It is difficult to identify people with intellectual disability in the Australian healthcare system.

If we do not know how many people intellectual disability there are in the healthcare system, or the common health issues they have, we cannot understand the problems or make solutions.

We are using health administrative data to identify people with intellectual disability and to understand their common health issues.

Health administrative data includes information about hospitalisations, emergency department visits and community mental health visits.

We are developing an algorithm to estimate the number of people with intellectual disability receiving healthcare services across Australia. An algorithm is a process that can be used to find answers.

Our data indicators work includes:

• HELEN LEONARD PIECE

When our project is complete, we will be able to use our data to analyse and report on the health outcomes and health issues of people with intellectual disability in Australia across different age groups. 

Project timeline: 2024 to 2026

Project team: Associate Professor Preeyaporn Srasuebkul is the lead for the work at UNSW. The project team includes Associate Professor Mary-Ann O'Donovan, Professor Anne Kavanagh, Professor Jenny Downs, Associate Professor Zoe Aitken, Professor Helen Leonard, Sara Walmsley, Peiwen Liao and Manzoor Khan.

Acknowledgement: Thanks to the Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing for supporting this project.