scholarly journals Visual impairment among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients attending an Australian Indigenous primary health service: a cross-sectional study

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 287
Author(s):  
Prabha Lakhan ◽  
Uchechukwu L. Osuagwu ◽  
Deborah Askew ◽  
Noel Hayman ◽  
Geoffrey Spurling
Keyword(s):  
Visual Impairment ◽  
Torres Strait Islander ◽  
Care Delivery ◽  
Health Assessment ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Period Prevalence ◽  
Snellen Chart ◽  
Torres Strait

This cross-sectional study aimed to identify the period prevalence of visual impairment (VI) and blindness among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people attending an Indigenous urban primary healthcare service, eye care practitioner referrals for those with VI and any opportunities to improve care delivery. Visual acuity (VA) examinations, using a Snellen chart, are performed as part of routine annual health assessments offered to children and adults. This study included patients aged ≥5 years (n=1442) who had a health assessment conducted between 1 January 2015 and 31 December 2016 and provided consent for the use of their health assessment information for research. Of patients with available data, 2.4% (33/1374) experienced VI, defined as presenting VA worse than 6/12 to 6/60 in the better-seeing eye. VI was more common in those aged ≥60 years (14/136; 10.3%) and was significantly associated with increasing age (P<0.001). No patients experienced blindness, defined as presenting VA worse than 6/60 in the better-seeing eye. All patients with VI were aged ≥16 years. Nine (27%) of the 33 patients with VI in the better-seeing eye were referred to an optometrist or an ophthalmologist. The low period prevalence of VI and no blindness in this study are positive findings. The findings also indicate that routine VA testing of older adults, especially those aged ≥60 years, should be conducted to avoid missing those not having an annual health assessment.

scholarly journals Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander oral health and its impact among adults: A cross-sectional study

2016 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 84-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
PJ Schluter ◽  
DA Askew ◽  
GK Spurling ◽  
M Lee ◽  
N Hayman
Keyword(s):  
Oral Health ◽  
Torres Strait Islander ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Torres Strait

scholarly journals Peek Acuity vs Snellen Chart for visual impairment screening in leprosy: a cross-sectional study

2020 ◽  
Vol 91 (3) ◽  
pp. 262-273
Author(s):  
Yunia Irawati ◽  
Anna Puspitasari Bani ◽  
Krystle Gabriella ◽  
Anis Fitriana ◽  
Carennia Paramita ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Visual Impairment ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Snellen Chart

Knowing our patients: a cross-sectional study of adult patients attending an urban Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander primary healthcare service

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 449 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deborah A. Askew ◽  
Warren J. Jennings ◽  
Noel E. Hayman ◽  
Philip J. Schluter ◽  
Geoffrey K. Spurling
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Disease ◽  
Primary Healthcare ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Healthcare Service ◽  
Torres Strait Islander ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Electronic Health Record Data ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Torres Strait

Many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people live in urban areas, but epidemiological data about their health status and health needs are lacking. This knowledge is critical to informing and evaluating initiatives to improve service delivery and health outcomes. One potential data source is de-identified routinely collected clinical data. This cross-sectional study, conducted in an urban Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander primary healthcare service, involved randomly selecting a sample of 400 patients aged ≥15 years, and manually extracting electronic health record data. In the sample, 49% of patients were aged <35 years, 56% were female and 38% were employed. Overall, 56% of females and 47% of males aged 35–54 years had depression, 26% had experienced a bereavement within the last 12 months, and while 44% were alcohol abstainers, 35% were drinking at high-risk levels. The present study cannot demonstrate causal relationships between the observed high rates of chronic disease in older people and frequent experiences of bereavement and high levels of mental ill health in young- and middle-aged adults. However, a life course approach provides a framework to understand the interconnectedness of these results, and suggests that strategies to blunt the intergenerational burden of chronic disease need to address the social and emotional wellbeing of youth.

scholarly journals Urban Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children's exposure to stressful events: a cross‐sectional study

2013 ◽  
Vol 199 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deborah A Askew ◽  
Philip J Schluter ◽  
Geoffrey K P Spurling ◽  
Chelsea J R Bond ◽  
Alex D H Brown
Keyword(s):  
Torres Strait Islander ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Stressful Events ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Torres Strait ◽  
Children’S Exposure

scholarly journals Understanding health talk in an urban Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander primary healthcare service: a cross-sectional study

2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 335 ◽  
Author(s):  
Prabha Lakhan ◽  
Deborah Askew ◽  
Mark F. Harris ◽  
Corey Kirk ◽  
Noel Hayman
Keyword(s):  
Health Literacy ◽  
Primary Healthcare ◽  
Torres Strait Islander ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Visual Aids ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Adequate Health Literacy ◽  
Torres Strait

Health literacy is an important determinant of health status. This cross-sectional study aimed to describe the prevalence of adequate health literacy among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients or their carers including parents of sick children attending an urban primary healthcare clinic in Australia, and their experiences of communication with General Practitioners (GPs). A questionnaire, including questions from the Brief Health Literacy Screen (BHLS) and questions from the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS): Communication with Provider, was administered to 427 participants. Descriptive statistics, Pearson’s Chi-Square test and logistic regression analysis were used to describe the prevalence and risk factors associated with health literacy and any associations between the CAHPS questions and health literacy. In total, 72% of participants had adequate health literacy. An age of ≥50 years was independently associated with inadequate health literacy, and completion of secondary or post-secondary schooling was protective. Communication questions that identified areas for improvement included less use of incomprehensible medical words and more frequent use of visual aids. The study provides useful information on health literacy among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients, or their carers, and their experiences of communication with GPs. Further population-based research is required to investigate the effect of health literacy on health outcomes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients.

scholarly journals Processes of care and outcomes for homeless patients hospitalised for cardiovascular conditions at safety-net versus non-safety-net hospitals: cross-sectional study

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. e046959
Author(s):  
Atsushi Miyawaki ◽  
Dhruv Khullar ◽  
Yusuke Tsugawa
Keyword(s):  
Hospital Mortality ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Care Delivery ◽  
Bypass Graft ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Homeless Adults ◽  
To Receive

ObjectivesEvidence suggests that homeless patients experience worse quality of care and poorer health outcomes across a range of medical conditions. It remains unclear, however, whether differences in care delivery at safety-net versus non-safety-net hospitals explain these disparities. We aimed to investigate whether homeless versus non-homeless adults hospitalised for cardiovascular conditions (acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and stroke) experience differences in care delivery and health outcomes at safety-net versus non-safety-net hospitals.DesignCross-sectional study.SettingData including all hospital admissions in four states (Florida, Massachusetts, Maryland, and New York) in 2014.ParticipantsWe analysed 167 105 adults aged 18 years or older hospitalised for cardiovascular conditions (age mean=64.5 years; 75 361 (45.1%) women; 2123 (1.3%) homeless hospitalisations) discharged from 348 hospitals.Outcome measuresRisk-adjusted diagnostic and therapeutic procedure and in-hospital mortality, after adjusting for patient characteristics and state and quarter fixed effects.ResultsAt safety-net hospitals, homeless adults hospitalised for AMI were less likely to receive coronary angiogram (adjusted OR (aOR), 0.42; 95% CI, 0.36 to 0.50; p<0.001), percutaneous coronary intervention (aOR, 0.52; 95% CI, 0.44 to 0.62; p<0.001) and coronary artery bypass graft (aOR, 0.43; 95% CI, 0.26 to 0.71; p<0.01) compared with non-homeless adults. Homeless patients treated for strokes at safety-net hospitals were less likely to receive cerebral arteriography (aOR, 0.23; 95% CI, 0.16 to 0.34; p<0.001), but were as likely to receive thrombolysis therapy. At non-safety-net hospitals, we found no evidence that the probability of receiving these procedures differed between homeless and non-homeless adults hospitalised for AMI or stroke. Finally, there were no differences in in-hospital mortality rates for homeless versus non-homeless patients at either safety-net or non-safety-net hospitals.ConclusionDisparities in receipt of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures for homeless patients with cardiovascular conditions were observed only at safety-net hospitals. However, we found no evidence that these differences influenced in-hospital mortality markedly.

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