Management of Episodes of Incapacity by Families in Rural and Remote Queensland

Abstract

People in rural and remote areas have relatively poor health, so limited availability of and accessibility to doctors are major health issues. This cross-sectional study was conducted in rural and remote areas of Central Queensland. Using telephone interviews, the study described the use of formal and informal health services by families in response to episodes of incapacity. An episode of incapacity was defined as inability to conduct ordinary activities for at least half a day due to new or continued illness. Of the 394 households contacted, 270 (68.5%) provided information about 698 household members, of whom 269 (38.5%) reported at least one episode of incapacity in the previous 12 months. The respondents could report more than one type of management of an illness episode. The management of the most recent episode in each member included 68% visiting doctors and 8.2% using services at an accident and emergency unit. Persons living in "least" medically resourced areas were more likely than persons in relatively "high" and "moderate" areas to consult doctors, but were also more likely to first consult books and delay their visits. They also consulted by telephone three times more frequently. Only 7% consulted other health practitioners including nurses and chemists, suggesting that these health practitioners were not used by families in rural and remote areas during episodes of incapacity. Increasing the availability and accessibility of medical care resources in rural and remote areas, using alternative delivery methods such as telemedicine, may meet the health needs of rural populations.

Factor analysis of self-treatment in diabetes mellitus: a cross-sectional study

“…The comparable factors can be seen in our study. Like us, Jirojwong also found that compared to men, women tend more to use home remedies and show more self-treatment behaviors [15]. The women had significantly lower education compared to men, which can explain the difference.…”

“…However, we should consider that self-treatment is a broad concept, and a process which can be divided into three-stages of self-diagnosis, self-treatment and self-monitoring [14]. The patients' treatment behaviors can be ranged from seeking care from doctors as outpatients, waiting to see the progress of symptoms, resting or consulting books, using home remedies to self-treatments [15]. …”

“…The women had significantly lower education compared to men, which can explain the difference. But studies show that there are basic differences between men and women in treatment-seeking behaviors and self-treatment [15,12,19,5]. …”

The urban-rural divide in complementary and alternative medicine use: a longitudinal study of 10,638 women

“…The study defined CAM use as consultation with an alternative health practitioner and did not include the use of self-prescribed CAM medications or self-directed CAM practices. Previous research has identified high prevalence of such CAM self-care [5,13,19] and this definition may have led to the under-reporting of CAM use in the study. This limitation is the result of our study employing a secondary analysis of a larger longitudinal study that was not specifically designed to examine CAM use.…”

“…There is evidence that residents in rural and remote regions also employ a variety of treatments to complement their conventional care and to manage chronic health problems like diabetes and arthritis [5-13]. Previous surveys on patients of rural community centers or health clinics suggest prevalence rates for CAM use ranging from between 39% and 87% [6-12].…”