Concerns that the services necessary to support older Australians in inland communities may not be adequate or available in the future have prompted a new study by a team of aged care researchers from Charles Sturt University (CSU).

 

Dr Maree Bernoth, a researcher and lecturer at the CSU School of Nursing, Midwifery and Indigenous Health, says, “The population of Australia is living longer, and as people age they are more likely to need a range of services to maintain their quality of life.

 

“However, the services to support older people in inland communities may not be available. Consequently, older people in inland communities have to travel from those familiar places to where there are services to meet their needs.

 

“The Charles Sturt University research team would like to hear people’s stories -  whether they are positive or negative - about themselves, or family members or friends, who have had to leave their communities in order to access aged care services.

 

“These stories will then be analysed and aggregated, with anonymity assured, to inform health professionals, service providers, policy makers and governments about such things as the adequacy of funding for the sector, the current and projected availability of suitably trained and qualified personnel, the disruptions to families and carers, the distances travelled, and the problems and dangers this poses for the aged and their carers.

 

“This research is significant because it gives older people and their families an opportunity to tell their stories about the way in which older Australians are cared for,” Dr Bernoth said.

 

The researchers can arrange to conduct interviews at people’s homes, or at a place of their choosing.