The illusion of choice? Potential disparities of access to highly-rated Australian residential aged care services
Tracks
Chancellor 6
Evidence Based Policy
Quality improvement
Residential
| Wednesday, November 13, 2024 |
| 11:45 AM - 12:00 PM |
Speaker
Assoc Prof Nicole Sutton
Associate Professor
University Of Technology Sydney
The illusion of choice? Potential disparities of access to highly-rated Australian residential aged care services
Abstract
Background
A new Star Ratings system has been implemented in Australia to help older people and their representatives make more informed decisions by providing comparable information about the quality of residential aged care homes. However, the value of this information is contingent on whether people have a genuine choice and can access highly-rated services near where they live.
This study explores potential disparities of access by examining the geographical distribution of highly-rated residential aged care services across areas characterised by different levels of socio-economic advantage.
Methods
This study examines differences in the Star Rating results of homes in Local Government Areas (LGAs) ranked by the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ index of relative socio-economic disadvantage. Multivariate analysis is used to examine the association between the overall and sub-category Star Ratings and the degree of socio-economic disadvantage, controlling for remoteness, home and demographic characteristics.
Results
On average, LGAs characterised by greater socio-economic disadvantage have a lower proportion of highly-rated aged care services. This result appears to be driven primarily by differences in the ratings of compliance and quality measures.
Conclusions
This study finds early evidence of some geographical disparities in access to quality aged care services. This could indicate that older people who live in more disadvantaged areas may have less choice in terms of accessing highly-rated aged care services. Such results may be relevant to stakeholders including Australian policymakers, aged care providers and older people and their families.
A new Star Ratings system has been implemented in Australia to help older people and their representatives make more informed decisions by providing comparable information about the quality of residential aged care homes. However, the value of this information is contingent on whether people have a genuine choice and can access highly-rated services near where they live.
This study explores potential disparities of access by examining the geographical distribution of highly-rated residential aged care services across areas characterised by different levels of socio-economic advantage.
Methods
This study examines differences in the Star Rating results of homes in Local Government Areas (LGAs) ranked by the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ index of relative socio-economic disadvantage. Multivariate analysis is used to examine the association between the overall and sub-category Star Ratings and the degree of socio-economic disadvantage, controlling for remoteness, home and demographic characteristics.
Results
On average, LGAs characterised by greater socio-economic disadvantage have a lower proportion of highly-rated aged care services. This result appears to be driven primarily by differences in the ratings of compliance and quality measures.
Conclusions
This study finds early evidence of some geographical disparities in access to quality aged care services. This could indicate that older people who live in more disadvantaged areas may have less choice in terms of accessing highly-rated aged care services. Such results may be relevant to stakeholders including Australian policymakers, aged care providers and older people and their families.
Biography
Dr Nicole Sutton is a highly engaged researcher who delivers high-quality evidence that informs policy and practice across the aged care sector. As an Associate Professor of management accounting, Dr Sutton has deep expertise in how governance and accountability systems influence organisations’ behaviour, decision-making and strategic performance. Much of Dr Sutton’s current work focuses on improving the sustainability of Australia’s aged care services. She is a co-founder of the UTS Ageing Research Collaborative (UARC), where she is the co-lead of the Business & Strategy Theme and lead author of the highly cited biannual Australia’s Aged Care Sector report series. She leads major collaborative projects with industry, including the UTS-StewartBrown strategic research partnership, which delivers robust evidence about the factors influencing the financial viability, workforce, quality and sustainability of Australian aged care services.
Session Chair
Anita Westera
Vice President
Australian Association of Gerontology
