Aged Care Insite Issue 128 December-January 2022 | Page 8

news

The charge to change

Research suggests baby boomers will drive change in aged care .
By Conor Burke

New research suggests that the baby boomer generation will be a force for change in the way we care for older Aussies .

The boomer generation , aged between 56 to 74 , will want bang for their buck when it comes to aged care and want services to provide good food , travel and wellness support .
The research , carried out by RSL LifeCare , took the temperature of 1,000 baby boomers across the country and found that this group will likely shun residential care , and attitudes towards aged care have changed for the worse due to the pandemic .
“ Our research shows when care is needed , more than three quarters ( 78 per cent ) of baby boomers want to stay in their own homes with occasional nursing visits ,” said RSL LifeCare chief executive Graham Millett .
“ Only three per cent want to enter communal aged care in its current format . This number has tripled in the last year .
“ COVID has likely further validated people ’ s attitudes towards aged care services . Today , almost a quarter of baby boomers feel more negatively towards residential aged care than they did before the pandemic hit , while 14 per cent
feel more positive towards occasional home visits .”
Unsurprisingly , most boomers want to stay at home if , and when , they need to access aged care . More than three quarters ( 78 per cent ) want to live independently and only three per cent want to enter residential care in its current format .
Living at home for longer is more of an option for boomers : as a society we are living longer , and are in better health , than ever before . Going by the survey , 91 per cent of older Aussies believe their overall wellbeing is good , very good or excellent , while 84 per cent rate their physical health on the same scale and 89 per cent believe they ’ re in good mental health .
The research found that 63 per cent of baby boomers didn ’ t know how much aged care will cost them , but three in five expect to fund retirement from their super .
The boomers are generally unsure of the aged care system , only 16 per cent of those surveyed believe that aged care is “ very good or excellent ”.
The large majority of boomers ( 39 per cent ) say that aged care is “ less than satisfactory or poor ”.
The most important thing for the boomer generation in terms of aged care , is that they are “ well fed ,

“ This is the

generation that doesn ’ t want to age like their parents and grandparents .
well supported , and well-travelled ”, the survey found .
Millett said that the findings give providers a good insight into ways they can meet the demands of future generations of aged care residents .
“ As more Australians begin their aged care journey through uptake of home care services , before transitioning to residential aged care , providers can work with clients to assist along that continuum of care ,” he said .
Boomers currently make up 25 per cent of the Australian population , while more than 3.8 million Aussies are aged over 65 , a figure set to rise to 8.8 million by 2057 , and it is increasingly apparent that future generations won ’ t settle for below par care .
“ Three quarters of baby boomers want to begin aged care services with occasional or full-time visits within their own home , compared to 4 per cent who would like communal residential aged care as their first step ,” Millett said .
“ This is the generation that doesn ’ t want to age like their parents and grandparents . They want to balance lifestyle and socialising with personalised high-quality care , delivered on their terms .” ■
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