ERIC Number: EJ731070
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2004
Pages: 20
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0891-4222
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Available Date: N/A
Health Care Service Provision for Country People with Developmental Disability: An Australian Perspective
Iacono, Teresa; Humphreys, John; Davis, Robert; Chandler, Neale
Research in Developmental Disabilities: A Multidisciplinary Journal, v25 n3 p265-284 May-Jun 2004
Priorities in the delivery of health care to Australian country people with developmental disability were explored through focus groups and interviews of key stakeholder groups from four rural/regional towns. Data were analysed for themes, which converged on lack of access to primary health care providers who lacked knowledge about and had poor attitudes towards developmental disability, discriminatory practices, the burden on support people, and communication difficulties between GPs and people with developmental disability. Potential strategies to address the apparent dissatisfaction with primary health care and GP concerns about working with this group were also evident in the data. In particular, open communication between stakeholders as a mechanism for collaborative problem solving and a strategy to avoid burn out for both support people and GPs is recommended. Facilitation of such communication can best occur through undergraduate training and participation of disability workers in activities of organisations that support GPs.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Primary Health Care, Rural Areas, Access to Health Care, Developmental Disabilities, Health Personnel, Health Services, Communication Problems, Burnout, Social Support Groups, Interviews, Rural Areas
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Australia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A