PRESS RELEASE: Casting a spotlight on aged care research

Australia is home to an aging population. With this comes an increased burden of care on the healthcare and aged care systems to look after the welfare of older and more vulnerable members of our community.

Released today, the August issue of the Australian Health Review(link is external), the Australian Healthcare and Hospital Association’s peer-reviewed journal, has a strong focus on aged care and how we can best care for people as they enter their final stages of life.

This issue features articles, perspectives and a policy reflection that examine recommendations from the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety and their effects on the aged care sector as a whole and for those who live in residential aged care facilities.

‘The Final Report of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety was handed Down last year and has provoked much-needed discussions over the state of Australia’s aged care system,’ says Australian Health Review Editor-in-Chief Dr Sonĵ Hall.

‘The Report calls for an integrated healthcare system, connecting acute, primary, aged and disability care in addition to funding and workforce reforms. Health policy research in these key areas is, and will continue to be, vital in the planning and delivery of services that fit the needs of this growing area of our population.

The Editorial, questions why if we know that real leadership is crucial to drive a culture of safe, quality, person-centric care then why has there been a lack of emphasis on excellence in leadership in the implementation of the Report.

‘A policy reflection in this issue on considers the future of our aged care system in light of this Final Report, and how learning from those with lived experiences, involving them in service design and delivery and supporting them to provide patient leadership will help improve outcomes that really matter to patients and their families’.

The principles of patient leadership have wider implications beyond aged care and while seen as a new idea in some parts of the world, have strong roots in Australian institutions. The feature perspective calls for the embracing of consumer-led health policy by genuinely engaging with consumer representatives in leadership roles beyond involvement and consultation strategies.

This issue of the Australian Health Review also highlights timely pieces on COVID-19 care, health funding reform and includes three microeconomic papers as well as articles on oral health, workforce planning and quality and safety in healthcare provision.