Using the ROSA National Historical Cohort, we evaluated the effect of wait time for home care packages in Australia, where a wait list of over 120,000 currently exists. After evaluating ~190,000 people who accessed aged care services between 2003 and 2014, we found long-term detrimental effects of waiting for services on mortality and transition to residential care.
Below you can find links to the original research paper, as well as some coverage of the research in the online media and other sources.
Original research article:
Visvanathan R, Amare A, Wesselingh S, Hearn R, McKechnie S, Mussared J, Inacio M. Prolonged Wait Time Prior to Entry to Home Care Packages Increases the Risk of Mortality and Transition to Permanent Residential Aged Care Services: Findings from the Registry of Older South Australians (ROSA). The Journal of Nutrition, Health and Aging. In press December 2018. Full text available online HERE.
SAHMRI press release:
You can read the SAHMRI press release about this research HERE.
Other reports of this research available online:
The Aged Care Guide (‘Australia’s number one aged care website’) reported on our research HERE.
The Community Care Review (Australia’s magazine on home and community-based care and support) reported on our research HERE.