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Published (Version of record)CC BY V4.0, Open
Journal article
The determinants of healthcare utilisation in regional, rural and remote South Australia: A cross-sectional study
Health & Social Care in the Community, Vol.30, pp.e4850-e4863
30/06/2022
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Abstract
Accessibility of health services outside metropolitan centres in Australia is sub- optimal. Recognising the barriers and enablers of healthcare access in rural, remote and regional settings is necessary to improving health service access in these disadvantaged populations. Accordingly, this study aimed to examine the determinants of healthcare use in rural, remote and regional South Australia. Cross-sectional survey data were collected from adults living outside metropolitan Adelaide in South Australia between April 2017 and March 2018. Using a multi- modal recruitment campaign, eligible adults were invited to complete the 44-item consumer utilisation, expectations and experiences of healthcare instrument. Independent predictors of health service utilisation (dependent variable) were determined using negative binomial regression. The questionnaire was completed by 3926 predominantly female (52.5%) adults aged ≥50 years (56.7%), residing in regional South Australia (84.5%). Fifteen independent variables were significantly associated with health service utilisation using univariate analyses. Using negative binomial regression analysis, two predisposing factors (sex, remoteness), three enabling factors (income, health literacy, employment), two need factors (health rating, multi morbidity) and two personal health practices (alcohol, diet) were independently and significantly associated with healthcare use. Female sex (OR = 1.436, p< 0.001), good/excellent health rating (OR = 0.589, p< 0.001) and high multi morbidity (OR= 1.408, p< 0.001) were the strongest predictors of health service use. These findings will help inform the development of targeted health pro-motion and service engagement strategies for regional populations, which in addition to addressing workforce shortages, may help address inequity in health outcomes, particularly for groups engaging with regional healthcare services infrequently.
Details
- Title
- The determinants of healthcare utilisation in regional, rural and remote South Australia: A cross-sectional study
- Creators
- Matthew J LeachKate GunnKuda Muyambi
- Publication Details
- Health & Social Care in the Community, Vol.30, pp.e4850-e4863
- Comment
- The authors wish to thank the residents of regional South Australia who kindly participated in the study and the community organisations and groups that supported the research. The authors also acknowledge the extraordinary support provided by staff at the Department of Rural Health, University of South Australia, who assisted with participant recruitment and survey dissemination. Open access publishing facilitated by Southern Cross University, as part of the Wiley - Southern Cross University agreement via the Council of Australian University Librarians.
- Publisher
- Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
- Grant note
- This study was supported by infrastructure provided by the Department of Rural Health, University of South Australia.
- Identifiers
- 991013033681202368
- Copyright
- © 2022 The Authors. Health and Social Care in the Community published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
- Academic Unit
- National Centre for Naturopathic Medicine
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article