Unmet hospitalisation needs

What is being tracked?

Measure: Proportion of people with disability who reported unmet need for hospital admission in the last 12 months

This measure is part of the Health and wellbeing priority of the Strategy. This priority is about supporting the health of people with disability by improving their experience when they need to access health services.

The desired outcome is that fewer people with disability say their needs were not met when they needed to go to hospital.

This measure will be replaced during the life of the Strategy once available data allow the following to be tracked – number of potentially avoidable deaths in hospital for people with disability, compared with people without disability.

Last updated:

Outcome area: Health and wellbeing Priority: Health and wellbeing

  • Baseline value

    10%in 2018

  • Latest value

    10%in 2018

Status not known yet more data from after the Strategy started are needed

View the data source

Has the proportion of people with disability who report unmet need for hospital admission decreased over time?

The data in the graph and the table below show the proportion of people with disability (of all ages) who reported unmet need for hospital admission (needed to go to hospital but did not go) in the last 12 months. Data from 2012 to 2018 are used. In 2018, 10% of people with disability who needed to go to hospital reported an unmet need for hospital admission, and 11% in 2012.

More detailed data by age group are shown in the table.

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics – Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (SDAC) | Data source overview

State and territory

Does the proportion of people with disability who report unmet need for hospital admission vary between states and territories?

The data in the graph and the table below show the proportion of people with disability (of all ages) who reported unmet need for hospital admission (needed to go to hospital but did not go) in the last 12 months, grouped by Australian states and territories. In 2018, 14% of people with disability who needed to go to hospital reported an unmet need for hospital admission in the Australian Capital Territory, 10% in New South Wales, and 6.1% in Western Australia.

More detailed data by age group are shown in the table.

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics – Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (SDAC) | Data source overview

Population groups

How this measure varies by…

  • Does the proportion of people with disability who report unmet need for hospital admission vary for First Nations people and non-Indigenous Australians?

    The data in the graph and the table below show the proportion of people with disability (of all ages) who reported unmet need for hospital admission (needed to go to hospital but did not go) in the last 12 months, by Indigenous status. In 2018, 16% of First Nations people with disability who needed to go to hospital reported an unmet need for hospital admission, as did 10% of non-Indigenous people (please note that the proportion for First Nations people with disability has a high margin of error and should be used with caution).

    More detailed data by age group are shown in the table.

    Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics – Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (SDAC) | Data source overview

  • Does the proportion of people with disability who report unmet need for hospital admission vary by sex?

    The data in the graph and the table below show the proportion of people with disability (of all ages) who reported unmet need for hospital admission (needed to go to hospital but did not go) in the last 12 months, for males and females. In 2018, 9.0% of males with disability who needed to go to hospital reported an unmet need for hospital admission, compared with 12% of females.

    More detailed data by age group are shown in the table.

    Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics – Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (SDAC) | Data source overview

  • Does the proportion of people with disability who report unmet need for hospital admission vary by age?

    The data in the graph and the table below show the proportion of people with disability (of all ages) who reported unmet need for hospital admission in the last 12 months, grouped by age. In 2018, 24% of people with disability aged 25–44 who needed to go to hospital reported an unmet need for hospital admission, compared with 3.7% in the 65 and over age group.

    Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics – Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (SDAC) | Data source overview

  • Does the proportion of people with disability who report unmet need for hospital admission vary by cultural and linguistic diversity background?

    The data in the graph and the table below show the proportion of people with disability (of all ages) who reported unmet need for hospital admission (needed to go to hospital but did not go) in the last 12 months, by culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) status. In 2018, 8.1% of people from CALD backgrounds with disability who needed to go to hospital reported an unmet need for hospital admission, and 11% among the non-CALD group.

    More detailed data by age group are shown in the table.

    Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics – Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (SDAC) | Data source overview

  • Does the proportion of people with disability who report unmet need for hospital admission vary by remoteness?

    The data in the graph and the table below show the proportion of people with disability (of all ages) who reported unmet need for hospital admission (needed to go to hospital but did not go) in the last 12 months, grouped by remoteness. In 2018, 16% of people with disability living in outer regional and remote areas who needed to go to hospital reported an unmet need for hospital admission and 9.7% of those in major cities.

    More detailed data by age group are shown in the table.

    Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics – Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (SDAC) | Data source overview

  • Does the proportion of people with disability who report unmet need for hospital admission vary by disability group?

    The data in the graph and the table below show the proportion of people with disability (of all ages) who reported unmet need for hospital admission (needed to go to hospital but did not go) in the last 12 months, by disability group. In 2018, 20% of people with psychosocial disability who needed to go to hospital reported an unmet need for hospital admission, compared with 7.3% in the sensory and speech disability group.

    More detailed data by age group are shown in the table.

    Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics – Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (SDAC) | Data source overview

  • Does the proportion of people with disability who report unmet need for hospital admission vary by severity of disability?

    The data in the graph and the table below show the proportion of people with disability (of all ages) who reported unmet need for hospital admission (needed to go to hospital but did not go) in the last 12 months, grouped by disability severity. In 2018, the proportion of people with disability who needed to go to hospital and reported an unmet need for hospital admission was 13% for people with severe or profound disability and 8.7% for people with other disability status.

    More detailed data by age group are shown in the table.

    Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics – Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (SDAC) | Data source overview

Where did these data come from?

Data on unmet hospitalisation needs come from survey data collected by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Learn more about these data
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