Unheard and marginalised: frail, homebound and bedridden population research

Earlier in 2021, a preliminary community research report was released by the Caring Futures Institute at Flinders University. The report was a co-design and co-research investigation by academics and health consumers, of the social and health exclusion factors and lived experiences of Frail and Homebound and Bedbound People (FHBP) in Australia.
Dr Maria Alejandra Pinero de Plaza and Penelope McMillan, together with several Australian health consumers and academics, co-created a survey to explore the characteristics and experiences of Frail, Homebound and Bedbound Australians, from July to September 2020.
Frail, Homebound, and Bedridden People (FHBP) are distinct populations that live with a series of complex, incapacitating, and debilitating illnesses, or injuries.
Members of these populations are unified by shared circumstances: being trapped and unable to leave home.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics – 2018 Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers, approximately 596,800 people aged 5 years and over do not leave home as often as they would like due to their disability or condition.
Of these people, 383,500 people were aged 5-64 years and 212,800 people were aged 65 years or more.
Many Australians from such groups do not receive support to access clinical services, or even have a regular primary care provider, such as a GP.