Evaluation of a Residential In-Reach Program in Regional and Rural Australia

Residential In-Reach (RIR) programs are designed to provide responsive care for residents in residential aged care homes (RACH) with the aim of avoiding unnecessary hospital transfers. The evidence for their clinical and cost-effectiveness and implementation has been established in urban settings, but there is a small amount of low-quality evidence for rural and regional settings. The Grampians Region Health Service Partnership Resi-In-Reach Redesign Committee will be implementing a new RIR program to be offered to all RACHs in the Grampians region, this project aims to evaluate the clinical and cost-effectiveness of this program, and its implementation in the rural and regional setting. A stepped-wedge trial will be conducted so that as the RIR program is gradually rolled-out across the region, outcomes can be compared in the same facilities across time and between different facilities. The primary outcome measure will be presentation to emergency departments and urgent care centres, and data will also be collected on other clinical outcomes and barriers and enablers of implementing the program. It is anticipated that there will be a reduction in hospital presentations, and a range of barriers and enablers unique to the rural and regional setting will emerge.

NCT Number	NCT06901167
Lead Sponsor	Monash University Collaborators: Deakin University
Conditions	Aged, Acute Disease
Enrollment	100 participants
Start Date	2025-05-01
Primary Completion	2026-05-31 (estimated)
Study Completion	2026-06-30 (estimated)
Updated on ClinicalTrials.gov	2025-05-30