Increasing the number of older people with both Medicaid and Medicare would mean fewer of them would be forced to skimp on the care and treatment they need.
Rates of elective surgery are rising most among those aged over 85, due to advances in anaesthesia and techniques such as keyhole surgery. But it’s also much riskier.
Large institutions for people with disability and mental illness were once commonplace. These have now been replaced with smaller community-based services. With aged care, we’re doing the opposite.
Australia’s aged care sector is in trouble. Our experts have previously explored the complex aspects of the system, exposing where the problems are, and have been for some time.
Taking low-dose aspirin daily doesn’t delay the onset of disability in healthy older people. Nor does it prevent heart attack or stroke in those who hadn’t experienced either condition before.
Rachel Buckley, Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health
Have you noticed your thinking ability drops during winter and spring? A new study of healthy adults and dementia patients found cognitive function declines in the colder months.
Twenty years since the Aged Care Act was introduced, the situation for older Australians remains dire. They’re sicker and have more complex care needs, but little access to medical care.
The rising global prevalence of dementia, particularly in the nursing home population, means aggressive behaviours between residents will increasingly be an issue.
Fracture risk is higher in older women than men, but in adolescence the reverse is true. These differences mean our approach to managing bone health for men and women changes across the ages.
Desley Vine, Queensland University of Technology and Laurie Buys, Queensland University of Technology
Several key aspects of public open space can encourage older people to get out and about. And badly designed and maintained facilities have the opposite effect and can harm their wellbeing.
Most of the early research on sexuality and ageing looked at the sexual behaviours and biology of older adults, generally ignoring the wider concept of sexuality.
Given our increasing lifespan, we need to better understand how and why the cardiovascular system ages and whether we can slow down the processes involved.
Consultant Emergency Physician and Palliative Medicine Trainee Physician, Clinical Associate Lecturer at the School of Medicine, The University of Queensland