We know how scary it can be to receive a call from the aged care home saying Mum or Dad has had a fall and needs to go to the hospital – now new research could be utilised to help older Australians entering residential care to avoid these trips.
One in five South Australians will experience an unplanned hospitalisation or emergency department presentation within 90 days of undertaking an aged care assessment, according to new research by the University of South Australia and the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute.
A large-scale study, which analysed the outcomes of 22,130 people who had an aged care assessment (ACAT), found 25 factors that identify older people most at risk of being hospitalised.
These risk factors include level of frailty, types of medications taken, and frequency of after-hours services use.
Lead researcher Professor Maria Inacio, an epidemiologist at the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, says the findings suggest that the ACAT, which is undertaken by 186,000 Australians every year, is a promising period to implement programs targeted at reducing hospitalisation for older Australians.
“We can identify moderately well those most at risk of being hospitalised, meaning we can determine the older people who need the most follow up after their assessment,” says Prof Inacio, whose study was published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
“If we provide targeted treatment or therapies during this time, we can not only provide better support to older people transitioning to care, but we could reduce overcrowding and ramping in our hospitals as well.”
It’s a finding that could have a real impact on quality and safety of care.
In Australia in 2018, older people accounted for 16 per cent of the population and 42 per cent of the hospitalisations and 49 per cent of the days spent in hospital.
Anything that will help our Mums and Dads stay safe has to be supported.
