Models of care
Home-like model of residential aged care
The CDPC research project ‘Investigating Services Provided in the Residential care Environment for People with Dementia’ (INSPIRED) found that the clustered domestic (home-like) model of aged care is associated with a better quality of life, fewer hospitalisations/emergency department presentations and a lower chance of receiving potentially inappropriate medications compared to the traditional aged care facilities.
Home-like, or clustered facilities, that have less than 15 people were shown to provide a better quality of life and cost no more than the standard “institutional” model of aged care. Part of the INSPIRED project was a cross-sectional study, “Living with dementia in Australian residential aged care: Health and residential care costs” that estimated the whole-of-system costs of providing residential aged care. It estimated the cost of residential care, including health care costs to be approximately $88,000 per person.
This study is the first comprehensive estimate of the cost of providing health and residential care for people living with dementia in residential aged care in Australia.
Resources
Brochure: Improving the quality of life for people with dementia living in residential aged care
Webpage: Residential aged care (contains information on a large body of research, funded by the CDPC and housed on the Flinders University website)