Transitions to residential aged care after hospital for people living with dementia

This page shows the 12-months transitions of care or mortality and subsequent hospitalisations or emergency department (ED) presentations for people who were hospitalised due to a fall that occurred outside of hospital.

Hospitalisations for falls are of particular interest as people living with dementia are at least twice as likely to have a fall and more likely to have serious injury or death after a fall compared with people without dementia (Lord et al. 2007, Fernando et al. 2017).  

How many people were hospitalised due to a fall?

About one in five people living with dementia (22%) and one in ten people without dementia (9%) were hospitalised due to a fall (Table S.16).

The proportion of people who were hospitalised for a fall by change in usual residence or mortality was highest for:

• people who transitioned to residential aged care (28% for people living with dementia and 26% for people without dementia) 
• aged care residents (27% for people with dementia and 17% for people without dementia) 

The proportion of people who were hospitalised for a fall by change in usual residence or mortality was lowest for:

• community-dwellers (18% for people living with dementia and 8% for people without dementia) 
• people who died during their hospitalisation or within 7-days (about 17% for people living with dementia and 11% for people without dementia, Table S1.17)

People who were hospitalised due to a fall

Figure 11 shows the usual residence on the day of admission to hospital and usual residence or mortality in the 7-days, 3-months, and 12-months after discharge for people living with dementia and people without dementia whose first hospitalisation was or was not due to a fall (Table S1.17).

Compared with people whose first hospitalisation was not due to a fall, people whose first hospitalisation was due to a fall were less likely to live in the community and more likely to live in residential aged care both before their hospitalisation and 7-days, 3-months, and 12-months after their first hospitalisation. A similar proportion of people who were hospitalised due to a fall or hospitalised for other reasons died in the 12-months after discharge.

Figure 11 Usual residence or mortality up to 12-months after first hospitalisation for people living with dementia and people without dementia by whether their hospitalisation was due to a fall

Source: AIHW NIHSI 2018–19, analysis of NIHSI.

Subsequent hospitalisations and ED presentations for people who were hospitalised due to a fall

Among people living with dementia who survived for 12-months after their hospitalisation for a fall:

• 48% of people had an ED presentation, with 10% having three or more emergency department presentations (Table S1.18).
• 58% of people living with dementia had a subsequent hospitalisation, with 18% having three or more subsequent hospitalisations (Table S1.19).

The proportion of people who had 3 or more ED presentations or subsequent hospitalisations varied by people’s change in usual residence in the 7-days after hospitalisation:

• 15% of community-dwellers had 3 or more ED presentations and 23% had three or more subsequent hospitalisations
• 6% of people who transitioned to residential aged care had 3 or more ED presentations and 14% had three or more subsequent hospitalisations
• 4% of aged care residents had 3 or more ED presentations and 14% had three or more subsequent hospitalisations