessing home support services, day programs and social activities to the extent expected
• Effective models of care: ways of successfully engaging with older men to increase their utilisation of services and involvement in day programs and activities.

Service providers across NSW have expressed concern about the relatively low numbers of older men using HACC services. Part of the response to the issue has been to seek to better understand the problem. As such, the NSW Department of Ageing, Disability and Home Care (DADHC)(opens in a new window) commissioned this study with HACC Program funding.

The focus of this report is on the challenges older men face in accessing community aged care. However, it in no way detracts from the challenges older women face in similar situations. It is important to acknowledge that each gender faces differing challenges as we age. This report does not seek therefore to determine if older men are better or worse off in regard to community aged care than older women.

The full report can be found here: