SPIDAH Project

The Supporting People with Intellectual Disability to Access Health (SPIDAH) Project ran from 2020 to 2024 as the first phase of the Primary Care Enhancement Program to improve how primary health care services are delivered to meet the needs of people with intellectual disability.

SPIDAH involved gathering feedback from people with disability, GPs, academics and researchers in the disability field, health sector workers and youth peer support workers to understand what is required to provide information and support.  This feedback was then used to develop a series of information resources and videos to help health practices and practitioners support patients with intellectual disability.

SPIDAH reports

• Final Report for SPIDAH (PDF 3MB)
• SPIDAH Foundational Project Report (PDF 7MB)
• Easy Read SPIDAH Foundational Project Report (PDF 2MB)

Videos

View the SPIDAH Education playlist on Inclusive Practice and Reasonable Adjustments (Increase your knowledge on ID) on Western Victoria Primary Health Network’s (WVPHN) Learn YouTube channel.

Comprehensive Health Assessment Program 

The Comprehensive Health Assessment Program (CHAP) is an evidence-based tool for carrying out annual health assessments for people with intellectual disability in Australia. The CHAP tool is a two-part questionnaire requiring collaboration between the person with the intellectual disability, their supporter and their GP.

CHAP is available on the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing Care Adult Comprehensive Health Assessment Program (CHAP) webpage.

Supporting resources

• Video 1: About the CHAP tool features Professor Nick Lennox, developer of the CHAP tool: Contains overarching information about the Comprehensive Health Assessment Program (CHAP) for people with intellectual disability
• Video 2: About the CHAP tool features Kimberley Thomas, Nurse Practice Advisor, GenU: How to complete Part 1 of the CHAP tool: Comprehensive Health Assessment Program for people with intellectual disability
• Video 3: GP lens on the CHAP tool features Dr. Amy Litras, General Practitioner and Clinical Editor of HealthPathways, Western Victoria Primary Health Network: GP lens on the Comprehensive Health Assessment Program (CHAP) – YouTube
• Video 4: Uli Cartwright, a person with lived experience of disability talks about the CHAP Tool
• Webinar recording for health professionals about the CHAP Tool on the WVPHN YouTube page |Annual Health Assessments and the CHAP tool for people with an intellectual disability.

For additional CHAP-related resources, see Intellectual Disability | Practice Connect

Intellectual disability health care resources

For further information about intellectual disability and intellectual disability health care resources, please visit WVPHN’s People with an Intellectual Disability webpage.