Examining a core assumption of policy and services for older Indigenous Australians

在老年护理服务规划中，澳大利亚土著人口使用50岁或以上的年龄，与非土著人口使用70岁的年龄相同。这是基于土著人口的预期寿命较低，据推测，这将导致对老年护理服务的需求较小。基本的假设是，澳大利亚50岁以上的土著人口与70岁以上的非土著人口具有相同的一套与年龄相关的疾病和护理需求。这一假设的证据并不成立。所有年龄段的土著人口的健康状况都比非土著澳大利亚人差，这是有据可查的。然而，我们对所观察到的模式的细节的理解还远远不完整。该项目力求将50岁或以上土著人口的健康状况与70岁或以上非土著人口的健康状况进行比较。该项目将分析若干数据集，以便为政策和服务提供方面的未来方向提供信息。更好地了解这些问题对于明智地规划和分配资源、确定适合于预防战略的领域以及制定满足土著人民需要的照料办法至关重要。

In aged care service planning, the age 50 years or over is used for the Indigenous Australian population in the same way as the age 70 years is used for the non-Indigenous population. This is based on the lower life expectancy of the Indigenous population which is presumed to result in a need for aged care services at younger ages. The underlying assumption is that Australia's Indigenous population aged over 50 has the same set of age-associated conditions and care needs as the non-Indigenous population aged over 70. The evidence for this assumption is not established. It is well documented that the Indigenous population has worse health outcomes across all age groups relative to non-Indigenous Australians. However, our understanding of the details of the observed pattern is far from complete. This project seeks to compare the health status of the Indigenous population aged 50 years or over to the health status of the non-Indigenous population aged 70 years or over. The project will analyse a number of data sets to inform future directions in policy and service provision. A better understanding of these issues is fundamental to informed planning and allocation of resources, to identification of areas amenable to prevention strategies and to the development of approaches to care that meet the needs of Indigenous people.