Identifying Care and Support Needs Profiles for Home-Based Aged Care: A Latent Class Analysis Using Routinely Collected Aged Care Assessment Information

This study identified care and support need profiles for people requiring home-based aged care and explored profile associations with socio-demographic and psychosocial factors. The study utilized cross-sectional aged care assessment data for 94,975 Victorians (mean age 84 [SD = 7.6] years) eligible for Australian Government-funded home-based aged care (Home Care Package) (January 2019-June 2022). Latent class analysis identified seven profiles (P1 to P7). P1, the largest profile (<i>n</i> = 23,487, 24.7%), included those with predominantly basic needs, for example, housework (93%) and shopping (68%). Needs gradually increased from P1 to P7. P7 (<i>n</i> = 9,274, 9.8%) included those with the most advanced needs, for example, showering (99%), medication management (99%), walking (89%), short-term memory loss (99%), and disorientation to time (93%). Individuals living alone were under-represented in higher-need profiles (P4 to P7). The identified profiles provide valuable insights to optimize care management, service-type requirements, and workforce skills tailored to the needs of people within each profile.