Since 2021, ARIIA has led the way in promoting evidence-based solutions to real issues faced by the aged care sector. The new round of funding awarded to ARIIA from the Commonwealth Government announced Friday 6th October will enable us to continue and expand our ultimate mission to improve the quality of outcomes for older Australians by encouraging different models of care and services and innovative approaches to building workforce capability. This investment allows ARIIA to launch the second part of our strategy encouraging the development of new care and service models using technology and evidence-based practices, with a special focus on home care.
We know more than 80 per cent of Australians wish to age at home. Working with providers, we require an urgent upskilling of aged care workers to broaden the range of physical, social and psychological support services that will enable elders to stay at home longer. ARIIA will continue to seek best practice examples from around the world and broaden our local and international partnerships. This will allow us to support the implementation of scalable, evidence-based solutions across the home care sector, with a particular focus on emerging technologies and smart tech solutions to free up carer time to provide direct care.
We know from previous reviews into aged care that elders expect to have more say in the design and delivery of the aged care and home care services that they receive. With this knowledge, ARIIA continues to work with the aged care sector to support the transition to person-centered care models which will ultimately improve how aged care services are delivered.
Reforms are well and truly underway with the introduction of the New Aged Care Bill 2024 and the launch of the Government’s ‘Support at Home’ program, and with continued hard work we are likely to see further improvements in this space over the next year. We know that driving innovation and encouraging the adoption of proven, evidence-based solutions will improve the quality of care provided. To this end, ARIIA has funded 62 projects nation-wide and channelled $16.9 million into research of industry-identified problems - including $7.7 million from sector co-contributions. Since 2021, more than 600 participants have joined the Innovator Training and Aged Care Partnering programs, and the online Knowledge and Implementation Hub is now accessed by users around the globe.
Community demands for aged care services are increasing rapidly, but the type of services required and the quality of care our elders now expect has changed significantly, with much more of a focus on home care. ARIIA is working to help the aged care sector adopt quality, innovative models that can meet the increased demand and complex needs of a home based aging population and expectations from older people to have a greater say in how, what and when services and care are delivered.
Our work with the aged care sector focuses on workforce training, connecting evidence-based research to help the aged care sector find new solutions to common problems and build the ability to scale innovative care models. Through our translational research grants and the ARIIA x MDPP Ideas Incubator, ARIIA provides support to companies and research bodies that are developing new digital and technology solutions that could make a difference to the quality of care provided within home care.