Projects per year
Abstract
Objective: To indicate levels of monitoring of type 2 diabetes in rural and regional Australia by examining patterns of glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) and blood lipid testing. Design and Setting: Retrospective analysis of pathology services data from twenty regional and rural towns in eastern Australia over 24 months. Participants: Of 13 105 individuals who had either a single HbA1c result ≥7.0% (53 mmol mol−1); or two or more HbA1c tests within the study period. Main outcome measures: Frequency of testing of HbA1c and blood lipids (cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and triglycerides) were compared with guideline recommendations. Results: About 58.3% of patients did not have the recommended 6-monthly HbA1c tests and 30.6% did not have annual lipid testing. For those who did not receive tests at the recommended interval, the mean between-test interval was 10.5 months (95% CI = 7.5–13.5) rather than 6 months for HbA1c testing; and 15.7 (95% CI = 13.3–18.1) months rather than annually for blood lipids. For those with at least one out-of-range test result, 77% of patients failed to receive a follow-up HbA1c test and 86.5% failed to receive a follow-up blood lipid test within the recommended 3 months. Patients less than 50 years of age, living in a more remote area and with poor diabetes control were less likely to have testing at the recommended intervals (P < 0.0001). Conclusions: Although poor diabetes testing is not limited to rural areas, more intensive diabetes monitoring is likely to be needed for patients living in non-metropolitan areas, particularly for some subgroups.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 371-377 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Australian Journal of Rural Health |
Volume | 24 |
Issue number | 6 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Dec 2016 |
Keywords
- diabetes mellitus
- HbA1c
- patient care management
- rural health
- vulnerable populations
Projects
- 1 Finished
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Effectiveness of continuing medical eduation & feed back in altering diabetes outcomes at a population level. A RCT
Piterman, L. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Paul, C. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Gibberd, R. (Chief Investigator (CI)) & Shaw, J. (Chief Investigator (CI))
National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) (Australia)
1/01/09 → 31/12/16
Project: Research