New partnership to boost research into aged care systems

Research by the Registry of Senior Australians (ROSA) at SAHMRI has been recognised as Australia’s exemplar data system, driving real change for Australia’s aged care system with robust analytics and research translation. 

The commendation for ROSA's critical work examining the interaction between the health and aged care systems came in the Office of the Inspector General of Aged Care’s Progress Report on the Government's response to the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety.

The report stated: "The Inspector-General recommends that the government examine the potential of SAHMRI’s work in a national context, and how it can be best supported to achieve its full potential.’"

ROSA Director Professor Maria Inacio says her team's mission to improve the health and wellbeing of older Australians has been further boosted through a new partnership placing Flinders University as the registry's lead university partner.

“The synergy of the SAHMRI and Flinders University partnership comes at a critical juncture for ROSA, maturing into a critical national ageing and aged care research centre and expanding its portfolio," she said. 

"The team is excited about our future working together to deliver important evidence on how to better care for older people.”

Professor Inacio, along with Associate Director, Professor Gillian Caughey, and colleague Associate Professor Stephanie Harrison, will join Flinders’ Caring Futures Institute (CFI) as part of the partnership.

Based at the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, ROSA is a unique data platform, that seeks to drive improvements in Australia’s burgeoning aged care sector. The first project of its kind in Australia, ROSA brings together data from the health, aged care, and social welfare sector so that the experiences of older people in aged care can be better understood.

Monitoring health, service utilisation, medication use, mortality, and other important outcomes, ROSA provides a complete picture of the ageing pathway in Australia.

Interim Director of the Caring Futures Institute Professor Rebecca Golley says the partnership will amplify Flinders’ research that is already improving the aged care sector.

“Flinders hosts the Commonwealth-funded Aged Care Research and Industry Innovation (ARIIA) organisation which is driving workforce development and innovation in the sector," she said.

"Our stronger partnership with the ROSA team will reinforce our Caring Futures Institute’s contributions to improving the lives and experiences of older people in our communities. A number of Caring Futures Institute research projects have already had a tangible impact on improving Australia’s aged care sector, thanks to our knowledge translation capability which drives systems change, but also puts the older Australians we serve at the centre of our research.

“Flinders will extend on these successes with the help of Professor Inacio and her colleagues who are international leaders in their fields.”

ROSA was established by SAHMRI in 2017 with the support of the Government of South Australia as a partnership between Flinders University, University of Adelaide and the University of South Australia, together with aged care providers (which now include Silverchain, ECH Inc and Bolton Clarke), Council on the Ageing SA (COTA SA), SA NT DataLink and SA Health.

The Caring Futures Institute is an endorsed Flinders research entity that works in partnership with people and organisations across the health, education, aged care and social services sectors. Through research, knowledge translation and partnerships we are ensuring the best care is accessible for all who need it, across the course of their lives.