What we need as we get older: needs assessment for the development of a community geriatrics service in an Australian context

Abstract

Background The aim of this study was to inform the development of a Community Geriatrics Service (CGS) that addressed the healthcare and social needs of community dwelling older people in an Australian context. Methods Stakeholders (N = 108) took part in a ‘needs assessment’ involving 30-min semi-structured interviews with general practitioners (GPs; N = 49), and three 2-h focus groups (community engagement meetings; N = 59) with older people, informal caregivers, allied healthcare workers, and nursing home directors. Data were transcribed and thematically coded, mapped to source and weighted to the frequency that the theme was raised across sources. Results Five themes informing CGS development and delivery emerged: active health conditions (management of behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia, falls, multimorbidity, and other relevant conditions), active social challenges (patient non-compliance, need for aged care social workers, caregiver stress, elder abuse, social isolation, and stigma), referrals (availability of specialists, communication, specialist input, and advance care directives), access (lack of transport options, and inaccessibility of local geriatrics clinics and specialists), and awareness (lack of awareness, knowledge, and resources). Conclusions The CGS will need to address access, referral processes and health system navigation, which were perceived by stakeholders as significant challenges. These findings warrant the development of a CGS with an integrated approach to aged care, pertinent for the health and social needs of the elderly.

Primary, allied health, selected specialists, and mental health service utilisation by home care recipients in Australia before and after accessing the care, 2017–2019

“…While we acknowledge that GPs can provide complex health care to older individuals during regular attendances and a number of states and regions offer outpatient geriatric or specialist pain services, how much these services fill the gap is unknown. The documented high risk of hospitalisations in this cohort suggests that these are not addressing all of their geriatric, pain, and palliative care needs [ 39 ]. Several challenges associated with specialist service access in Australia have been previously reported, including individuals’ perception of care access [ 40 ], availability of the adequate workforce, and costs, which likely contribute to our observations [ 41 ].…”

Community Health Needs Assessment: Findings from a Community- University Partnership Strengthening Program on Maternal and Child Health in Pakistan

“…This aids in informed decision-making and appropriate resource allocation [10,11]. Previous studies underscore CHNA as a foundational step in developing effective, innovative, and sustainable community health improvement programs [12][13][14][15][16].…”

Research on the Regulation of Intelligent Elderly Service Laws in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

“…The report of the 20th CPC National Congress reflects the reality of China's aging and shows that the Party and the State attach great importance to the construction of the elderly care system [4][5][6]. However, the frequent occurrence of elder care scams, elder abuse, and bullying shows that there is still a big gap between China's current home and community-based elder care system and the growing demand for elder care services among the elderly in China, and there are still deficiencies in the implementation of the government's responsibility and the enhancement of operational capacity [7][8]. Although the State Council in 2020 has clearly put forward the establishment of the views of the regulatory system of elderly services, due to the legal system related to home-based elderly services, related documents are still in the "encourage" the development of the level of the policy itself is not practical enough, coupled with the academic community on the construction of the legal system of home-based elderly services is relatively small, resulting in the legal system of home-based elderly services in the journey still There are a lot of dilemmas in the legal system of home care services, and the sustainable development has not yet been realized [9][10].…”