The Australian journal of rural health
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Aust J Rural Health · Oct 2013
ReviewWhat small rural emergency departments do: a systematic review of observational studies.
Small rural emergency facilities are an important part of emergency care in many countries. We performed a systematic review of observational studies to determine what is known about the patients these small rural emergency facilities treat, what types of interventions they undertake and how well they perform. ⋯ There is only enough evidence in the literature to make the most basic inferences about what small rural emergency departments do. To allow evidence-based improvement, descriptive studies must employ measures and methods validated in the wider emergency medicine literature, and other research techniques should be considered.
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Aust J Rural Health · Aug 2013
Multicenter StudyThey've given me that many tablets, I'm bushed. I don't know where I'm going: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples' experiences with medicines.
To explore Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients' experiences with medicines and the barriers and facilitators to their effective use of medicines. ⋯ Many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients take multiple medicines and often find managing their medicines difficult and worrying. These patients require more comprehensive information, verbal and written, and more effective communications from doctors and pharmacists about medication indications, mechanisms, side effects, drug interactions and duration of treatment. Pharmacists have an opportunity to play a greater role in improving understanding of medicines and treatment choices.
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Aust J Rural Health · Aug 2013
Recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) utilisation by rural clinicians in acute ischaemic stroke: an audit of current practice and clinical outcomes.
This audit of activity reports on current rates of recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) use within specialised stroke care units in rural New South Wales (NSW). It measures stroke onset-to-treatment time and morbidity outcomes for patients treated with rt-PA and aims to establish the safety and effectiveness of rt-PA use in rural NSW. ⋯ Recombinant tissue plasminogen activator can be delivered in rural Australian hospitals in a timely manner within recommended implementation guidelines. Acute stroke thrombolytic services in rural Australian facilities had comparable outcomes to metropolitan facilities. Small numbers of thrombolysed patients prevented a validation study of the well-defined outcome benefits from rt-PA. The need for ongoing data collection in regional settings is supported.
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Aust J Rural Health · Apr 2013
Improving eye care for Indigenous Australians in primary health care settings.
This paper aims to assess the barriers and solutions to the delivery of eye care in primary care settings and solutions to improve the use of comprehensive eye care among Indigenous Australians. ⋯ Primary health care services have an important role in Indigenous eye health. There is a critical role for primary care in the coordination of the patient journey and cooperating with other services to improve access to comprehensive eye care. Through improved provision of primary eye care, monitoring of Indigenous eye health indicators and supporting patients to access eye care, it is possible to close the gap for vision.
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Aust J Rural Health · Apr 2013
Training general practitioners in remote Western Australia in a method of screening and brief intervention for harmful alcohol use: a pilot study.
High levels of alcohol-related harm are a salient feature of many rural communities in Australia. General practitioners (GPs) are uniquely placed to identify and treat patients with harmful alcohol use in remote settings, yet corresponding opportunities for education in effective brief psychological interventions for harmful alcohol use are limited. This study piloted a training model for alcohol screening and brief intervention for GPs working in Kalgoorlie-Boulder, a remote Western Australian community facing significant alcohol-related problems. ⋯ Preliminary findings suggest that among participating GPs, subsequent compliance with identification and management of harmful alcohol use was improved. Further work examining methods to improve rural and remote GP participation in alcohol-related harm prevention training is required, as the potential impact on communities with disproportionately high alcohol-related difficulties is significant.