The Registry of Senior Australians

The authors of this article are part of the Registry of Senior Australians (ROSA) team, based at the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute. The ROSA team is dedicated to developing evidence that supports the improvement of the aged care sector. Several of their reports, including the system developed to monitor quality and safety in aged care in Australia, were used by the Royal Commission on several aspects of their investigations. The authors were also involved in other aspects of the Royal Commission investigations, including providing expert testimony on quality and safety monitoring, data access, innovation, research organisation models and support.

Established in 2017, the ROSA has linked information from the aged care and health care sectors to understand the complete pathway of ageing for older Australians that have entered the aged care sector.

Harnessing the power of big data, high-quality analytics, and the insight of its collaborative partners, which include aged care providers, clinicians, and consumer representatives, the ROSA team has shed light on significant areas affecting older people in Australia. Some examples of the ROSA’S important findings include:

1. The use of psychotropic medicines (at times referred to as ‘chemical restraints’) by aged care residents increases after entry into care and stays high, especially in individuals with dementia. This increase affects individuals’ risk of mortality.

2. There is significant variation in the provision of quality and safety of care nationally. Quality and safety of care is typically defined as care that is delivered according to recommended guidelines or care that does not cause individuals’ harm. The ROSA has developed a tool to monitor individuals that entered the aged care sector and their experience of specific events such as hospitalisations for falls, use of antibiotics, exposure to high sedative loads, and many others. These events can vary by facility characteristics and this information is not yet readily available to all Australians.

3. The wait time for home care packages older people can experience can affect their risk of death and how fast they move into permanent residential aged care.

4. Services like the Australian Residential Respite Care program contribute to individuals staying home longer, which is indeed the long-term goal of providing carers with a break.

For more information on what this team has published and is currently working on, please visit: https://rosaresearch.org/