Trends and geographic variations in hospital admissions for asthma in Victoria. Opportunities for targeted interventions.
OBJECTIVE
To describe variations in rates of hospital admissions for asthma in Victoria as health indicators of quality of primary care services and access.


METHODS
Routine analyses of age and sex standardised admission rates of asthma in rural and metropolitan Victoria from 1993-1994 to 1999-2000.


RESULTS
There were 10,079 admissions for asthma, with an average of 2.71 bed days in 1999-2000. The admission rate for asthma decreased from 3.1/1000 (95% CI: 3.1-3.2) in 1993-1994 to 2.2/1000 (2.1-2.2) in 1999-2000, with a 37% reduction in rural regions and 26% in metropolitan regions. Sixteen primary care partnerships (small areas), 13 of them rural, had significantly higher admission rates than the Victorian average.


CONCLUSIONS
Although asthma hospital admission rates are falling faster in rural than metropolitan areas, rural areas still have higher admission rates with significant variation between small areas.
Health Surveillance and Evaluation Section, Department of Human Services, and Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Victoria. zahid.ansari@dhs.vic.gov.au
Z
Z
Ansari
M M
MM
Haby
T
T
Henderson
F
F
Cicuttini
M J
MJ
Ackland
D017677:Age Distribution; D001249:Asthma / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005194:Family Practice / Q000592:standards / Q000639:trends*; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000639:trends; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000639:trends; D008297:Male; D008507:Medically Underserved Area; D010343:Patient Admission / Q000639:trends*; D019984:Quality Indicators, Health Care; D012111:Residence Characteristics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012423:Rural Health / Q000639:trends*; D017678:Sex Distribution; D017062:Small-Area Analysis; D014504:Urban Health / Q000639:trends*; D014739:Victoria / Q000453:epidemiology