Foster, Andrew, De Costa, Alan, and Gunnarsson, Ronny (2017) Evaluation of general surgical outreach on Thursday Island. ANZ Journal of Surgery, 87 (s1). RS007. p. 108.

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Abstract

Purpose: Surgical outreach is generally accepted as an effective method to overcome many of the barriers to effective healthcare in rural areas. The Cairns Hospital conducts outreach to a number of communities in North Queensland, the most significant of which being Thursday Island (TI). There is however a paucity of data describing the effectiveness of these programs.

Methodology: A retrospective review of the General Surgical Outreach program spanning 03/2015 to 08/2016 was performed to identify factors associated with successful management in the outreach setting using Chi-square analysis. Markers for successful management included 1) whether the initial patient consultation was made within the nationally adopted maxi-mum time frame from referral, and 2) whether the patient was managed solely in the outreach setting.

Results: 89 cases were evaluated, 72% of which were Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Peoples. The most common presenting complaints were cholelithiasis (26%) followed by abdominal hernias (17%). 54% of patients had completed their consultation within maximum time frame. 63%were managed entirely on TI, 37% of which were surgically managed in the local operating theatre. No demographical or clinical factors were associated with successful management.

Conclusion: Surgical outreach on TI allows a significant proportion of patients to be managed locally, thereby breaking a barrier to accessing health care. This research has identified that it is common however for patients to be seen beyond the recommended time frame and for patients to have to travel regardless. Further research is needed to identify the patients that are most successfully managed in this setting in order to improve the effectiveness of the program.

Item ID:	52575
Item Type:	Article (Abstract)
ISSN:	1445-2197
Additional Information:	Presented at: Foster, Andrew, De Costa, Alan, and Gunnarsson, Ronny (2017) Evaluation of general surgical outreach on Thursday Island. In: ANZ Journal of Surgery (87), p. 108. From: Royal Australian College of Surgeons 2017 Annual Scientific Congress, 8-12 May 2017, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
Date Deposited:	18 Jun 2018 05:29
FoR Codes:	11 MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES > 1117 Public Health and Health Services > 111701 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health @ 50% 11 MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES > 1103 Clinical Sciences > 110323 Surgery @ 50%
SEO Codes:	92 HEALTH > 9202 Health and Support Services > 920207 Health Policy Evaluation @ 100%
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