Clinical encounters of Australian general practice registrars with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients

• Published in: Australian and New Zealand journal of public health Vol. 40; no. S1; pp. S75 - S80
• Main Authors: Thomson, Allison, Morgan, Simon, O'Mara, Peter, Tapley, Amanda, Henderson, Kim, van Driel, Mieke, Oldmeadow, Christopher, Ball, Jean, Scott, John, Spike, Neil, McArthur, Lawrie, Magin, Parker
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Australia Elsevier B.V 01.04.2016; Elsevier Limited; Elsevier
• Subjects: Aboriginal Australians; Adult; Aged; Australia - epidemiology; Cardiovascular disease; Cohort Studies; Cross-Sectional Studies; Cultural Competency; Curricula; Family physicians; Family Practice; Female; General Practice; Health Personnel; Health services; Humans; Indigenous; Internet; Logistic Models; Male; Medical Staff, Hospital; Mental health services; Middle Aged; Multivariate Analysis; Native peoples; Oceanic Ancestry Group; Patients; Prevalence; Primary care; Referral and Consultation - statistics & numerical data; Referral and Consultation - utilization; Social Class; Socioeconomic status; Socioeconomics; Training; Young Adult; Australia; Canberra Australian Capital Territory Australia; Torres Strait; PSE, New Zealand; ISEW, Australia, Queensland, Torres Strait; family practice; Indigenous; health services; general practice
• ISSN: 1326-0200; 1753-6405
• DOI: 10.1111/1753-6405.12412

General practice is central to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health care, and this area is a core element of Australian general practice (GP) training. We aimed to describe the prevalence, nature and associations of GP registrar encounters with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients. A cross‐sectional analysis from a cohort study of GP registrars’ clinical consultations 2010–2013. Registrars record demographic, clinical and educational details of consecutive patient encounters. Multivariable associations were tested with logistic regression. A total of 592 registrars contributed data from 69,188 consultations. Encounters with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients comprised 1.0% of consultations. Significant positive associations included younger patient age; new patient to the registrar; lower socioeconomic status of practice location; non‐urban practice setting; more problems managed; and follow‐up arranged. A greater proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients’ problems were psychological/social and a lesser proportion were cardiovascular. Consultation duration did not differ between the two groups GP registrars encounter Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients less than do established GPs. Our results suggest possible variability in registrar experience of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health. Our findings will inform training of a culturally and clinically competent workforce in this area.