Primary Health Care Research & Information Service
Abstract
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