On the eve of ANZAC Day, Australians are being urged to take a moment to think of our surviving ex-services population – and their particular care needs.
There are around 614,000 living veterans from WWII onwards and 58,000 serving ADF members. About 26,000 Department of Veterans Affairs clients receive residential aged care in Australia, with 24,000 receiving home care support.
Research by Bolton Clarke Research Institute (BCRI) has revealed veterans and dependents receiving home care have greater service needs and require more support than non-veterans.
An analysis of 11,817 episodes of home nursing care for 5,795 veterans showed they had longer episode length, greater hours of care and more home visits per episode of care.
Veterans are also at higher risk of conditions including heart attack, stroke, asthma, arthritis and diabetes, according to BCRI. About 20 per cent were also estimated to have met the criteria for PTSD in their lifetime and just under one in five in the past 12 months.
“Individuals with a history of PTSD are at double the risk of developing dementia. Losing capacity and being dependent on others through basic care needs, including receiving care at home or making the shift into residential aged care, can re-enact episodes of trauma,” BCRI Research Fellow Dr Marissa Dickins said.
“Veterans with dementia may have particularly complex needs, with symptoms such as flashbacks, hypervigilance and hyper-reactivity potentially misdiagnosed as behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia.”
BCRI says the research highlights the need for targeted interventions to help meet the specific needs of veterans and their families receiving home care and residential aged care services.
Pictured: Nearly 500 years of Australian military history: Phillip Bridie, Afghanistan 2014; Barry Russ, Vietnam 1966; NSW Government Minister David Elliott, Bougainville 2000; Dennis Davis (101), Tobruk 1941; Bill Strutton, Korea 1954, and David Hand, Gulf War 1990.
