Shephard Mark, O'Brien Christopher, Burgoyne Anthony, Croft Jody, Garlett Trevor, Barancek Kristina, Halls Heather, McAteer Bridgit, Motta Lara, Shephard Anne
Flinders University International Centre for Point-of-Care Testing, Sturt Campus, West Wing, Level 3, Flinders University, Bedford Park, SA 5042, Australia.
Illawarra Aboriginal Medical Service, 150 Church Street, Wollongong, NSW 2500, Australia.
Aust J Prim Health. 2015 Sep 2;22(4):368-374. doi: 10.1071/PY15050. Print 2016.
In Australia, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have approximately three-fold higher rates of diabetes than non-Indigenous Australians. Point-of-care testing, where pathology tests are conducted close to the patient, with results available during the patient consultation, can potentially deliver several benefits for both the Indigenous client and the health professional team involved in their care. Currently, point-of-care testing for diabetes management is being conducted in over 180 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Medical Services as part of a national program called Quality Assurance for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Medical Services (QAAMS). The cultural safety of the Program was reviewed by sourcing the views of the QAAMS Indigenous Leaders Team in a focus group setting and by surveying the point-of-care testing operators enrolled in QAAMS, via an electronic questionnaire. The current study confirms that QAAMS remains a culturally safe program that fills a permanent and positive niche within the Indigenous health sector. The study demonstrates that QAAMS provides a convenient and accessible 'one-stop' pathology service for Indigenous clients with diabetes and empowers Aboriginal Health Workers to have a direct role in the care of their diabetes clients.
在澳大利亚，原住民和托雷斯海峡岛民患糖尿病的几率大约是非原住民澳大利亚人的三倍。即时检验是指在靠近患者的地方进行病理检测，并在患者就诊期间得出结果，这可能会给原住民患者以及参与其护理的医疗专业团队带来诸多益处。目前，作为一项名为“原住民和托雷斯海峡岛民医疗服务质量保证”（QAAMS）的全国性项目的一部分，超过180家原住民和托雷斯海峡岛民医疗服务机构正在开展糖尿病管理的即时检验。通过在焦点小组中征求QAAMS原住民领导团队的意见，并通过电子问卷对参与QAAMS的即时检验操作人员进行调查，对该项目的文化安全性进行了评估。当前的研究证实，QAAMS仍然是一个具有文化安全性的项目，在原住民卫生领域占据着永久且积极的位置。该研究表明，QAAMS为患有糖尿病的原住民患者提供了便捷、可及的“一站式”病理服务，并使原住民卫生工作者能够在其糖尿病患者的护理中发挥直接作用。
