Objective: To quantify costs incurred by the health system for hospital episodes and emergency department (ED) presentations for pancreatic cancer patients within the first three years after diagnosis in Queensland, Australia.
Study Settings And Design: Using a linked administrative dataset, CancerCostMod, which includes cancer diagnoses from the Queensland Cancer Registry (1st July 2011-30th June 2015) and linked Queensland Health Admitted Patient Data Collection and ED Information Systems records (1st July 2011-30th June 2018), we assessed costs for adults diagnosed with primary pancreatic cancer (International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision: C25). Costs (in Australian dollars) were assigned using national public costs and private hospital charge datasets for the relevant year.
Purpose: Cancer significantly impacts First Nations Australians, with higher incidence and lower survival rates. However, understanding of end-of-life (EOL) service use and costs in this population is limited. We aimed to assess EOL healthcare utilisation and costs for First Nations cancer patients in Queensland, Australia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: First Nations Australians experience poorer cancer outcomes than other Australians. This is attributable to multidimensional factors, including disparities in access to cancer services and treatments. Radiotherapy (RT) is an important component of cancer treatment yet evidence of its utilisation among First Nations Australians is limited.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: The incidence of early-onset bowel cancer (EOBC) is increasing in Australia and globally. However, the burden of EOBC among First Nations Australians is rarely determined. This study aimed to quantify the diagnosis and survival rates of EOBC among First Nations Peoples in Queensland, Australia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIssue Addressed: Lung cancer screening (LCS) is crucial for Indigenous populations due to their higher lung cancer incidence rates and poorer outcomes. Despite efforts to establish LCS programmes, evidence on LCS cost-effectiveness, participation rates, facilitators and barriers for Indigenous peoples remains limited. This systematic review aims to address this gap by reviewing available evidence.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective Chronic disease is common in people with cancer. However, the utilisation of Medicare chronic disease management (CDM) items for cancer patients in Australia remains unexplored. This study investigates Medicare CDM item numbers relating to people with cancer, including general practitioner (GP) and allied health CDM item numbers, and any associated sociodemographic factors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Indigenous peoples worldwide experience inequitable cancer outcomes, and it is unclear if this is underpinned by differences in or inadequate use of endocrine treatment (ET), often used in conjunction with other cancer treatments. Previous studies examining ET use in Indigenous peoples have predominately focused on the sub-national level, often resulting in small sample sizes with limited statistical power. This systematic review aimed to collate the findings ofarticles on ET utilisation for Indigenous cancer patients and describe relevant factors that may influence ET use.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The effect of ambient temperature on respiratory mortality has been consistently observed throughout the world under different climate change scenarios. Countries experiencing greater inter-annual variability in winter temperatures (and may not be lowest winter temperatures) have greater excess winter mortality compared to countries with colder winters. This study investigates the association between temperature and respiratory deaths in Malta which has one of the highest population densities in the world with a climate that is very hot in summer and mild in winter.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMost evidence on seasonal admission patterns for schizophrenia derives from the Northern Hemisphere with results from the Southern Hemisphere less documented. This study examines seasonal patterns in hospital admissions due to schizophrenia in Queensland, Australia, a large area that has a range of different climatic features. Daily hospital admissions data for people with the primary diagnosis of schizophrenia were collected from Queensland Health Department for the period from January 1996 to December 2015.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Evidence of immediate and delayed effects of climatic drivers on hospital admissions for schizophrenia is limited and inconsistent. We aimed to assess the association between climatic factors and daily hospital admissions for schizophrenia in Queensland, Australia.
Methods: Daily hospital admissions for schizophrenia from January 1, 1996 to December 31, 2015 in all private and public hospitals of Queensland were obtained from Queensland Health.
Schizophrenia is a severe neuropsychiatric disorder with heterogeneous aetiology mostly affecting younger people and causing immense disability. Seasonal patterns may be observed in schizophrenia hospital admissions with possible association with changing climatic parameters and socio-demographic characteristics. This study critically reviewed studies that have assessed seasonal variations of hospital admissions for schizophrenia and/or explored an association with climate parameters and/or other potential factors.
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