Consumers' after hours health care decisions. Comparison between those who did and those who did not seek care in an Australian provincial city.
OBJECTIVE
To compare the demographic and illness characteristics of people who sought after hours care with those who did not, to identify differences that might be exploited in patient education regarding 'appropriate' use of after hours care.


METHODS
Structured telephone interview survey of randomly selected householders in Townsville.


RESULTS
An 88% response rate was achieved (1227/1402). A total of 10.8% (133/1227) of respondents had sought after hours care for themselves in the 3 months before interview. A further 10.9% (134/1227) had decided against seeking care during that period. The two groups were demographically similar, except in terms of health care training and perceived travel time to after hours care. Self reported conditions varied only for ICPC general, musculoskeletal and skin chapters. Symptom related issues were most important in the decision to seek care, while self care procedures were the most common reason for not seeking care, followed by access related issues.


CONCLUSIONS
The decision to seek care is an individual process that cannot be reliably predicted by demographic characteristics. Broad scale community education programs aimed at reducing 'inappropriate' use of after hours services would need to find a balance between increasing knowledge for self care of minor conditions and emphasising the importance of being alert to signs and symptoms of life threatening conditions.
Veitch
C
C
North Queensland Clinical School. cveitch@ultrn.net.au
Crossland
L
L
Hays
R
R
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001315:Australia; D004194:Disease / Q000145:classification; D004632:Emergency Medical Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D012648:Self Care; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors