Aims: Population‑level monitoring is essential to understanding whether system‑wide reforms (including the 10-year National Dementia Action Plan, NDAP) are improving care for people living with dementia and their families. We used the National Health Data Hub (NHDH), a person‑centred, de‑identified linkage of health and aged care data, to produce 3 new baseline indicators at the population-level. The aim was to establish consistent, reproducible indicators derived from linked, big data that can be updated annually during the life of the NDAP over 2024-2034.
Methods: We built a cohort integrating hospital, prescriptions, deaths and aged care assessment records and used a fixed look‑back period to enable consistent year‑to‑year comparisons. We calculated 2021–22 baseline values for three indicators: (1) chronic disease management attendances; (2) medication management reviews; and (3) residential respite care use. Baseline values will be updated when newer NHDH data become available, including 2023–24.
Results: In 2021–22, 48% of the cohort of people living with dementia had a chronic disease management attendance, 16% received a medication management review and 13% accessed residential respite care. Among those exiting respite care, 52% entered permanent residential aged care within seven days, suggesting respite often functions as a transition pathway rather than a temporary support. Low overall respite use indicates potential barriers to early access.
Conclusion: Linking national health and aged care data provides a low-cost, readily available data resource that when paired with a rigorous method, can be used to build population-level cohorts to monitor dementia care indicators over time.