Utilisation of general practitioner services and achievement of guideline targets by people with diabetes who joined a peer-support program in Victoria, Australia
Lal B. Rawal A B F , Rory Wolfe A , Catherine Joyce A , Michaela Riddell A , James A. Dunbar C , Hang Li D and Brian Oldenburg A E
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, 99 Commercial Road, Prahran, Melbourne, Vic. 3004, Australia.
B Centre for Equity and Health Systems, icddr,b and BRAC Institute of Global Health, BRAC University, 68, Shahid Tajuddin Ahmed Sharani, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh.
C Department of Rural Health, Flinders University and Deakin University, PO Box 423, Warrnambool, Vic. 3280, Australia.
D Institute of Chronic Disease Control, Beijing Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, 16# Hepingli Middle Street, Dongcheng District, Beijing 100013, China.
E Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, 207 Bouverie Street, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Vic. 3010, Australia.
F Corresponding author. Email: lbrawal@gmail.com
Australian Journal of Primary Health 21(2) 205-213 https://doi.org/10.1071/PY13178
Submitted: 6 October 2013 Accepted: 21 January 2014 Published: 12 March 2014
Abstract
This paper describes the use of general practitioner (GP) services and achievement of guideline targets by 285 adults with type 2 diabetes in urban and regional areas of Victoria, Australia. Anthropometric and biomedical measures and responses to a self-administered questionnaire were collected. Findings indicate that almost all participants had visited a GP and had had their hypoglycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) measured in the past 6 months; less than one-third had visited a practice nurse. Fifty per cent achieved a HbA1c target of ≤7.0%; 40%, a total cholesterol ≤4.00 mmol/L; 39%, BP Systolic ≤130 mmHg; 51%, BP Diastolic ≤80 mmHg; 15%, body mass index ≤25 kg/m2; and 34% reported a moderately intense level of physical activity, that is, ≥30 min, 5 days a week. However, 39% of individuals achieved at least two targets and 18% achieved at least three of these guideline targets. Regional participants were more likely to report having a management plan and having visited a practice nurse, but they were less likely to have visited other health professionals. Therefore, a more sustained effort that also includes collaborative care approaches is required to improve the management of diabetes in Australia.
Additional keywords: diabetes management, regional, urban.
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