Self‐rated oral and general health among Aboriginal adults in regional South Australia

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eleanor J Parker ◽  
Gloria Mejia ◽  
A John Spencer ◽  
Kaye F Roberts‐Thomson ◽  
Dandara Haag ◽  
...  
2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dominic Keuskamp ◽  
Najith Amarasena ◽  
Madhan Balasubramanian ◽  
David S. Brennan

Annual health assessments by general practices for community-dwelling people aged 75 years and over are important for the early intervention and monitoring of chronic health conditions, including oral disease. Uptake of the health assessment to date has been poor, and little is known of the general and oral health profile of patients. Older patients attending health assessments at general practices in South Australia were sampled for this study. Data on demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, and patients’ general and oral health, were collected by mailed questionnaire from 459 respondents. By comparison with national estimates, patients attending health assessments fared worse in many of the measures, such as self-rated general health, quality of life and the prevalence of most chronic conditions, as well as their socioeconomic circumstances. Also identified were a high degree of nutritional risk and clear need for oral health treatment, with poor self-rated oral health being three-fold higher than the national age-eligible population. Patients attending health assessments would likely benefit from nutritional screening (by a validated tool) and specific assessment of their oral health and dentition, supported by appropriate referral or intervention.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Madhan Balasubramanian ◽  
Dominic Keuskamp ◽  
Najith Amarasena ◽  
David Brennan

Abstract Background: As the proportion and number of older people in Australia continue to grow, innovative means to tackle primary care and prevention are necessary to combat the individual, social and economic challenges of non-communicable diseases.Objective: To assess risk factors (or predictors) for oral and general health outcomes and quality of life of older people (75+ yrs.) attending general practice (GP) clinics in South Australia.Methods: Data were collected from older people attending 48 GP clinics in metropolitan South Australia. Age, sex, education, living arrangement, material standards, chronic conditions and nutrition were assessed as risk factors. Global self-rated oral and general health and quality of life (OHIP Severity and EQ-5D Utility) were included as outcome measures.Results: A total of 459 participants completed the study; response rate was 78%. In the adjusted models, high satisfaction with material standards and good nutritional health were positively associated with all four oral and general health measures. Sex (β=-0.07), age (β=-0.09) and number of chronic conditions (β=-0.13) were negatively associated with EQ-5D, while living arrangement (β=0.06) was positively associated. Further, education level (PR:0.78), living arrangement (PR:0.75) and chronic conditions (PR:1.54) were significantly associated with self-rated general health.Conclusion: Satisfaction with material standards and nutritional risk were consistent predictors for oral and general health outcomes and quality of life of older people visiting GP clinics. Primary care teams involving general practitioners, nurses and allied health practitioners are well poised to assess risk factors for older people, and work alongside the dental team.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiangqun Ju ◽  
Joanne Hedges ◽  
Gail Garvey ◽  
Megan Smith ◽  
Karen Canfell ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Oral diseases negatively impact general health, affecting physical, psychological, social and emotional wellbeing, and ability to give back to community. The relationship between poor oral health, and general health and wellbeing among Indigenous Australians has not been documented. Working in partnership with seven Indigenous communities in South Australia, this study aimed to: 1) quantify self-rated oral health and health-related quality of life and; 2) investigate associations between poor self-rated oral health and general health among Indigenous Australian adults. Methods Data was collected from a large convenience sample of Indigenous Australians aged 18+ years from Feb 2018 to Jan 2019. General health-related quality of life, as the main outcome variable, was measured by calculating disutility scores with the five individual EQ-5D dimensions (EuroQol instrument: EQ-5D-5L), then classified as ‘no problem’ and ‘at least one problem’. Self-reported oral health, as the main explanatory, was dichotomised into ‘fair or poor’ and ‘excellent, very good or good’. Multivariable log-Poisson regression models were used to estimate associations between poor self-rated oral health and general health by calculating mean rate ratios (MRR) for disutility scores and prevalence ratios (PR) for individual dimensions, after adjusting for social-demographic characteristics and health-related behaviours. Results Data were available for 1011 Indigenous South Australian adults. The prevalence of ‘fair or poor’ self-rated oral health was 33.5%. The mean utility score was 0.82 (95% CI: 0.81–0.83). Compared with those rating their oral health as ‘excellent or very good or good’, those who rated their oral health as ‘fair or poor’ had a mean disutility score that was 1.6 (95% CI: 1.1–2.2) times higher, and the prevalence of at least one problem ranged from 90 to 160% higher for individual EQ-5D dimensions. Conclusions Fair or poor self-rated oral health among Indigenous persons in South Australia was associated with poor general health as measured by EQ-5D-5L disutility. The relationship was especially evident with respect to mobility, self-care and anxiety/depression. The findings emphasise the importance of oral health as predictors of general health among Indigenous Australians.


2003 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maureen Bell

Objective: To give an overview of the development of psychiatric services in South Australia from the 1870s to the 1970s, to describe some of the milestones in their progress, and to demonstrate that many of the guiding principles of contemporary services can be found to have their roots in this period. Conclusions: Psychiatric services in South Australia progressed in fits and starts, but not for want of commitment and concern by those responsible for the care of the mentally ill. While in broad outline the development of services followed the course taken in other states, it is clear that the individual efforts of staff of the hospitals and a number of members of the public played an important role in improving the conditions and treatment of those with a mental illness, and laying the foundations for the movement of psychiatric services from their early isolationist position into the general health arena.


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