Quality failures in residential aged care in Australia: The relationship between structural factors and regulation imposed sanctions.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the relationship between structural factors and the imposition of sanctions on residential aged care services across Australia for regulatory compliance failure.


METHODS
Poisson Regression analysis was used to examine the association between the number of sanctions imposed and the structural characteristics of residential aged care services in Australia.


RESULTS
Residential aged care services that have a greater likelihood of having government sanctions imposed on them are operated by for-profit providers and located in remote locations and in Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory.


CONCLUSIONS
The findings confirm the international literature on the relationship between residential aged care service location, ownership type and the likelihood of sanctions. In the light of the predicted expansion of residential aged care services, policy makers should give consideration to structural elements most likely to be associated with a failure to meet and maintain service standards.
Faculty of Health, University of Technology, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Richard
R
Baldwin
Faculty of Health, University of Technology, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Lynnette
L
Chenoweth
Faculty of Business, University of Technology, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Marie
M
Dela Rama
Independent Statistician, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Zhixin
Z
Liu
D001315:Australia; D003132:Commerce / Q000592:standards; D033161:Government Regulation; D019983:Guideline Adherence / Q000191:economics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000592:standards*; D006302:Health Services Research; D006299:Health Services for the Aged / Q000191:economics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000592:standards*; D006707:Homes for the Aged / Q000191:economics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D009735:Nursing Homes / Q000191:economics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000592:standards*; D011050:Policy Making; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic / Q000592:standards*; D058996:Quality Improvement / Q000191:economics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000592:standards*; D019984:Quality Indicators, Health Care / Q000191:economics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000592:standards*; D012307:Risk Factors; D019035:Rural Health Services / Q000592:standards; D013997:Time Factors
nursing home; public policy; quality control; regulation; standards