Australian residential aged care quality indicators
Research released today presents over 50 quality indicators about residential aged care including how results are distributed across facilities. This is the most detailed profile of quality in residential aged care that has been published in Australia.
The indicators were compiled by the Office of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety using granular datasets collected in different parts of the aged care system. The datasets were acquired under the legal authority of the Royal Commission and have not been available to researchers before. The findings are presented in Research Paper 15 – Residential Care Quality Indicator Profile which is available on the Royal Commission's website.
The indicators relate to topics such as clinical outcomes, compliance, complaints, reporting of assaults and missing residents, consumer experience, and workforce levels.
In the research paper, the indicators are analysed using statistical methods. Many indicators show significant differences between types of residential aged care facilities.
Around 57% of aged care facilities in Australia are operated by not-for-profit organisations, 34% are operated by for-profit organisations, and just 9% are operated by Government organisations. Government-run facilities showed the best average results for 31 indicators, compared to 2 indicators for not-for-profit facilities and 1 indicator for the for-profit facilities. Non-profit facilities had stronger average results than for-profit facilities on 25 indicators, whereas for-profit facilities had stronger average results on 2 indicators.
Small facilities with 1–30 residential places showed the best average results for 24 indicators. Small sized facilities comprise just 11% of aged care facilities in Australia, whereas around 26% have 31-60 places, 32% have 61-100 places, and 31% have over 100 places.
The research was conducted to improve understanding of quality in the aged care system. It also demonstrates the value of making data publicly available at facility level to inform the community about aged care services, support consumer choice, encourage continuous improvement, and foster research and innovation.
The research paper was prepared for the information of the Commissioners and the public. Any views expressed in the paper are not necessarily the views of the Commissioners.
To read the Royal Commission's research papers, please visit the publications page.
