The lived experience of younger people with a disability living in residential aged care facilities in Australia

Abstract

In Australia, younger people with a disability who require a high level of care have limited accommodation options, insufficient funding and community-based support to assist them to remain living in the community. The research presented in this article is an exploration of the experiences of younger people with a disability living in residential aged care facilities in Australia. This study aimed to gain insight into the psychosocial impact of placement in a residential aged care facility and identify strategies the younger person with a disability utilises to adjust to their living environment. Key findings from this study based in the State of Queensland, Australia, indicate that younger people with a disability living in residential aged care facilities experience significant loss. Loss of relationships with family and friends, loss of independence, and loss of connection with the broader community were common themes identified in this study. Participants countering the losses exercised strategies such as resilience and adopted resilience-enhancing methods. Points of interest This article explores the experiences of younger people with a disability placed in residential aged care facilities in Queensland, Australia due to their high care needs being unmet in a community care setting. The research supported previous studies that found younger people with a disability placed in residential aged care settings experience multiple losses. These may include loss of decision-making, loss of relationships, loss of role and purpose, and loss of independence. The participants of this study were found to have limited access to the broader community in which they live and it was identified there was a lack of age-appropriate activities available to them within the aged care facility where they resided A key finding from this research was that the participants employed resilience in order to make meaning and identify benefits to balance their grief with the loss they experienced due to living in a challenging environment.