As Australia's population continues to age, more consideration needs to be given to those who choose to live out their lives at home, rather than enter residential aged care.
Now, a new Flinders University-led Centre of Research Excellent aims to address this pressing challenge, recently awarded $3 million from the National Health and Medical Research Council.
Led by Professor Gillian Harvey, the Centre of Research Excellence (CRE) in Optimising Health Care in the Home for Older Australians will bring together a transdisciplinary team of national and international experts to accelerate improvements in care coordination, health outcomes, and system sustainability.
"For the first time ever, Australia has a larger cohort of older people being cared for in their own homes than in institutions, and we know that's where most would prefer to stay," says Professor Harvey, Matthew Flinders Professor of Health Services and Implementation Research in the College of Nursing and Health Sciences.
"We must ensure our health and aged care systems are equipped to support this choice. This population is among the frailest in our society, with complex care needs and high rates of hospitalisation.
"Our Centre will develop practical, evidence-based strategies to help them live safely and independently at home for longer."
The CRE will be hosted at Flinders University and be supported by a consortium of leading institutions including the Registry of Senior Australians, the National Ageing Research Institute and Deakin University.
They will work alongside a network of health and aged care providers and consumer organisations, with key projects including the use of big data to profile the population receiving aged care and characterise successful ageing at home, digital tools to prevent falls and injuries, microlearning programs for aged care workers, and shared-care models to improve transitions between hospital and home.
The Centre will also establish an Aged Care Observatory to monitor care pathways and outcomes in real time.
"Our Centre will work with consumers, carers, clinicians, providers and policymakers to co-design solutions that are feasible, scalable and sustainable," says Professor Harvey.
"We will use data, lived experience and implementation science to drive continuous improvement in a sector that so desperately needs it. Our goal is to ensure older Australians receive safe, equitable and effective care-wherever they live - while reducing the demand on the resource-constrained health system."
The Centre will also invest in building research capacity, offering fellowships, scholarships and training programs for early and mid-career researchers, clinicians and lived experience experts.
Flinders University Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) Professor Raymond Chan said the NHMRC's awarding of the Centre of Research Excellence was in recognition of Flinders strong commitment to helping Australians to age well.
"Led by our Caring Futures Institute, Flinders is at the forefront of research that aims to improve how Australian live, no matter their age, translating research and expertise into real-world solutions," says Professor Chan.
"This Centre addresses one of the concerns highlighted in the Flinders Wicked Problems Report, through which we surveyed 30,000 Australians.
"It also directly responds to recommendations from the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety and aligns with major reforms under the new Aged Care Act and the Support at Home program, coming into effect later this year.
"As we continue to build upon our Flinders Ageing Alliance, this is a timely and transformative investment in the future of aged care, and I'm proud to see it find its place at Flinders."
