NDS has launched a podcast on the uses and benefits of the Comprehensive Health Assessment Program (CHAP), a tool that aids the detection of health needs and reduces poor health in people with intellectual disability.

An annual comprehensive health assessment improves the detection of health issues, identifies
management actions and this can significantly reduce health risks.

CHAP is an evidence-based health assessment program that supports collaboration between people with intellectual disability, the people who support them and their GP. Our podcast, produced with support from the Victorian Department of Health, outlines how you can support people with an intellectual disability get a health assessment.

In our podcast, NDS’s Lou Zamanillo talks with Professor Nick Lennox, who conceived and led the work on the development of CHAP, to learn more about the tool and its benefits. We are also joined by Paige Tehan, Service Manager at Livability Care Australia, who shares her experience using CHAP with people with an intellectual disability. Paige talks about the significant benefits Livability Care and their participants have seen since they started using it.

The CHAP tool is free and available to download from the Australia Government Department of Health and Aged Care. There are two assessment programs, depending on age: one for adults and another for young persons (from 12 to 18 years).

To supplement the government resources, NDS has published a comprehensive guide to CHAP for the disability sector. It helps managers of accommodation or in-home support guide their staff to prepare with the person with disability for the CHAP appointment with health professionals. It also goes through what needs to be done after the assessment to complete the health management actions that were identified. CHAP can also be used by family or carers, and our guide outlines what accommodation providers or in-home supports need to do when family or carers are involved.

You can listen to or download our podcast from podbean.