Centre for Rural Health, Northern Rivers, School of Public Health, Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
BMC Pediatr. 2012 Feb 28;12:19. doi: 10.1186/1471-2431-12-19.
Australia is a wealthy developed country. However, there are significant disparities in health outcomes for Aboriginal infants compared with other Australian infants. Health outcomes tend to be worse for those living in remote areas. Little is known about the health service utilisation patterns of remote dwelling Aboriginal infants. This study describes health service utilisation patterns at the primary and referral level by remote dwelling Aboriginal infants from northern Australia.
Data on 413 infants were analysed. Following birth, one third of infants were admitted to the regional hospital neonatal nursery, primarily for preterm birth. Once home, most (98%) health service utilisation occurred at the remote primary health centre, infants presented to the centre about once a fortnight (mean 28 presentations per year, 95%CI 26.4-30.0). Half of the presentations were for new problems, most commonly for respiratory, skin and gastrointestinal symptoms. Remaining presentations were for reviews or routine health service provision. By one year of age 59% of infants were admitted to hospital at least once, the rate of hospitalisation per infant year was 1.1 (95%CI 0.9-1.2).
The hospitalisation rate is high and admissions commence early in life, visits to the remote primary health centre are frequent. Half of all presentations are for new problems. These findings have important implications for health service planning and delivery to remote dwelling Aboriginal families.
澳大利亚是一个富裕的发达国家。然而，与其他澳大利亚婴儿相比，土著婴儿的健康结果存在显著差异。生活在偏远地区的婴儿健康状况往往更差。对于居住在偏远地区的土著婴儿的卫生服务利用模式知之甚少。本研究描述了来自澳大利亚北部的居住在偏远地区的土著婴儿在初级和转介医疗机构的卫生服务利用模式。
分析了 413 名婴儿的数据。婴儿出生后，有三分之一的婴儿被送入地区医院新生儿病房，主要是因为早产。一旦回家，大多数（98%）的卫生服务利用发生在偏远的初级保健中心，婴儿每两周（平均每年 28 次就诊，95%CI 26.4-30.0）到中心就诊一次。一半的就诊是新出现的问题，最常见的是呼吸道、皮肤和胃肠道症状。其余的就诊是为了复查或常规提供卫生服务。一岁时，59%的婴儿至少住院一次，婴儿每年的住院率为 1.1（95%CI 0.9-1.2）。
住院率高，住院开始于生命早期，到偏远初级保健中心的就诊频繁。一半的就诊是新出现的问题。这些发现对为居住在偏远地区的土著家庭提供卫生服务规划和服务具有重要意义。
