Health services
To determine whether the health system is meeting the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 25–49, it is important to understand the access to and use of health services by this population. This section outlines availability and use of health services and specialist homelessness services.
Health service availability
In 2018–19, 84% (206,900) of Indigenous Australians aged 25–49 had access to a doctor/General Practitioner (GP) in their local area (other than from Aboriginal Medical Service).
The health service available to most Indigenous Australians aged 25–49 in non-remote areas (94% or 183,200) was doctor/GP (other than from Aboriginal Medical Service). Aboriginal Medical Service was the health service available to most Indigenous Australians aged 25–49 in remote areas (85% or 43,200) (Figure AD 24).
Health services use
In 2018–19, 41% (99,400) of Indigenous Australians aged 25–49 consulted a health or welfare professional in the previous two weeks.
Common type of health actions taken in the previous two weeks were consulting a GP (25% or 60,200), visiting casualty/emergency/outpatients/day clinic (7% or 16,200) and consulting a nurse (6% or 15,300) (Figure AD 25).
Health checks
In 2018–19, 28% (72,982) of Indigenous Australians aged 25–49 had an Indigenous-specific health check.
Among Indigenous Australians aged 25–49, females (32% or 42,149) were more likely to have a health check than males (24% or 30,833) (Figure AD 26).
Hospitalisations
In 2016–17, there were 171,976 hospitalisations of Indigenous Australians aged 25–49, corresponding to a hospitalisation rate of 695 per 1,000 population. 38% of these hospitalisations were for care involving dialysis (Figure AD 27).