Preprint
Indigenous People’s Use of a Primary Urgent Care Centre at a GP-Led Primary Healthcare Service in Regional Queensland in 2020–2021
Preprints.org, Vol.28 April 2025
MDPI AG
2025
Abstract
To explore Indigenous patients’ use of a primary urgent care centre (PUCC) at a co-located general medical practitioner (GP)-led primary healthcare service (GP service) in regional Queensland, Australia, secondary data analysis was conducted using the 65,420 deidentified PUCC patient from 01 July 2020 to 30 June 2021, including Indigenous status. A Mann-Whitney U test and Chi-Square test were used to analyse patients’ arrival times, reasons to attend PUCC, and frequency of attendance. The proportion of Indigenous patients from the communities attending the PUCC was 9.8% while the proportion of Indigenous people in general population was only 3.8%. Indigenous patients were more likely to be new patients to the GP service (13.6% never visited the GP service prior PUCC) compared to non-Indigenous (9.6%) patients. The peak hours of attendance for Indigenous people were 11am-12pm and 2pm-3pm while it was 10am-12pm for non-Indigenous patients. The most common reason for attending PUCC for both patient groups was superficial injuries. The second most common reason was digestive issues for Indigenous patients and musculoskeletal issues for non-Indigenous patients. These findings provide insights for enhancing future PUCC models to better meet the community needs especially the underserved Indigenous population in regional areas.
Details
- Title
- Indigenous People’s Use of a Primary Urgent Care Centre at a GP-Led Primary Healthcare Service in Regional Queensland in 2020–2021
- Authors
- Shauna Fjaagesund - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of HealthWenwen Zang - The University of QueenslandRaymond Gadd - Health Hub MorayfieldJayley Hart - Health Hub MorayfieldPiotr Swierkowski - Health Hub MorayfieldAndrew Ladhams - Health Hub MorayfieldChristopher Hicks - Health Hub MorayfieldSylvia Andrew-Starkey - Health Hub MorayfieldEvan Jones - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of HealthAlexandru Coman - Iuliu Hațieganu University of Medicine and PharmacyGavin Beccaria - University of Southern QueenslandFlorin Oprescu - University of the Sunshine CoastXiang-Yu Hou (Corresponding Author) - University of Southern Queensland
- Publication details
- Preprints.org, Vol.28 April 2025
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Date published
- 2025
- DOI
- 10.20944/preprints202504.2294.v1
- ISSN
- 2310-287X
- Copyright note
- This open access article is published under a Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 license, which permit the free download, distribution, and reuse, provided that the author and preprint are cited in any reuse.
- Data Availability
- Our research data, de-identifiable patient data, is available when requested.
- Grant note
- This project was funded from the Health Hub Morayfield’s 2022 Research Education and Engagement Committee’s seed grant award.
- Organisation Unit
- School of Business and Creative Industries; Centre for International Development, Social Entrepreneurship and Leadership; Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic); Thompson Institute; Engage Research Lab; School of Health - Paramedicine; School of Health - Public Health
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991134405302621
- Output Type
- Preprint
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