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candlesandfish t1_ix6kgsk wrote

Reply to comment by ihateusednames in Indigenous people are less likely to survive the year after an ICU admission. 12 months after being admitted to intensive care, an Indigenous person is more likely to have died than a non-Indigenous person, according to Australian research. by MistWeaver80

A bit of all of those, and distance. Aboriginal communities tend to be a long way from the cities where the hospitals are, and it makes follow up hard. This is improving with things like dialysis clinics in the communities or a hub local to a few communities, because kidney disease is very prevalent in the indigenous population.

It’s also likely that they miss out on preventative medicine before they end up in the ICU too, again due to distance/mistrust so the condition is likely to be more severe than if it was caught earlier.

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ihateusednames t1_ix78hme wrote

Great bit about the distance, so lack of infrastructure as well. I wasn't satisfied with what I had suggested so I do appreciate your thoughts into this.

Found a pretty good journal article about it pretty easily they seem to think it's about distance as well https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/1471-2458-12-281

Aboriginal and non-aboriginal people had similar 365-day rates going to the same long-distance hospitals. Conclusion: They need better hospitals.

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sonyka t1_ix7m3gj wrote

Exactly, all signs to point to indigenous communities needing more local healthcare providers/facilities than they've got. Not an expert but I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess their HCPs-per-mile rate is a lot lower than in non-indigenous areas. Per the link they're coming sicker and younger than non-indigenous patients. Apparently follow up care compliance isn't great. Add in a cultural reluctance to travel… it almost explains itself. If they don't have clinics within their radius they don't go.

What to do? Maybe a program to incentivize HCPs to set up shop in or near rural areas (the US does this; it helps… some). Even better, one to assist/encourage more indigenous community members to become HCPs.

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ihateusednames t1_ix7n4io wrote

Encouraging growth of HCPs in indigenous communities is an interesting idea, might take some time to pull off because they are far from other forms of infrastructure there is also the issue of medical education.

I completely understand why follow-up care compliance is low, I'd have a difficult time arranging that much travel / time spent doing this and I have a flexible schedule + a working car / efficient highway system.

First step is convincing people that this is an "everyone" problem.

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IAMCRUNT t1_ixa19ar wrote

The reason that state governments pour money into development in capital cities and deny applications for commercial developments in country towns is because there is more instant profit to be made for their mates. This not only leaves people outside capital cities with less opportunities, low population growth and attracts less medical professionals, it also makes city living unaffordable for healthcare workers. It is lose lose for all the people they are supposed to represent except for the money..

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yoda_jedi_council t1_ix8u7sz wrote

> kidney disease is prevalent in indigenous population.

Now I'm curious.

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stewartm0205 t1_ixb3zgs wrote

I would guess dietary and lack of preventative care. Too much salt and starch. And no regular blood pressure and blood sugar check.

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