Prevalence and associations of provision of nursing home visits and home visits by early-career specialist general practitioners

Allison Turnock; Alison Fielding; Dominica Moad; Ashley Blowes; Amanda Tapley; Andrew Davey; Elizabeth Holliday; Jean Ball; Michael Bentley; Kristen FitzGerald; Catherine Kirby; Neil Spike; Mieke L van Driel; Parker Magin

doi:10.1111/ajr.13112

Prevalence and associations of provision of nursing home visits and home visits by early-career specialist general practitioners

Aust J Rural Health. 2024 Mar 21. doi: 10.1111/ajr.13112. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Allison Turnock^{1

2}, Alison Fielding^{3

4}, Dominica Moad^{3

4}, Ashley Blowes⁴, Amanda Tapley^{3

4}, Andrew Davey^{3

4}, Elizabeth Holliday³, Jean Ball⁵, Michael Bentley⁶, Kristen FitzGerald^{1

6}, Catherine Kirby⁷, Neil Spike^{7

8

9}, Mieke L van Driel¹⁰, Parker Magin^{3

4}

Affiliations

¹ School of Medicine, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
² Australian Government, Department of Health, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
³ School of Medicine and Public Health, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, New South Wales, Australia.
⁴ NSW & ACT Research and Evaluation Unit, GP Synergy, Mayfield West, New South Wales, Australia.
⁵ Clinical Research Design and Statistical Support Unit (CReDITSS), Hunter Medical Research Institute (HMRI), New Lambton Heights, New South Wales, Australia.
⁶ General Practice Training Tasmania (GPTT), Australian General Practice Training, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
⁷ Eastern Victoria General Practice Training (EVGPT), Australian General Practice Training, Hawthorn, Victoria, Australia.
⁸ School of Rural Health, Monash University, Churchill, Victoria, Australia.
⁹ Department of General Practice and Primary Health Care, University of Melbourne, Carlton, Victoria, Australia.
¹⁰ General Practice Clinical Unit, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

PMID: 38511481
DOI: 10.1111/ajr.13112

Abstract

Objective: To establish prevalence and associations of provision of nursing home visits (NHV) and home visits (HV) by early-career specialist GPs. Of particular interest were associations of rurality with performing NHVs and HVs.

Methods: A cross-sectional study.

Design: A questionnaire-based study.

Setting: Australian general practice.

Participants: Early-career specialist GPs, practising in Australia, who attained Fellowship between January 2016 and July 2018, inclusive, having completed GP training in NSW, the ACT, Eastern Victoria or Tasmania.

Main outcome measures: Current provision of NHV and HV.

Results: NHV were provided by 34% of participants (59% in rural areas) and HV by 41% of participants (60% in rural areas). Remote, rural or regional practice location, as compared to major-city practice, was strongly associated with performing NHV as an early-career specialist GP; multivariable OR 5.87 (95% CI: 2.73, 12.6), p < 0.001, and with the provision of HV; multivariable OR 3.64 (95% CI: 1.63, 8.11), p = 0.002. Rurality of GP training (prior to attaining Fellowship) was significantly univariably associated with providing NHV and with providing HV as an early-career specialist GP. On multivariable analyses, these were no longer statistically significant.

Conclusion: Early-career specialist GPs located in regional/remote areas are more likely than their urban colleagues to provide NHV and HV.

Keywords: family practice; general practice; homes for the aged; house calls; rural health services.

Abstract

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