Australian health review : a publication of the Australian Hospital Association
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Objectives The aims of this study were to: (1) examine institutional racism's role in creating health outcome discrepancies for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples; and (2) assess the management of institutional racism in an Australian hospital and health service (HHS). Methods A literature review informed consideration of institutional racism and the health outcome disparities it produces. Publicly available information, provided by an Australian HHS, was used to assess change in an Australian HHS in five key areas of institutional racism: inclusion in governance, policy implementation, service delivery, employment and financial accountability. ⋯ What does this paper add? This study on institutional racism has useful propositions for healthcare organisations experiencing disparities in outcomes between racial groups. What are the implications for practitioners? The deleterious effects of institutional racism occur regardless of practitioner capability. The role for practitioners in ameliorating institutional racism is to recognise the key indicator of poorer health outcomes, and to then seek change within their hospital or healthcare organisation.
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Many people experience legal issues that affect their health, but do not seek legal help, particularly if they are disadvantaged in some way. This may be because they do not recognise they have a legal problem, they are unwilling or unable to address it, or they do not know how to go about dealing with it. Most people seek health care at some point, so linking health and legal services may help promote access to justice. ⋯ Fully integrated health justice partnerships are a model where the law/health partnership is collaborative at all levels of the organisation. This perspective piece argues that the model is particularly suitable for health services that have clients with needs in a specific area of law, and should be carefully targeted to where it is most needed. Factors that contribute to successful implementation of the model are described.
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Objective One aim of Australia's Equally Well National Consensus Statement is to improve monitoring of the physical health of people with mental health conditions, which includes measures of accessibility and people's experiences of physical health care services. The present analysis contributes to this aim by using population survey data to evaluate whether, and in what domains, Australians with a mental health condition experience barriers in accessing care when compared with Australians without a mental health condition. Methods The 2016 Commonwealth Fund International Health Policy Survey includes a sample of 5248 Australian adults. ⋯ The analysis offers quantitative evidence of 'red flag areas' where people with mental health conditions are significantly more likely to experience barriers to access to care. What are the implications for practitioners? Systematic attention across the health system to making care more approachable and accessible for people with mental health conditions is needed. Practitioners may be engaged to discuss possible interventions to improve access disparities for people with mental health conditions.
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Evidence suggests improved outcomes for patients requiring emergency admission to hospital are associated with improved emergency department (ED) efficiency and lower transit times. Factors preventing timely transfers of emergency patients to in-patient beds across the ED-in-patient interface are major causes for ED crowding, for which several remedial strategies are possible, including parallel processing of probable admissions, direct-to-ward admissions and single-point medical registrars for receiving and processing all referrals directed at specific speciality units. ⋯ The ideal 4-h compliance rate for all ED presentations is around 80%, based on a large retrospective study of more than 18million presentations to EDs of 59 Australian hospitals over 4 years, which demonstrated a highly significant linear reduction in risk-adjusted in-patient mortality for admitted patients as the compliance rate for all patients rose to 83%, but was not confirmed beyond this rate. Closely monitoring patient outcomes for emergency admissions in addition to compliance with time-based access targets is strongly recommended in ensuring reforms aimed at decongesting EDs do not compromise the quality and safety of patient care.
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Objective Understanding the effect of professional attitude on professional behaviour is conducive to the development of targeted measures to promote professionalism. The aim of the present study was to explore the effect of professional attitude on professional behaviour. Methods Using a self-reported questionnaire, 212 physicians were surveyed using quota sampling in six tertiary hospitals in Nanchang City. ⋯ The results may help establish fundamental problems in the professionalism of physicians and in measures to promote professional behaviour not only in China, but also in other countries. What are the implications for practitioners? The implications for hospital managers and policy makers are that improving professional attitude is useful but insufficient to promote medical professionalism. A management system conducive to the conversion of professional attitude to professional behaviour should be established.