Assessing the health needs of older Indigenous Australians living in the Kimberley

Funded Activity Summary

This study was designed to address the need for accurate assessment of the health care needs of older Indigenous people, particularly in remote regions of Australia. Indigenous people have higher rates of premature chronic medical illness, and there is substantial evidence that chronic functional disorders start at younger ages in this population. Common conditions of older age, such as dementia, falls and incontinence, are associated with substantial morbidity, disability and health care expenditure; yet, little is known about the extent of these problems amongst Indigenous Australians. This study builds on a successful project conducted in the Kimberley in 2003 that was designed with the aim of developing and validating a screening instrument for the assessment of dementia amongst Indigenous people. The present project proposes to expand the scope of our previous work to include the assessment of other common conditions associated with older age, such as depression, incontinence and falls and determine use of health services and potential impediments to their access.

Funded Activity Details

Start Date: 01-01-2005

End Date: 01-01-2006

Funding Scheme: NHMRC Project Grants

Funding Amount: $242,000.00

Funder: National Health and Medical Research Council

Research Topics

ANZSRC Field of Research (FoR)

Geriatrics and Gerontology

ANZSRC Socio-Economic Objective (SEO)

There are no SEO codes available for this funding activity

Other Keywords

Aboriginal | Aged Care | Chronic diseases | Dementia | aboriginal health | chronic disease among indigenous population | dementia | older persons and functional decline | population screening

Related Links