Pilot Study on Older Australians - Quality of Life (Part 1 of 3)

Australia’s population is rapidly aging as the Baby Boomers reach retirement age. This is placing considerable strain on already stretch aged care resources. The government is aiming to support older Australians to maintain their health and quality of life as they age, live independently for longer, and access quality care when they need it.

Livius worked with Ben Sullivan, Director of Insights (Potentiate), Dr Chin Liang Beh (School of Health Sciences, College of Health and Medicine, University of Tasmania), and TEG Insights to examine a range of issues around the lives and care of older Australians.

Pilot Study Background

The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines Quality of Life as an individual's perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards and concerns. It is a broad ranging concept affected in a complex way by the person's physical health, psychological state, personal beliefs, social relationships and their relationship to salient features of their environment.

Thanks to scientifically based public health advances, the average human lifespan has doubled since 1900. But decreasing mortality for certain diseases has paved the way for other late onset ones like diabetes, chronic kidney disease and Alzheimer’s. These health issues are expensive to treat and often require prolonged care.

WHO defines Quality of Care as, based on several definitions in literature, "the extent to which health care services provided to individuals and patient populations improve desired health outcomes. In order to achieve this, health care must be safe, effective, timely, efficient, equitable and people-centred".

We understand that there are a multitude of factors which affects healthy aging and they include; biological, cultural background and history, clinical, environment, behavioural, phychosocial, socioeconomic status and financial health.

This pilot study was designed to provide an initial understanding of the current living conditions of older Australians and help identify areas where technology could improve lives and deliver on government objectives.

Further research will aim to determine the cause-and-effect of these factors and determinants with one another and identify critical determinants that have the highest impact on Quality of Life, Quality of Care and Healthspan.

7 key areas were chosen for the purpose of this initial study:

  • Living Arrangements

  • Access to Services

  • Quality of Life

  • Falls

  • Personal Emergency Response Systems (PERS)

  • Safety

  • Freedom of Movement

This first article will summarise the findings on Living Arrangements and Access to Services.

Sample

Two matched studies were conducted with Australians aged 65+ and with Australians who have a role in caring for Older Australians 65+ (n = 883).

 
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The research sample sourced from TEG Insights, shows a bias towards older Australians 75+. This reflects a predicted future state that the ageing population will result in.

 
 
 
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Key Highlights

  • The vast majority of Australians over 65 (>80%) live in a private home, either alone, with a spouse, or another family member.

  • Almost 25% of those aged 85+ live in an aged care facility of some kind.

  • 35% of those aged 75+ live at home alone.

  • Unsurprisingly, the numbers for living alone increases with age.

Summary

The majority of older Australians live in their own home. This is likely to continue for several reasons, including personal preference and also access / affordability of aged care facilities. The proposed government approach encouraging people to stay in their own home for longer while increasing home support is a viable solution. The Federal Government have allocated funding for almost 50,000 packages, at a cost of $3.3 billion since the release of the Royal Commission’s Interim Report. However there remains an estimate of 100,000 older Australians on the wait list to receive support.

 
 
 
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Key Highlights

  • 11% of older Australians find it hard to access essential health care services.

  • Older Australians in rural areas are twice as likely to find it hard to access essential health care services (21% disagree).

Summary

Essential health care access is relatively easy for most older Australians, however there is a clear correlation between the difficulty to access these services and rural areas. Improving access and development of a model that is equitable for all, regardless of location, should be a focus.

 
 

Next week, we will present the findings on the quality of life for older Australians, covering their care needs, medical conditions, physical activity and primary concerns.

Want to know more about our fall detection system? Get in touch with us at info@livius.com.au

ResearchJin LimQuality of Life, Aged Care