Health and wellbeing
Poorer health experiences among people with disability can be due to inadequate access to health care or the provision of inadequate care. Health care issues can include access to health services; the appropriateness of equipment, training or facilities; the operation of health systems and processes; and health care worker attitudes (Australia’s Disability Strategy 2021–2031).
Ensuring that health service providers have the capabilities to meet the needs of people with disability is essential to attaining the highest possible health and wellbeing outcomes for people with disability.
Unmet hospitalisation needs
A key system outcome of the Strategy is that hospitals provide high-quality and suitable services to people with disability. Currently, a transitional measure on unmet need for hospital admission is being reported – 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.
System measure: Proportion of people with disability who reported unmet need for hospital admission in the last 12 months
Desired outcome: Decrease in the proportion
Data source: ABS SDAC
This measure will be replaced in the future when available data are improved. During the life of the Strategy, it will be replaced by ‘Number of potentially avoidable deaths in hospital for people with disability compared to people without disability’.
Latest results: 2022
- In 2022, 14% of people with disability reported the need to go to hospital but did not go (unmet need for hospital admission). This was 4 percentage points more than the proportion at baseline (2018; 10%) indicating a regress.
- Prior to baseline, the proportion of people with disability who reported unmet need for hospital admission in the last 12 months was steady (Figure 7.1).
Things to consider when interpreting results
- Data for this measure are restricted to people with disability living in households who needed to go to hospital in the last 12 months.
Latest results: 14.1% (2022)
Baseline: 10.4% (2018)
Progress report: Regress
Figure 7.1: Proportion of people with disability who report unmet need for hospital admission
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 2022 are used. In 2022, 14% of people with disability who needed to go to hospital reported an unmet need for hospital admission, compared with 11% in 2012.
More detailed data by age group are shown in the table.
| Year | % of people with disability with unmet need for hospital admission | 95% Confidence Interval |
|---|---|---|
| Aged 64 and under | ||
| 2012 | 16% | (14.1%–18.3%) |
| 2015 | 17% | (14.9%–18.4%) |
| 2018 | 16% | (13.5%–18.6%) |
| 2022 | 22% | (19.1%–24.6%) |
| Aged 65 and over | ||
| 2012 | 5.6% | (4.2%–7.0%) |
| 2015 | 4.9% | (3.6%–6.2%) |
| 2018 | 3.7% | (2.6%–4.7%) |
| 2022 | 6.3% | (4.6%–7.9%) |
| All ages | ||
| 2012 | 11% | (9.9%–12.6%) |
| 2015 | 12% | (10.5%–12.6%) |
| 2018 | 10% | (9.0%–11.8%) |
| 2022 | 14% | (12.3%–15.8%) |
Notes:
- Restricted to people with disability living in households who needed to go to hospital in the last 12 months.
- People have unmet need for hospital admission if they needed to go to hospital but did not go.
- Data have been randomly adjusted to avoid identifying individual people.
Sources:
- ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) 2024. Microdata: Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers, Australia, 2022, ABS, AIHW analysis of detailed microdata in DataLab, accessed 6 September 2024.
- ABS 2019. Microdata: Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers, Australia, 2018, ABS cat. no. 4430.0.30.002, ABS, AIHW analysis of detailed microdata in DataLab, accessed 31 March 2022.
- ABS 2016. Microdata: Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers, Australia, 2015, ABS cat. no. 4430.0.30.002, ABS, AIHW analysis of detailed microdata in DataLab, accessed 31 March 2022.
- ABS 2013. Microdata: Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers, Australia, 2012, ABS cat. no. 4430.0.30.002, ABS, AIHW analysis of detailed microdata in DataLab, accessed 31 March 2022.
Source:
Australian Bureau of Statistics – Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers
|
Data source overview
For figure notes, see Appendix C: Figure notes and sources.
For the latest data and breakdowns of the data, see Australia’s Disability Strategy Outcomes Framework | Unmet hospitalisation needs.
Self-reported health
Self-assessed health status is a commonly used measure of overall health and reflects a person’s perception of their own health at a given point. It also provides a broad picture of a population’s overall health. It has some limitations, including being influenced by factors such as a person’s access to health services (for example, to diagnosis and treatment) and level of education (AIHW 2024).
The desired population outcome for this measure is that the gap between the proportion of adults with disability and those without disability who report they are in good health is reduced.
Population measure: Proportion of people with disability who reported excellent, very good or good health compared with people without disability
Desired outcome: Reduction in the difference
Data source: ABS National Health Survey (NHS)
Latest results: 2022
- In 2022, 67.6% of people with disability aged 15 and over self-reported having excellent, very good or good health compared with 94.6% of people without disability.
- The 2022 result was 1.2 percentage points lower than at baseline (68.8%, 2017–18). This indicates no change since the Strategy began.
Latest results: 68% with disability, 95% without disability (2022)
Baseline: 69% with disability, 94% without disability (2017–18)
Progress status: No change
Figure 7.2: Proportion of people with disability who reported excellent, very good or good health compared with people without disability
The data in the graph and the table below show the proportion of people with disability aged 15 and over who reported excellent, very good or good health, compared with people without disability. Data from 2011–12 to 2022 are used. In 2022, the proportion of people with disability who reported excellent, very good or good health was 68%, compared with 95% for people without disability.
More detailed data by age group are shown in the table.
| Year | Without disability | 95% Confidence Interval | With disability | 95% Confidence Interval |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 15–64 | ||||
| 2011–12 | 94% | (93.9%–95.0%) | ||
| 2014–15 | 94% | (93.7%–95.0%) | 72% | (70.2%–74.4%) |
| 2017–18 | 95% | (94.2%–95.3%) | 71% | (69.5%–72.9%) |
| 2022 | 95% | (94.2%–95.8%) | 71% | (68.6%–72.5%) |
| Aged 65 and over | ||||
| 2011–12 | 88% | (85.0%–90.2%) | 62% | (59.3%–64.9%) |
| 2014–15 | 89% | (86.4%–91.9%) | 64% | (61.1%–66.4%) |
| 2017–18 | 91% | (88.5%–92.8%) | 64% | (61.7%–66.2%) |
| 2022 | 92% | (89.9%–94.0%) | 62% | (59.1%–64.8%) |
| Aged 15 and over | ||||
| 2011–12 | 94% | (93.2%–94.5%) | 70% | (68.6%–71.5%) |
| 2014–15 | 94% | (93.2%–94.6%) | 70% | (67.8%–71.2%) |
| 2017–18 | 94% | (93.7%–94.9%) | 69% | (67.5%–70.1%) |
| 2022 | 95% | (93.9%–95.3%) | 68% | (66.0%–69.1%) |
Sources:
- ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) 2013. Microdata: National Health Survey, 2011–12, ABS cat. no. 4364.0.55.001, ABS, AIHW analysis of detailed microdata in DataLab, accessed 22 March 2022.
- ABS 2016. Microdata: National Health Survey, 2014–15, ABS cat. no. 4364.0.55.001, ABS, AIHW analysis of detailed microdata in DataLab, accessed 22 March 2022.
- ABS 2019. Microdata: National Health Survey, 2017–18, ABS cat. no. 4364.0.55.001, ABS, AIHW analysis of detailed microdata in DataLab, accessed 22 March 2022.
- ABS 2023. Microdata: National Health Survey, 2022, ABS, AIHW analysis of detailed microdata in DataLab, accessed 13 February 2024.
Source:
Australian Bureau of Statistics – Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers
|
Data source overview
For figure notes, see Appendix C: Figure notes and sources.
For the latest data and breakdowns of the data, see Australia’s Disability Strategy Outcomes Framework | Self-reported health.
AIHW (2024) ‘Health status’, People with disability in Australia, AIHW, Australian Government, accessed 19 July 2024.
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