Older Australians quality of life tool targets subacute care gap
Flinders University researchers are developing a quality-of-life measure for older Australians in subacute care to guide services and funding.
By Priya Raghavan · Science Reporter
3 min read
A new older Australians quality of life tool is being developed by Flinders University researchers to measure whether subacute care improves lives beyond clinical recovery. The project matters because older Australians make up almost half of hospital admissions and account for more than half of patient days, according to Flinders University.
The study, published as a protocol in BMC Geriatrics, focuses on people aged 65 and older who receive subacute care. That includes rehabilitation and related services that help patients recover after illness or injury and move safely back home or into continuing care.
Flinders University said there is no consistent measure for whether those services improve quality of life for older patients. Lead researcher Dr Jenny Cleland said the work is aimed at a gap in health care assessment, where older people’s views are often missing despite complex care needs.
What is the older Australians quality of life tool?
The tool is a preference-based measure designed to capture what older patients value during and after subacute care. Flinders University said it will look beyond clinical health to areas such as independence, social connection, emotional well-being and meaningful activity.
Preference-based measures are used in health economics to compare outcomes and help judge whether services deliver value. In this case, the researchers plan to adapt and validate the measure so it can support care decisions, service planning and investment choices.
The team will work with older people and health partners to develop, validate and put the measure into use, according to Flinders University. The project will begin with in-depth interviews with older patients, then test the adapted measure with hundreds of people receiving subacute care.
How the study builds on aged care work
The new project follows earlier national work on the Quality of Life-Aged Care Consumers measure, known as QOL-ACC. Flinders University said that tool is now part of the Australian Government’s National Aged Care Quality Indicator Program and is used across more than 2,700 residential aged care homes.
Cleland said the new study extends that approach into health care settings so older people’s experiences can be assessed across more of their care journey. The researchers say this is needed because older patients often move between hospitals and aged care services.
Matthew Flinders Professor Julie Ratcliffe, a health economics professor in Flinders’ Caring Futures Institute and senior investigator on the project, said the health system lacks a single way to judge whether those linked services are improving quality of life.
Flinders University said the completed measure is intended for use by researchers, clinicians, service providers and policymakers. Its purpose is to make quality-of-life outcomes easier to compare across health and aged care settings.
The long-term aim is to embed the measure in hospitals and subacute care services. Ratcliffe said the findings should help direct resources toward care models and innovations that improve older people’s lives.
This story draws on original reporting from Medical Xpress.