Parker, S.

Objectives: To test the hypotheses that older people and their informal carers are not disadvantaged by home-based rehabilitation (HBR) relative to day hospital rehabilitation (DHR) and that HBR is less costly.

Design: Two-arm randomised controlled trial.

Setting: Four trusts in England providing both HBR and DHR.

Participants: Clinical staff reviewed consecutive referrals to identify subjects who were potentially suitable for randomisation according to the defined inclusion criteria.

Interventions: Patients were randomised to receive either HBR or DHR.

Housing support policy for persons with disabilities who require access to 24-hour formal or informal support is changing throughout Australia. This is consistent with international trends including: independent living in generic housing; facilitating choices about where and with whom people live; individualised home-based support; and community integration. Are these trends leading to policies that are effective in the Australian context ? This article presents a framework for analysing the effectiveness of new approaches to housing support using a rights perspective.