The silver tide: Late life care in ageing populations

Abstract

<snip>Decisions are increasingly needed to inform service provision for late-life care of older people. In New Zealand, residential aged care (RAC, equivalent to nursing homes elsewhere) is part of that service, but its use has not been well described. For example, in recent decades, reports of the percentage of those aged 65 years and over living in RAC has varied markedly. Since 2008 reports are more consistent, stabilising between 4%-6%. However, when place of death is analysed, a very different picture emerges – in New Zealand, of people who die aged over 65 years, 38% do so in a RAC facility. This is higher than any other country known, yet even so it does not include an unknown number who die in acute care having come from RAC. <snip>