Do health assessments affect time to permanent residential aged care admission for older women with and without dementia?

Aim: To investigate the effect of health assessments on permanent residential aged care admission for older Australian women with and without dementia. Methods: A total of 1427 older Australian women who had a health assessment between March 2002 and December 2013 were matched with 1427 women who did not have a health assessment in the same period. Linked administrative datasets were used to identify health assessment use, admission to permanent residential aged care, and dementia status. Outcome was time to residential aged care admission from the matched date of health assessment. Results: Women who had health assessments were less likely to be admitted to residential aged care in the short term (100 days), irrespective of dementia status (subdistribution hazard ratio [SDHR] = 0.35, 95% CI = [0.21, 0.59] for women with dementia; SDHR = 0.39, 95% CI = [0.25, 0.61] for women without dementia). However, there were no significant differences at 500- and 1000-days follow-up. At 2000-days follow-up, women who had a health assessment were more likely to be admitted to residential aged care, regardless of dementia status (SDHR = 1.41, 95% CI = [1.12, 1.79] for women with dementia; SDHR = 1.55, 95% CI = [1.32, 1.82] for women without dementia). Conclusions: Benefits from health assessments may depend on the recency of the assessment, with women less likely to be admitted to residential aged care in the short term after a health assessment. Our results add to a growing body of literature suggesting that health assessments may provide benefits to older people, including those with dementia. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2023; 23: 595–602.