Primary Care in an Ageing Society: A Modelling Approach

Timeframe

2005–2009

Funding

Health Research Council of New Zealand

COMPASS staff

Peter Davis
Roy Lay-Yee
Janet Pearson
Martin von Randow
Sanat Pradhan

Collaborators

University of Auckland
David O’Sullivan

Description

This project established a microsimulation model of the New Zealand primary healthcare system in its social context, hence Primary Care in an Ageing Society (PCASO). The work aimed to test propositions about the functioning and development of the health system under different scenarios of demographic ageing – counterfactuals.

Data were combined from the:

  • New Zealand Health Survey (NZHS 1996/7 & 2002/3);
  • National Primary Medical Care Survey (NatMedCa 2001/2); and
  • Australian National Health Survey (ANHS 1995).

Data matching techniques were employed to link doctors from NatMedCa with respondents to the NZHS, and national estimates of some variables from the ANHS were used to fill in gaps in the data available within New Zealand.

The analysis and scenarios investigated focused on three aspects:

  1. Demographic ageing and associated morbidity;
  2. Family and community capacity to cope; and
  3. Practitioner and system response.

Presentations

August 2008
PCASO – Primary Care in an Ageing Society: Developing a Microsimulation Model for Policy
Peter Davis, Janet Pearson, Martin von Randow, Sanat Pradhan – COMPASS Colloquium 2008, Wellington

Developing a Simulation Model of Health Care: A Computer-Based Probabilistic Expert System
Peter Davis, Janet Pearson, Martin von Randow, Sanat Pradhan, Roy Lay-Yee – Computer Science Seminar 2008, Auckland