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Measuring access to primary healthcare services after stroke: A spatial analytic approach

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 May 2019

Emma Finch ,
Yan Liu ,
Michele Foster ,
Tegan Cruwys ,
Jennifer Fleming ,
Linda Worrall ,
Ian Williams ,
Darshan Shah ,
Philip Aitken  and
Jonathan Corcoran
Emma Finch*
Affiliation:
School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, The University of Queensland, AustraliaandSpeech Pathology Department, Princess Alexandra Hospital, Woolloongabba, QLD, Australia
Yan Liu
Affiliation:
School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia Campus, QLD, Australia
Michele Foster
Affiliation:
Hopkins Centre, Menzies Health Institute Queensland, Griffith University and Division of Rehabilitation, Metro South Health, 199 Ipswich Road, Woolloongabba, QLD, Queensland
Tegan Cruwys
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia Campus, QLD, Australia
Jennifer Fleming
Affiliation:
School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia Campus, QLD, Australia
Linda Worrall
Affiliation:
School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia Campus, QLD, Australia
Ian Williams
Affiliation:
Camp Hill Healthcare and Chair of the Brisbane South Primary Health Network, Camp Hill, Australia
Darshan Shah
Affiliation:
Princess Alexandra Hospital, Woolloongabba, QLD, Australia
Philip Aitken
Affiliation:
Princess Alexandra Hospital, Woolloongabba, QLD, Australia
Jonathan Corcoran
Affiliation:
Queensland Centre for Population Research, The University of Queensland, St Lucia Campus, QLD, Australia
*
*Corresponding author. Email: e.finch@uq.edu.au
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Abstract

Objective:

To determine accessibility of the primary healthcare system for patients with stroke recently discharged from hospital.

Methods:

This project mapped retrospective patient location data and the location of primary healthcare services in the same region. Patient location data were from all patients with stroke (N = 1595: January 2011–January 2017) discharged from one metropolitan hospital to the local Primary Health Network. Geographic Information System technology was used to map the patient discharge locations and the spatial distribution of primary healthcare services (general practitioner, pharmacy, allied health) across the region. Road network data were used to measure the level of access from each patient’s discharge location to the services.

Results:

Access to primary healthcare services was variable. Areas with larger proportions of patients with stroke did not necessarily have good service access. With an increase in travel time, the number of services accessible to patients also increased. However, the spatial variation of access to services remained largely unchanged.

Conclusion:

Access to primary healthcare services for patients with stroke varies spatially, with a trend towards relatively low levels of accessibility for many patients. There is an urgent need for future planning to consider geographical access to primary healthcare services for patients with stroke.

Keywords

Strokeprimary healthcaregeographic mappingaccessservice planning
Type
Articles
Information
Brain Impairment , Volume 20 , Issue 3 , December 2019 , pp. 240 - 250
Copyright
© Australasian Society for the Study of Brain Impairment 2019 

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