Patterns of aged care use among older Australian women: A prospective cohort study using linked data.

BACKGROUND: Women live longer than men and have an increased need for long-term care. The objective of this study was to identify patterns of aged care use among older Australian women and to examine how these patterns were associated with their demographic and health-related characteristics.

METHODS: The sample consisted of 8768 women from the 1921-1926 birth cohort of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health (ALSWH), who had survived to age 75-80 years. ALSWH survey and linked administrative aged care and death datasets from 2001 to 2011 were utilized. Patterns of aged care use were identified using a repeated measure latent class analysis.

RESULTS: We identified four patterns of aged care use over time, differentiated by timing of service onset, types of service use and time of death. Approximately 41% of the sample were non-users or using basic home and community care (HACC), while 24% were at high risk of using moderate to high-level HACC/community aged care package (CACP). Only 11% had a greater risk of using residential aged care (RAC) over time. Being widowed, residing in remote/regional areas, having difficulty in managing income, having a chronic condition, reporting poor/fair self-rated health, and lower SF-36 quality of life scores were associated with an increased odds of being a member of the following classes: 1) moderate to high-level HACC/CACP, 2) increasing RAC, and 3) early mortality, compared with the non-user class.

CONCLUSIONS: Distinct patterns of aged care use were identified. These results will facilitate future capacity planning for aged care systems in Australia.