Health Care Services In Australia Research Articles

Hepatitis C (HCV) Reinfection and Risk Factors among Clients of a Low-Threshold Primary Healthcare Service for People Who Inject Drugs in Sydney, Australia.

Hepatitis C (HCV) reinfection studies have not focused on primary healthcare services in Australia, where priority populations including people who inject drugs (PWID) typically engage in healthcare. We aimed to describe the incidence of HCV reinfection and associated risk factors in a cohort of people most at risk of reinfection in a real-world community setting. We conducted a secondary analysis of routinely collected HCV testing and treatment data from treatment episodes initiated with direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapy between October 2015 and June 2021. The overall proportion of clients (N = 413) reinfected was 9% (N = 37), and the overall incidence rate of HCV reinfection was 9.5/100PY (95% CI: 6.3-14.3). Reinfection incidence rates varied by sub-group and were highest for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people (20.4/100PY; 95% CI: 12.1-34.4). Among PWID (N= 321), only Aboriginality was significantly associated with reinfection (AOR: 2.73, 95% CI: 1.33-5.60, p = 0.006). High rates of HCV reinfection in populations with multiple vulnerabilities and continued drug use, especially among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, highlight the need for ongoing regular HCV testing and retreatment in order to achieve HCV elimination. A priority is resourcing testing and treatment for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people. Our findings support the need for novel and holistic healthcare strategies for PWID and the upscaling of Indigenous cultural approaches and interventions.

The impact of migration and settlement context on Iranian Women's agency in accessing and using reproductive healthcare services in Australia: A qualitative study.

This qualitative study aimed to understand how immigration and settlement context shape Iranian immigrants' agency in accessing and using reproductive healthcare services (RHCS). Twenty-one Iranian women of reproductive age (18-49 years) living in Australia were recruited in 2022 through social media platforms. The findings highlighted that although Iranian women's utilisation of RHCS in Australia is highly constrained by established sociocultural beliefs and values of their origin country, they become agents of making changes over their reproductive choices, reformulating beliefs and values, and taking control of reproductive health because of Australian sociocultural norms and context. This suggests a tension between the impacts of sociocultural contexts in their origin country and becoming agents of change after migrating to Australia. These findings need to be included in healthcare policy and practice to support greater consideration of cultural sensitivities and specific needs of immigrant women when accessing Australian RHCS.

Virtual Care Initiatives for Older Adults in Australia: Scoping Review.

There has been a rapid shift toward the adoption of virtual health care services in Australia. It is unknown how widely virtual care has been implemented or evaluated for the care of older adults in Australia. We aimed to review the literature evaluating virtual care initiatives for older adults across a wide range of health conditions and modalities and identify key challenges and opportunities for wider adoption at both patient and system levels in Australia. A scoping review of the literature was conducted. We searched MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, CINAHL, AgeLine, and gray literature (January 1, 2011, to March 8, 2021) to identify virtual care initiatives for older Australians (aged ≥65 years). The results were reported according to the World Health Organization's digital health evaluation framework. Among the 6296 documents in the search results, we identified 94 that reported 80 unique virtual care initiatives. Most (69/80, 89%) were at the pilot stage and targeted community-dwelling older adults (64/79, 81%) with chronic diseases (52/80, 65%). The modes of delivery included videoconference, telephone, apps, device or monitoring systems, and web-based technologies. Most initiatives showed either similar or better health and behavioral outcomes compared with in-person care. The key barriers for wider adoption were physical, cognitive, or sensory impairment in older adults and staffing issues, legislative issues, and a lack of motivation among providers. Virtual care is a viable model of care to address a wide range of health conditions among older adults in Australia. More embedded and integrative evaluations are needed to ensure that virtually enabled care can be used more widely by older Australians and health care providers.

Factors affecting utilization of healthcare services in Australia

The health care access rate can highly contribute to society’s living quality, and further influence the general labor productivity and economic growth of a country. However, the health expenditure per person in Australia is very high and not able to decrease immediately, which can gradually impact the proportion of people visiting health care services. Thus, it is important to reveal other important factors influencing health care utilization and seek solutions via the results. This study aimed to reveal the factors associated with the healthcare service utilization in Australia. We first hypothesized that insurance coverage will be the factor with the most contribution. The data, collected from the health survey conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in 1978-1978, were analyzed via regression model and exploratory data analysis. Model comparison was also performed to receive a more accurate conclusion. The overall results showed that factors influencing health conditions, such as higher age, diseases affecting daily activities appeared to have the greatest relevance with utilization rate. Insurance is also a significant factor, but has a lower contribution compared to the health-related ones. The results can act as an important indicator in introducing policies in health care system and enhance citizen’s health conditions.

Building patient trust in health systems: A qualitative study of facework in the context of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Worker role in Queensland, Australia

Healthcare services in Australia are the primary responsibility of state and territory governments, which recruit and deploy health providers in hospital and primary-care services. Among the various health professional roles, that of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Worker (A&TSIHW) is one of only two positions that must be occupied by an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person, carrying unique responsibility for enacting cultural brokerage and promoting cultural safety at the facility-level. Implicit to these responsibilities is the assumption that A&TSIHW will use cultural capital to build clients' trust in themselves and ultimately the broader health system. Drawing on 82 in-depth interviews including 52 with A&TSIHWs, we applied Kroegar's Facework theory to explore the structures, processes and relationships that contribute to, or inhibit, A&TISHWs' capacity and willingness to build trust (beyond themselves) in government health services in Queensland, Australia. Analysis demonstrates that despite A&TSIHWs viewing and enacting interpersonal trust-building as central to their role, structural features of the health system inhibit the development of service-users' system-level trust. Findings re-establish that health systems are not ‘cultureless,’ but rather, shaped by a dominant culture that privileges certain actors, types of knowledge, and modes of communication and action, which in turn influence efforts to build trust. The study demonstrates a novel theory-driven approach to exploring the interactions between behavioural and structural factors that influence the production of systems-level trust. In the context of the Queensland public health service findings highlight a disconnect between the expectations of, and support provided to A&TISHWs to engage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander service-users.

Older adults' perceptions of current and future hearing healthcare services in Australia, England, US and Canada.

A high prevalence of hearing loss in older adults contrasts with a small proportion of people who seek help. Emerging developments in hearing healthcare (HHC) could reduce costs but may not increase access. This study evaluated older adults' perceptions of current and future HHC services in Australia, England, US and Canada to explore potential levers and system improvements. Semi-structured focus groups (n = 47) were conducted, and data were analysed using a directed content analysis. Participants were adults 60 years and older with a) no hearing problems; b) hearing problems and hearing aid use; and c) hearing problems and no hearing aid use. Perceived barriers, facilitators and preferences were largely consistent across countries, with stigma and trust in HHC being the barriers most often discussed. Although cost and access were consistently deemed important, there may be limited change in help-seeking and HHC uptake unless the key barriers of trust and stigma are addressed. When seeking to undertake transformative change to healthcare it is important to engage recipients of care to understand existing barriers and coproduce a user-centered solution.

What do Australian health consumers believe about commercial advertisements and testimonials? a survey on health service advertising

BackgroundThere has been little examination of consumer attitudes towards the commercial advertising of healthcare services in Australia and how marketing is used by consumers in their health decision-making. In this research, we examined how consumers reported commercial advertising helped them to understand the health services available to them and the influence that marketing had upon their choices.MethodsA survey instrument using a Likert scale to indicate agreement or disagreement with 21 questions was developed using qualitative interviews before being distributed online within Australia. Sampling of participants was stratified by age, gender and location. The results were subjected to statistical analysis with Spearman Rank Correlation test being used for bivariate analysis.ResultsOne thousand five hundred sixty-four complete surveys were collected. The results revealed certain consumer beliefs, for example; the title of ‘Dr’ was believed to indicate skill and high levels of training (81.0%), with 80.3% agreeing incorrectly that use of the title was strictly regulated. Participants reported to have a higher confidence in their own abilities (71.2%) than the public (52.8%) in assessing health advertising. The level of self-confidence increased with higher education level and decreased by age (p < 0.05). Testimonials were reported to be lacking in reliability (67.7%) and that they should not be used in healthcare in the same manner as they are used in other industries. Only 44.8% of participants reported that they felt confident to spot a review that was not written by a genuine user of a service.ConclusionsThe data demonstrated that many health consumers felt that while commercial health advertising was helpful, it was also confusing, with many participants also holding mistaken beliefs around other elements of commercial health advertising. While the advertising of healthcare services might have educational effects and be superficially empowering, advertising is primarily intended to sell, not educate. This research demonstrates that there is significant potential for healthcare advertising to mislead. Future developments in regulatory health advertising policy, and the related ethical frameworks developed by professional healthcare associations, need to consider how the consumers of healthcare services might be better protected from misleading and predatory advertising practices.

Horizontal inequity in the utilisation of healthcare services in Australia

The Australian universal healthcare system aims to ensure affordable and equitable use of healthcare services based on individual health needs. This paper presents empirical evidence on the extent of horizontal inequity (HI) in healthcare services (unequal utilisation by income for equal need) in Australia during the period of promoting reliance on private healthcare financing. Using data from the most recent Australian National Health Survey of 2011−12 and 2014−15, we examined and measured the extent of HI in eight indicators of out-of-hospital services and hospital-related care. Contrary to earlier studies, our results show a small but pro-rich inequity in the probability of general practitioner visits. Inequity in the distribution of specialist and dentist visits was in favour of richer people, a result that is commonly found in other developed countries and is also consistent with existing Australian evidence. Hospital-related care was equitably distributed compared to the pro-poor pattern found in earlier studies. Despite the universal health insurance system in Australia, there was inequity in the utilisation of needed healthcare services. Our evidence is relevant to similar health systems as governments move to higher out-of-pocket payments and other private sources to reduce pressure on public healthcare expenditure.

COVID-19, Australia: Epidemiology Report 16 (Reporting week to 23:59 AEST 17 May 2020).

Confirmed cases in Australia notified up to 17 May 2020: notifications = 7,075; deaths = 100. The incidence of new cases of COVID-19 has reduced dramatically since a peak in mid-March. Social distancing measures, public health action and the reduction in international travel have likely been effective in slowing the spread of the disease, in the Australian community. Testing rates over the past week have increased markedly, with a continued very low proportion of people testing positive. These low rates of detection are indicative of low levels of COVID-19 transmission. It is important that testing rates and community adherence to public health measures remain high to support the continued suppression of the virus, particularly in vulnerable high-risk groups and settings. New cases of COVID-19 are currently being reported by by only some jurisdictions, albeit at relatively low rates. Although case numbers are low, new cases tend to still be a mix of overseas-acquired and locally-acquired infections. Most locally-acquired cases can be linked back to a known case or cluster. Although the proportion of locally-acquired cases has increased, the overall rate of new cases, regardless of place of acquisition, continues to decrease. The crude case fatality rate in Australia remains low (1.4%), compared with the WHO reported global rate (6.9%). The low case fatality rate is likely reflective of high case detection and high quality of health care services in Australia. Deaths from COVID-19 in Australia have occurred predominantly among the elderly and those with comorbidities, with no deaths occurring in those under 40 years. The highest rate of COVID-19 continues to be among people aged 60-79 years. One third of all cases in this age group have been associated with several outbreaks linked to cruise ships. The lowest rate of disease is in young children, a pattern reflected in international reports. Internationally, while the number of new cases each day remains relatively stable at the global level, some areas such as Brazil and India are showing a dramatic rise in reported cases. Although some low-income countries have so far reported few cases, it is possible that this is due to limited diagnostic and public health capacity, and may not be reflective of true disease incidence.

COVID-19, Australia: Epidemiology Report 15 (Reporting week to 23:59 AEST 10 May 2020).

Confirmed cases in Australia notified up to 10 May 2020: notifications = 6,971; deaths = 98. The incidence of new cases of COVID-19 has reduced dramatically since a peak in mid-March. The reduction in international travel, social distancing measures and public health action have likely been effective in slowing the spread of the disease, in the Australian community. Cases of COVID-19 continue to be notified by jurisdictions, albeit at a slowed rate. Testing rates over the past week have increased markedly, with a very low proportion of people testing positive. These low rates of detection are indicative of low levels of COVID-19 transmission. It is important that testing rates and community adherence to public health measures remain high to support the continued suppression of the virus, particularly in vulnerable high-risk groups and settings. In the past reporting week new cases in Australia are mostly considered to be locally acquired, consistent with the drop in international travel. Most locally-acquired cases can be linked back to a known case or cluster. Although the proportion of locally-acquired cases has increased, the overall rate of cases, regardless of place of acquisition, continues to decrease. The crude case fatality rate in Australia remains low (1.4%), compared with the WHO reported global rate (6.9%). The low case fatality rate is likely reflective of high case detection and high quality of health care services in Australia. Deaths from COVID-19 in Australia have occurred predominantly among the elderly and those with comorbidities, with no deaths occurring in those under 40 years. The highest rate of COVID-19 continues to be among people aged 60-79 years, with a third of these cases associated with several outbreaks linked to cruise ships. The lowest rate of disease is in young children, a pattern reflected in international reports. Internationally, cases continue to increase, with some areas such as Brazil and India showing a dramatic rise in reported cases. Although some low-income countries have currently reported few cases, it is possible that this is due to limited diagnostic and public health capacity, and may not be reflective of disease occurrence.

Performance of First Aid Trained Staff using a Modified START Triage Tool at Achieving Appropriate Triage Compared to a Physiology-Based Triage Strategy at Australian Mass Gatherings.

Triage at mass gatherings in Australia is commonly performed by staff members with first aid training. There have been no evaluations of the performance of first aid staff with respect to diagnostic accuracy or identification of presentations requiring ambulance transport to hospital. It was hypothesized that triage decisions by first aid staff would be considered correct in at least 61% of presentations. A retrospective audit of 1,048 presentations to a single supplier of event health care services in Australia was conducted. The presentations were assessed based on the first measured set of physiological parameters, and the primary triage decision was classified as "expected" if the primary and secondary triage classifications were the same or "not expected" if they differed. The performance of the two triage systems was compared using area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) analysis. The expected decision was made by first aid staff in 674 (71%) of presentations. Under-triage occurred in 131 (14%) presentations and over-triage in 142 (15%) presentations. The primary triage strategy had an AUROC of 0.7644, while the secondary triage strategy had an AUROC of 0.6280, which was significantly different (P = .0199). The results support the continued use of first aid trained staff members in triage roles at Australian mass gatherings. Triage tools should be simple, and the addition of physiological variables to improve the sensitivity of triage tools is not recommended because such an approach does not improve the discriminatory capacity of the tools.

Beyond translation: Engaging with culturally and linguistically diverse consumers.

BackgroundIn the context of an effective consumer engagement framework, there is potential for health‐care delivery to be safer. Consumers from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds may experience several barriers when trying to engage about their health care, and they are not acknowledged sufficiently in contemporary strategies to facilitate patient engagement.MethodsFour focus group discussions were facilitated by bilingual fieldworkers in Arabic, Mandarin, Turkish and Dari in a district of Sydney, Australia that has a high proportion of CALD consumers. Each group included 5‐7 health‐care consumers who, using a topic guide, discussed their experiences of barriers and facilitators when engaging with health‐care services in Australia. Thematic analysis was undertaken to identify, analyse and report patterns in the data.ResultsIn all, 24 consumers participated. Six inter‐related themes emerged: navigating the health system; seeking meaningful interpretation; understanding and managing expectations; respectful professional care; accessing services; and feeling unsafe.ConclusionsThe incorporation of strategies such as professional interpreters and migrant health workers may go some way to addressing the needs of culturally or linguistically diverse consumers and facilitate communication, but do not sufficiently address the range of barriers to consumer engagement identified in this work. Understanding consumer experience in the context of the complex factors that may be associated with poor engagement and poor outcomes such as health literacy, cultural, educational and linguistic background, and health‐care setting or condition, may contribute to better understanding about how to deliver quality health care to these patients.

Developing and testing a matrix to achieve ready-everyday nursing standards (RENS): an observational study protocol

IntroductionThe Australian Council on Healthcare Standards (ACHS) set criteria for the delivery of healthcare services in Australia. While a voluntary process, continual accreditation with ACHS is an expectation of, and...

The use of interactive mobile technology to improve the quality of health care services in private and public hospitals in Australia

The research questions, ‘As an Australian, can we expect fully mobile technology integrated health care services in Australia? Is it possible everywhere in Australia’? A healthcare system whether private or public should provide comprehensive health care services all over in Australia, including countryside and CBD. The term ‘Mobile Technology integrated health care’ refers to a healthcare system designed for electronic and smart devices which can be used anytime and anywhere in the world. This research paper examines ‘how patients can access GPs, specialists, private and public hospitals in Australia’, which provide interactive mobile technology-based health services. The research has mainly used secondary research data analysis and methods to provide a broad investigation of the issues relevant to interactive mobile technology and health care system in Australia, the problems, problem factors, benefits and opportunities in the health care industry. Finally, the mobile technology integrated health care system will ensure that the framework is user and environmentally friendly. Keywords: Interactive mobile technology, quality, health care, services, hospitals, Australia.

The Use of Interactive Mobile Technology to Improve the Quality of Health Care Services in Private and Public Hospitals in Australia

&lt;p&gt;The research questions, "As an Australian, can we expect fully Mobile Technology integrated health care services in Australia? Is it possible everywhere in Australia?" A healthcare system whether private or public should provide comprehensive health care services all over in Australia including countryside and CBD. In addition, the term ‘Mobile Technology integrated health care’ refers to a healthcare system designed for electronic and smart devices which can be used anytime and anywhere in the world. This research paper examines ‘how patients can access GPs, specialists, private and public hospitals in Australia’, which provide interactive Mobile Technology based health services. The research has mainly used secondary research data analysis and methods to provide a broad investigation of the issues relevant to interactive Mobile Technology and health care system in Australia, the problems, problem factors, benefits and opportunities in the health care industry. The research is subject to academic journal articles, conference proceedings, academic text books, project reports, online media articles, corporation-based documents and other appropriate information, including a technology adoption or acceptance research model for Mobile Technology integrated health care system. The preliminary stage of the research findings show that the proposed integrated Mobile Technology model can be applied to the current health care system in Australia, particularly improving patients’ smooth access to GPs, specialists, public and private hospitals. Finally, the Mobile Technology integrated health care system will ensure that the framework is user and environmentally friendly including positive and active interactions with all system functions.&lt;/p&gt;

Impacts of continuous quality improvement in Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander primary health care in Australia

PurposeContinuous quality improvement (CQI) programmes have been taken up widely by indigenous primary health care services in Australia, but as yet there has not been a systematic assessment of their focus and achievements. A scoping review of the literature from studies of CQI in indigenous primary health care services was undertaken to explore impacts on service systems, care and client outcomes with the aim of providing guidance on future evaluation efforts. The paper aims to discuss these issues,Design/methodology/approachSearches were conducted in MEDLINE, CINAHL and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews to December 2016 and handsearching of key websites and publications. Studies of CQI programs or activities in Indigenous primary health care services which demonstrated some combination of CQI characteristics, as described by Rubenstein (2013) were included. A two-stage approach to analysis was undertaken. Stage 1 identified the range and scope of literature, and Stage 2 investigated impacts to service systems, care and client outcomes. The Framework for Performance Assessment in Primary Health Care was used to frame the Stage 2 analysis.FindingsThe majority of Aboriginal community controlled health services have been involved in CQI but there are gaps in knowledge about uptake in general practice and government clinics. There are as many baseline studies as studies on impacts over time. Of the 14 studies included for further analysis, 6 reported on impacts on service systems; all 14 reported on impacts on care and 6 on client outcomes. Changes to services systems are variable and studies of impacts on care and client outcomes show promising though uneven improvements. There are no economic studies or studies addressing community engagement in CQI activities.Research limitations/implicationsTo supplement existing limited knowledge about which service system change strategies are effective and sustainable for which problems in which settings, there needs to be investment in research and development. Research needs to be grounded in the realities of service delivery and contribute to the development of CQI capacity at the service level. Knowledge translation needs to be built into implementation to ensure maximum benefit to those endeavouring on a daily basis to constantly reflect on and improve the quality of the care they deliver to clients, and to the stewardship structures supporting services at regional, state/territory and national levels.Practical implicationsImproved approaches, methods, data capture and reporting arrangements are needed to enhance existing activity and to ensure maximum benefit to services endeavouring to reflect on and improve quality of care and to the stewardship structure supporting services at regional, state/territory and national levels.Originality/valueAlthough there is a growing body of research evidence about CQI both nationally and internationally, and considerable investment by the federal government in Australia to support CQI as part of routine practice, there has not been a systematic assessment of the achievements of CQI in Indigenous primary health care services. Many unanswered questions remain about the extent of uptake, implementation and impacts. This is a barrier to future investment and regional and local programme design, monitoring and evaluation. The authors conducted a scoping review to address these questions. From this, the authors draw conclusions about the state of knowledge in Australia with a view to informing how future CQI research and evaluation might be intensified.

Effect of a health literacy intervention trial on knowledge about cardiovascular disease medications among Indigenous peoples in Australia, Canada and New Zealand

ObjectivesTo assess the effect of a customised, structured cardiovascular disease (CVD) medication health literacy programme on medication knowledge among Indigenous people with, or at high risk of, CVD.DesignIntervention trial with...

Utilization of eye health-care services in Australia: the National Eye Health Survey.

National data on eye health-care service utilization will inform Australia's eye health policy. To investigate the utilization of eye health-care services by Australians. Cross-sectional survey. Indigenous Australians aged 40years and older and non-Indigenous Australians aged 50years and older. One thousand seven hundred thirty-eight Indigenous Australians and 3098 non-Indigenous Australians were recruited from 30 randomly selected sites, stratified by remoteness. Sociodemographic, ocular history and eye health-care service utilization data were collected, and an eye examination was conducted. Recentness of eye examinations, types of providers used and associated risk factors. Approximately 67.0% of Indigenous Australians and 82.5% of non-Indigenous Australians underwent an eye examination within the previous 2years. Indigenous status (P<0.001), male gender (P<0.001), Outer Regional (P<0.001) and Very Remote (P<0.001) residence were associated with less recent examinations. Participants with >self-reported eye disease or diabetes were most likely to have been examined within the past year (P<0.001). For Indigenous Australians, older age was associated with recent eye testing (P=0.001). Those with retinal disease and cataract were more likely to see an ophthalmologist (P<0.001), and those with refractive error were more likely to see an optometrist (P<0.001). In Regional Australia, non-Indigenouspeople were more likely to see optometrists (P<0.001), and Indigenous Australians were more likely to utilize other, non-specialistservices (P<0.001). Eye examination frequency has improved in Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians compared with previous population-based research. Further improvements are required in risk groups including Indigenous Australians and those living in Regional and Remote areas.

Entry Points to the Health System: a review of the emerging community models for management of non-life threatening urgent conditions relevant to Australia

Problem: The number of presentations to Emergency Departments (EDs) is increasing at levels above population growth rates and these increases are becoming unsustainable.&#x0D; Objective: To review evidence for emerging entry points to the health system for patients with non-life threatening urgent conditions (NLTUC) in order to consider more effective healthcare services in Australia.&#x0D; Methods: An in-depth review of the Emerald, Medline, CINAHL, Web of Science, Proquest Business and Medical databases from January 2005 to April 2016 matching ‘acute care’ or ‘urgent care’ with general practice andother health providers found thirteen entry point models with five currently relevant to Australia.&#x0D; Results: Studies examining five emerging entry points were found including urgent care community pharmacy, new prehospital practitioner community care, advanced nurse enhancement of primary care, designated urgent care clinics and integrated primary care centers. Evidence for these emerging models of community healthcare is presented including emerging initiatives, cost implications, subsequent admission to hospital, satisfaction, mortality, care, treatment time, subsequent referrals, testing and health outcomes.&#x0D; Conclusion: These emerging models of community healthcare need to be trialed and studied in the Australian context to evaluate whether they provide patients with NLTUC with a safe cost-effective option with similar outcomes to EDs. Implementation of these models can be examined further to determine their effectiveness in potentially reducing the increasing rate of presentation to EDs.&#x0D; Abbreviations: APCN – Advanced Primary Care Nurse; ECP – Emergency Care Practitioners; ED – Emergency Department; GP – General Practitioner; IPCC – Integrated Primary Care Centre; PP – Paramedic Practitioners; NLTUC – Non-Life Threatening Urgent Conditions; UCC – Urgent Care Clinics; UCCP – Urgent Care Community Pharmacy.

Gender inequalities in cardiovascular risk factor assessment and management in primary healthcare

ObjectivesTo quantify contemporary differences in cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factor assessment and management between women and men in Australian primary healthcare services.MethodsRecords of routinely attending patients were sampled from 60...