title: Clinical encounters of Australian general practice registrars with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  General practice is central to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health care, and this area is a core element of Australian general practice (GP) training. We aimed to describe the prevalence, nature and associations of GP registrar encounters with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional analysis from a cohort study of GP registrars' clinical consultations 2010-2013. Registrars record demographic, clinical and educational details of consecutive patient encounters. Multivariable associations were tested with logistic regression.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 592 registrars contributed data from 69,188 consultations. Encounters with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients comprised 1.0% of consultations. Significant positive associations included younger patient age; new patient to the registrar; lower socioeconomic status of practice location; non-urban practice setting; more problems managed; and follow-up arranged. A greater proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients' problems were psychological/social and a lesser proportion were cardiovascular. Consultation duration did not differ between the two groups Conclusions: GP registrars encounter Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients less than do established GPs. Our results suggest possible variability in registrar experience of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings will inform training of a culturally and clinically competent workforce in this area.
authors.affiliation: Discipline of General Practice, University of Newcastle, New South Wales.
authors.forename: Allison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Thomson
authors.affiliation: General Practice Training Valley to Coast, New South Wales.
authors.forename: Simon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Morgan
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine and Public Health, Faculty of Health and Medicine; University of Newcastle, New South Wales.|Wollotuka Institute, University of Newcastle, New South Wales.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: O'Mara
authors.affiliation: General Practice Training Valley to Coast, New South Wales.
authors.forename: Amanda
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tapley
authors.affiliation: General Practice Training Valley to Coast, New South Wales.
authors.forename: Kim
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Henderson
authors.affiliation: Discipline of General Practice, University of Queensland.
authors.forename: Mieke
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: van Driel
authors.affiliation: Clinical Research Design IT and Statistical Support Unit, Hunter Medical Research Institute, New South Wales.
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Oldmeadow
authors.affiliation: Clinical Research Design IT and Statistical Support Unit, Hunter Medical Research Institute, New South Wales.
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ball
authors.affiliation: General Practice Training Valley to Coast, New South Wales.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Scott
authors.affiliation: Department of General Practice, University of Melbourne, Victoria.|Victorian Metropolitan Alliance.
authors.forename: Neil
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Spike
authors.affiliation: Adelaide to Outback GP Training, South Australia.
authors.forename: Lawrie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: McArthur
authors.affiliation: Discipline of General Practice, University of Newcastle, New South Wales.|General Practice Training Valley to Coast, New South Wales.
authors.forename: Parker
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Magin
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D054521:Cultural Competency; D005194:Family Practice; D005260:Female; D058006:General Practice; D006282:Health Personnel; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008505:Medical Staff, Hospital; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D015995:Prevalence; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012923:Social Class; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Indigenous; family practice; general practice; health services