Socioeconomic status and accessibility to health care services in Australia

Socioeconomic status (SES) is an indicator of income, education, and employment status. It has significant implications for the access to and use of primary health care services. This RESEARCH ROUNDup investigates the impact of socio-economic status on the accessibility of primary health care for Australians. We review some key factors which affect the accessibility of primary health care, and conclude with the implications these factors have for the Australian policy environment

Primary health care for people with intellectual disabilities

Over half a million Australians have an intellectual disability and 61% of those have a severe or profound limitation in ‘core’ activities of daily living. The sparse research available concerning health care service use by people with significant intellectual (or physical disabilities) in Australia suggests there is a higher rate of health care service utilisation in this group than for people without disabilities for all health care provider types. While overall utilisation rates appear to be higher in this group compared to the general population, primary health care access may still be insufficient to meet their needs. This RESEARCH ROUNDup investigates the reasons for primary health care disadvantage in people with intellectual disabilities, and strategies to overcome this disadvantage

Chronic disease self-management

Chronic conditions cannot be ‘cured’. Therefore effective strategies are required to manage the illnesses and minimise their consequences for patients, their families and the health system. Self-management programs represent a way in which this care may be realised. Self-management programs focus on teaching patients to control their chronic illness more effectively. These programs can be generic (for those with multiple chronic diseases) or disease-specific, and are considered to be a component of the overall management of chronic disease. The Australian Government has focused on a dedicated push towards self-management practice. The Department of Health and Ageing currently administers the Sharing Health Care initiative as part of a package that is targeting older Australians with complex and chronic conditions

Dementia and primary health care

Dementia care is becoming increasingly relevant in Australia as our population ages, presenting challenges for an already stretched health system. General practitioners are the first port of call in dementia identification and care, and are the coordinators of dementia identification and management. There is increasing involvement of practice nurses in these processes. Carers and many health professionals believe early diagnosis is critical, though GPs report diagnosing only for functional necessity such as to prescribe medication. Referrals for carers to information and support services are often delayed until carers reach ‘breaking point’, highlighting the need for anticipatory referral processes. Carers are often called the ‘hidden patients’ as they suffer from higher physical and mental illness resulting from caregiver burden

Divisions Performance Indicator Report 2008-2009: Divisions' ability to meet reporting thresholds

Divisions of General Practice report on a set of National Performance Indicators (NPIs) as part of their accountability to their funding source. This report examines patterns in the ability of Divisions to gather the data required to report on four NPIs for their 12 month reports for 2008-09. The four indicators were: Chronic Disease Management 1, 2, and 3, and Prevention 4. These are the only indicators that require Divisions to collect the data. Divisions were classified into two groups: 1) those that met all reporting thresholds; and 2) those that did not meet thresholds. We used data from the 2007-08 Annual Survey of Divisions to examine associations between Divisions’ characteristics and activities; and differences in reporting performance across Divisions

Australia’s primary health care research workforce

Australian healthcare is on the brink of a significant reform process. While much is yet to be decided, two clear themes can be identified from the reform reports. The first is the importance of multidisciplinary team work in the primary health care (PHC) setting. The second is the importance of further developing and strengthening Australia’s PHC research sector, which is critical to inform its health policy and practice. These themes of a stronger multidisciplinary focus and a stronger PHC research sector reinforce each other, as clinical, health system and health services research increasingly needs to be undertaken by researchers from multiple disciplines and backgrounds

Divisions Performance Indicator Report 2009-2010: Closing the gap

This report presents a thematic analysis of qualitative data regarding activities undertaken as part of the Closing the Gap program, provided by the Divisions of General Practice for the 2009-2010 reporting period

Disparities in primary health care utilisation: Who are the disadvantaged groups? How are they disadvantaged? What interventions work?

This Policy Issue Review draws on recent evidence to provide a picture of who in Australia experiences poor access to primary health care services, including particular areas of need, and how such needs may be remedied through intervention approaches that focus on equitable distribution of quality health care and outcomes

Patient experience of health care performance

Patient-centred care, a fundamental tenet of quality healthcare, means delivering services which respond to and are sensitive to the needs and wishes of the consumers or patients. Without systematic ways of collecting information about patients’ experience of the health care system, a vital perspective is missing from efforts to improve the quality of care. Submissions to the draft National Primary Health Care Strategy identified that consumer satisfaction, holistic care, equity of access, and obtaining feedback from users are some areas which are appropriate for performance management via indicators

Strategies to reduce barriers and inequities in access to health care services for rural/remote areas

Objective: To identify strategies to improve accessibility to Primary Health Care (PHC) services for people living in rural and remote areas, particularly for those in greatest need. Method: A review of the literature was undertaken. A range of bibliographic databases (PubMed, CINAHL, PsychInfo, Web of Science, Scopus), relevant websites, specialty journals, systematic reviews and the grey literature were searched. A snowballing technique was used to identify additional material