How do case managers spend time on their functions and activities?

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Health Services Research
• Nursing Practice

Background:

• Case management is a standard practice in diverse healthcare settings.
• Understanding time allocation and activity frequency is crucial for optimizing community aged care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine time allocation to core functions by community aged care case managers.
• To determine the frequency of specific case management activities.
• To identify factors influencing the frequency of these activities.

Main Methods:

• A survey of 154 case managers in Victoria, Australia (17.1% response rate).
• Data collected on socio-demographics, time allocation to six functions, and frequency of 41 activities.
• Ordinal regression analysis used to identify influencing factors.

Main Results:

• Care coordination received the largest time proportion (22.0%), outcome evaluation the smallest (8.0%).
• Over 70% of activities were rated as high frequency, with outcome evaluation and needs assessment activities performed less frequently.
• Emphasis on case management goals and longer work experience were associated with higher frequency of specific activities, particularly outcome evaluation.

Conclusions:

• Community aged care case managers exhibit a uniform practice pattern in activity performance.
• The less frequent performance of outcome evaluation activities warrants further investigation regarding expected standards.