- Title
- Patterns of type 2 diabetes monitoring in rural towns: how does frequency of HbA1c and lipid testing compare with existing guidelines?
- Creator
- Paul, Christine L.; Piterman, Leon; Shaw, Jonathan E.; Kirby, Catherine; Barker, Daniel; Robinson, Jennifer; Forshaw, Kristy L.; Sikaris, Kenneth A.; Bisquera, Alessandra; Sanson-Fisher, Robert W.
- Relation
- NHMRC.546096, NHMRC.1061335 & NHMRC.526609 http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/1061335
- Relation
- Australian Journal of Rural Health Vol. 24, Issue 6, p. 371-377
- Publisher Link
- http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ajr.12283
- Publisher
- Wiley-Blackwell
- Resource Type
- journal article
- Date
- 2016
- Description
- Objective: To indicate levels of monitoring of type 2 diabetes in rural and regional Australia by examining patterns of glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) and blood lipid testing. Design and Setting: Retrospective analysis of pathology services data from twenty regional and rural towns in eastern Australia over 24 months. Participants: Of 13 105 individuals who had either a single HbA1c result ≥7.0% (53 mmol mol-1); or two or more HbA1c tests within the study period. Main outcome measures: Frequency of testing of HbA1c and blood lipids (cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and triglycerides) were compared with guideline recommendations. Results: About 58.3% of patients did not have the recommended 6-monthly HbA1c tests and 30.6% did not have annual lipid testing. For those who did not receive tests at the recommended interval, the mean between-test interval was 10.5 months (95% CI = 7.5-13.5) rather than 6 months for HbA1c testing; and 15.7 (95% CI = 13.3-18.1) months rather than annually for blood lipids. For those with at least one out-of-range test result, 77% of patients failed to receive a follow-up HbA1c test and 86.5% failed to receive a follow-up blood lipid test within the recommended 3 months. Patients less than 50 years of age, living in a more remote area and with poor diabetes control were less likely to have testing at the recommended intervals (P < 0.0001). Conclusions: Although poor diabetes testing is not limited to rural areas, more intensive diabetes monitoring is likely to be needed for patients living in non-metropolitan areas, particularly for some subgroups.
- Subject
- diabetes mellitus; HbA1c; patient care management; rural health; vulnerable populations
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1329120
- Identifier
- uon:26074
- Identifier
- ISSN:1038-5282
- Language
- eng
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