title: Self-reported access to and quality of healthcare for diabetes: do the severely obese experience equal access?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Given reported pejorative views that health professionals have about patients who are severely obese, we examined the self-reported views of the quality and availability of diabetes care from the perspective of adults with type 2 diabetes (T2DM), stratified by body mass index (BMI).
  
  
  METHODS
  1795 respondents to the Diabetes MILES - Australia national survey had T2DM. Of these, 530 (30%) were severely obese (BMI ≥35 kg/m²) and these participants were matched with 530 controls (BMI <35 kg/m²). Data regarding participants' self-reported interactions with health practitioners and services were compared.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Over 70% of participants reported that their general practitioner was the professional they relied on most for diabetes care. There were no between-group differences in patient-reported availability of health services, quality of interaction with health practitioners, resources and support for self-management, or access to almost all diabetes services.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Participants who were severely obese did not generally report greater difficulty in accessing diabetes care.
authors.affiliation: PhD, MBBS, FRACGP, General Practitioner, Baker IDI Heart & Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, Victoria.
authors.forename: John B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Dixon
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Browne
authors.forename: Toni
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Rice
authors.forename: Kay
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: Frans
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pouwer
authors.forename: Jane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Speight
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001315:Australia; D015992:Body Mass Index; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy*; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D054625:Healthcare Disparities; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009767:Obesity, Morbid / Q000150:complications*; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D057566:Self Report