Data source
This study uses the National Health Data Hub (NHDH) – previously referred to as the National Integrated Health Services Information (NIHSI) analytical asset.
The NHDH links de-identified, person-level data from public and private hospitals and emergency departments, aged care facilities, the Medicare Benefits Schedule, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, the Australian Immunisation Register and the National Death Index. This linkage permits a person-centred analysis of those with dementia who were hospitalised due to a fall, bringing together information on a person before and after a fall such as health and aged care service use, and health outcomes. This analysis used data spanning the 2010–11 to 2020–21 financial years.
The NHDH datasets used for this project were:
- Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) and Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (RPBS) data collections – for identifying people with a dementia record, and capturing medications dispensed that are risks for falls
- National Non-Admitted Patient Emergency Department Care Database – for identifying people with a dementia record
- Aged Care Funding Instrument data (ACFI) – for identifying people with a dementia record, and for capturing health conditions that are risk factors for falling
- National Death Index (NDI) – for the date and cause of deaths during the study period
- National Hospital Morbidity Database (NHMD) – for identifying people with a dementia record, capturing medical conditions that are risk factors for falling, and to capture first and subsequent fall-related hospitalisations and outcomes.
Admitted patient data from the NHMD was available for all public hospitals of New South Wales (NSW), Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) for all years. Private hospitals data was available for Victoria for the 2010–11 to 2016–17 financial years, and for Queensland for the 2010–11 to 2018–19 financial years. All available private hospitals data were included in the analysis.
Data are only presented for people living in NSW, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, and the ACT. Western Australia and the Northern Territory were excluded because their hospital data were not available in the NHDH.