TY - JOUR
T1 - Trends in the incidence of aged care program utilisation by older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, 2010–2019
AU - Humphrey, Greer
AU - Caughey, Gillian E.
AU - Air, Tracy
AU - Bradley, Clare
AU - Tunny, Noeleen
AU - Brown, Alex
AU - Wesselingh, Steve
AU - Inacio, Maria C.
AU - Pearson, Odette
AU - the ROSA Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Steering Committee
AU - Dunn, Rachel
AU - Nelson, Lesley
AU - Atkinson, James
AU - Thomas, Kym
AU - Dean, Felicia
AU - Aitken, Graham
AU - Blackman, Renee
PY - 2026/2
Y1 - 2026/2
N2 - Objective: To study the trends in incident aged care service use among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. Methods: Annual incidence of aged care use among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (2010–2019) were evaluated using the Registry of Senior Australians Historical Cohort and Australian Bureau of Statistics population estimates. Trends were examined by incident rate ratios (IRRs) using Poisson or negative binomial regression adjusted for age, sex and remoteness. Results: Among 15,106 individuals, incident aged care assessments increased from 10.6/1000 [95% confidence interval [CI]: 9.7–11.1) in 2010 to 14.6/1000 (95%CI: 14.0–15.2) in 2019 (IRR=1.04/year, 95%CI: 1.03–1.05). Incident aged care service use increased from 7.4/1000 (95%CI: 6.8–8.0) to 9.7/1000 (95%CI: 9.2–10.2; IRR=1.02/year, 95%CI: 1.01–1.03). Increases occurred in metropolitan and regional areas, with the greatest increase observed for home care packages (≥8% annually). In remote areas, the use of home care packages decreased by ≥5% annually. Conclusions: Increased use of aged care programs is encouraging. However, declining use in remote areas highlight the need for improved access to aged care. Implications for Public Health: Equitable access and use of aged care services will require the reforms underway to incorporate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander preferences for aged care.
AB - Objective: To study the trends in incident aged care service use among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. Methods: Annual incidence of aged care use among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (2010–2019) were evaluated using the Registry of Senior Australians Historical Cohort and Australian Bureau of Statistics population estimates. Trends were examined by incident rate ratios (IRRs) using Poisson or negative binomial regression adjusted for age, sex and remoteness. Results: Among 15,106 individuals, incident aged care assessments increased from 10.6/1000 [95% confidence interval [CI]: 9.7–11.1) in 2010 to 14.6/1000 (95%CI: 14.0–15.2) in 2019 (IRR=1.04/year, 95%CI: 1.03–1.05). Incident aged care service use increased from 7.4/1000 (95%CI: 6.8–8.0) to 9.7/1000 (95%CI: 9.2–10.2; IRR=1.02/year, 95%CI: 1.01–1.03). Increases occurred in metropolitan and regional areas, with the greatest increase observed for home care packages (≥8% annually). In remote areas, the use of home care packages decreased by ≥5% annually. Conclusions: Increased use of aged care programs is encouraging. However, declining use in remote areas highlight the need for improved access to aged care. Implications for Public Health: Equitable access and use of aged care services will require the reforms underway to incorporate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander preferences for aged care.
KW - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
KW - aged care
KW - incident use
KW - time trends
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=105024599517&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://purl.org/au-research/grants/NHMRC/2004089
U2 - 10.1016/j.anzjph.2025.100294
DO - 10.1016/j.anzjph.2025.100294
M3 - Article
C2 - 41385989
AN - SCOPUS:105024599517
SN - 1326-0200
VL - 50
JO - Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health
JF - Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health
IS - 1
M1 - 100294
ER -