New publications from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare

Dear Readers,

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare has published several documents on ageing and aged care in recent months:

Veterans' use of health services (Published 25 February 2008)

This report uses linked aged care and Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) administrative data to examine patterns of use of DVA-funded medical and allied health services by DVA gold cardholders aged 70 years and over living in permanent residential aged care, and compare these patterns with those of gold cardholders of the same age and sex living in the community.

Residential aged care in Australia 2006-07: a statistical overview (Published 12 June 2008)

Residential aged care in Australia 2006-07: a statistical overview provides comprehensive statistical information on residential aged care homes and their residents. The report contains information on the capacity of residential aged care homes, their residents and resident characteristics, levels of dependency among residents, and admissions and separations. The report will be particularly useful to aged care service planners, providers of aged care services, and researchers in the field.

A picture of osteoporosis in Australia (Published 4 August 2008)

Osteoporosis is a silent condition that occurs in both men and women. The bones become fragile and brittle, and bone strength is greatly reduced, so that fractures can occur after only minimal trauma. Fractures occur most commonly in the hip, spine and wrist, and can lead to long-lasting pain and disability that affects quality of life and independence. The good news is that osteoporosis is largely preventable. This booklet is aimed at anyone with an interest in osteoporosis. It includes information on the causes, management and prevention of the disease, and brings together the latest data about its impact in Australia.

Aged care packages in the community 2006-07: a statistical overview (Published 14 August 2008)

Aged care packages in the community 2006-07: a statistical overview presents key statistics on the provision Australian Government funded aged care packages and the characteristics of care recipients. This publication covers packages provided through the Community Aged Care Packages (CACP) program, the Extended Aged Care at Home (EACH) program, and the Extended Aged Care at Home Dementia (EACH Dementia) program. These packages provide care to people in their own homes. CACPs provide care for people eligible for at least low-level residential aged care, while EACH and EACH Dementia packages provide a higher level of care to people eligible for high-level residential aged care. The report provides detailed statistics on the sociodemographic characteristics of care recipients and the patterns of the recipients' admissions and separations. The data presented in this report are a useful resource for those involved in policy development, policy review and the planning of aged care services, with a specific interest in the provision of these packages.

This information was sourced from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare website: http://www.aihw.gov.au/publications/index.cfm/year/2008/subject/2

Cheers,
Kate