Demography and Ageing Unit, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, 207 Bouverie Street, Carlton, Vic. 3053, Australia; and Corresponding author. Email:
National Ageing Research Institute, 34-54 Poplar Road, Parkville, Vic. 3052, Australia.
Aust J Prim Health. 2021 Jun;27(3):221-227. doi: 10.1071/PY20162.
Carers play an important role in assisting older care recipients with their daily lives and attending to their health care. Yet research has largely overlooked the barriers to health care that carers of older Australians themselves experience. This study finds that, among those attempting to access care, approximately 31.2% of carers of older Australians reported a barrier to health care, with one-third of this group reporting barriers at many points in the healthcare system. Barriers to care were considerable for those attempting to access dental, GP and medical specialist services (27.8%, 18.3% and 15.2% respectively), but lower for accessing hospital services (8.6%). People living with a disability or those in high carer distress had a minimum threefold increase in the odds of experiencing a barrier to care, with odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) of 3.35 (2.10-5.36) and 3.37 (2.33-4.88) respectively. Carers of older Australians noted cost as an important barrier to care, but between 20% and 40% cited being too busy or not having enough time to access dental, GP and medical specialist services (21%, 39% and 26% respectively). Addressing the barriers to health care reported by carers is critical not only to their own health and well-being, but also to that of care recipients.
照顾者在帮助老年护理接受者日常生活和照顾他们的医疗保健方面发挥着重要作用。然而，研究在很大程度上忽视了澳大利亚老年照顾者自己在医疗保健方面面临的障碍。这项研究发现，在试图获得护理的人中，约有 31.2%的澳大利亚老年照顾者报告说存在医疗保健障碍，其中三分之一的人在医疗保健系统的许多方面都存在障碍。试图获得牙科、全科医生和医学专家服务的人面临着相当大的护理障碍（分别为 27.8%、18.3%和 15.2%），但寻求医院服务的人面临的障碍较低（8.6%）。有残疾或照顾者压力较大的人在寻求护理方面遇到障碍的可能性至少增加了三倍，其优势比（95%置信区间）分别为 3.35（2.10-5.36）和 3.37（2.33-4.88）。澳大利亚老年照顾者将费用视为护理障碍的一个重要因素，但有 20%至 40%的人表示，他们因太忙或没有足够的时间而无法获得牙科、全科医生和医学专家服务（分别为 21%、39%和 26%）。解决照顾者报告的医疗保健障碍不仅对他们自己的健康和福祉至关重要，对护理接受者的健康和福祉也至关重要。
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