The utilisation of public and private health care among Australian women with diabetes: Findings from the 45 and Up Study.

The utilisation of public and private health care among Australian women with diabetes: Findings from the 45 and Up Study.

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AimTo describe the prevalence of health care utilisation and out-of-pocket expenditure associated with the management of diabetes among Australian women aged 45 years and older.DesignCross-sectional survey Lubricants design.MethodsThe questionnaire was administered to 392 women (a cohort of the 45 and Up Study) reporting a diagnosis of diabetes between August and November 2016.It asked about the use of conventional medicine, complementary medicine (CM) and self-prescribed treatments for diabetes and associated out-of-pocket spending.

ResultsMost women (88.3%; n = 346) consulted at least one health care practitioner in the previous 12 months for their diabetes; 84.6% (n = 332) consulted a doctor, 44.4% (n = 174) consulted an allied health practitioner, and 20.

4% (n = 80) consulted a CM practitioner.On average, the combined annual out-of-pocket health care expenditure was AU$492.6 per woman, which extrapolated to approximately AU$252 million per annum.Of this total figure, approximately AU$70 million was spent on CM per annum.

ConclusionsWomen with diabetes use a diverse range of health services and incur significant out-of-pocket expense to manage their health.The degree to which the health care services women received were coordinated, or addressed their needs and preferences, warrants further Non-Toy exploration.Limitations of this study include the use of self-report and inability to generalise findings to other populations.