It matters who you are and where you live: Commonwealth, state and territory policies for access to care for Australians with chronic kidney disease and their caregivers

Abstract

Objective: To describe how Commonwealth, state and territory policies address access to care for Australians living with chronic kidney disease (CKD) with an emphasis on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and people residing in rural and remote areas.

Methods: We searched government health department websites for current policies up to March 2022 that addressed access to care for people with CKD.

Results: We included 98 policies: 28 were Commonwealth, and 70 were state or territory-based. There was wide variation in the policies for people with CKD in number and type across the jurisdictions. Of CKD specific policies, only three policies were specific for people living with CKD in rural and remote areas and no policies were specific for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Conclusion: There is a lack of CKD-specific policies addressing access to care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and people living in rural and remote communities.

Implications for public health: Despite the known disparities in the burden of CKD there are few policies addressing CKD disparities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and Australians living in rural and remote areas. Policies that specifically address the barriers to accessing care are required to reduce inequities.

Keywords: Aboriginal and Torres Strat Islander people; chronic kidney disease; equity; health policy; rural.