Next Article in Journal
Heart Rate and Oxygen Uptake During Recovery from High-Intensity Interval Training: A Retrospective Analysis
Previous Article in Journal
Estimation of the Burden of Disease Due to Diabetes Mellitus Type 2 in the Population of Tabasco During the Period 2013–2023
 
 
Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
Journals
IJERPH
Volume 22
Issue 7
10.3390/ijerph22070998
ijerph-logo
Submit to this Journal Review for this Journal Propose a Special Issue
► Article Menu

Article Menu

share Share announcement Help format_quote Cite question_answer Discuss in SciProfiles
first_page
settings
Order Article Reprints
Font Type:
Arial Georgia Verdana
Font Size:
Aa Aa Aa
Line Spacing:
Column Width:
Background:
Article

Indigenous People’s Use of a Primary Urgent Care Centre at a GP-Led Primary Healthcare Service in Regional Queensland in 2020–2021

by
Shauna Fjaagesund
1,2,
Wenwen Zang
3,
Raymond Gadd
4,5,
Jayley Hart
4,5,
Piotr Swierkowski
4,5,
Andrew Ladhams
2,4,
Christopher Hicks
4,
Sylvia Andrew-Starkey
5,
Evan Jones
1,4,5,
Alexandru Coman
6,
Gavin Beccaria
7,
Florin Oprescu
1,8 and
Xiang-Yu Hou
9,10,*
1
School of Health, University of the Sunshine Coat, Sippy Downs, QLD 4556, Australia
2
General Practice Unit, Faculty of Medicine, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
3
Poche Centre for Indigenous Health, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4066, Australia
4
Health Hub Doctors Morayfield, Morayfield, QLD 4506, Australia
5
Morayfield Minor Accident and Illness Centre, Morayfield, QLD 4506, Australia
6
Department of Infectious Diseases and Epidemiology, University of Medicine and Pharmacy ‘Iuliu Hatieganu’, 400347 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
7
School of Psychology and Wellbeing, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, QLD 4350, Australia
8
Centre for International Development, Social Entrepreneurship and Leadership, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, QLD 4556, Australia
9
Centre for Health Research, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, QLD 4350, Australia
10
Susan Wakil School of Nursing and Midwifery, Broken Hill University Department of Rural Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2880, Australia
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2025, 22(7), 998; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph22070998
Submission received: 25 April 2025 / Revised: 23 June 2025 / Accepted: 24 June 2025 / Published: 25 June 2025
Review Reports Versions Notes

Abstract

To explore Indigenous patients’ use of a primary urgent care centre (PUCC) at a co-located general medical practitioner (GP)-led primary healthcare service (GP service) in regional Queensland, Australia, secondary data analysis was conducted using the 65,420 deidentified PUCC patients from 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021, including Indigenous status. A Mann–Whitney U test and Chi-Square test were used to analyse patients’ arrival times, reasons to attend PUCC, and frequency of attendance. The proportion of Indigenous patients from the communities attending the PUCC was 9.8% while the proportion of Indigenous people in the general population was only 3.8%. Indigenous patients were more likely to be new patients to the GP service (13.6% never visited the GP service prior to PUCC) compared to non-Indigenous (9.6%) patients. The peak hours of attendance for Indigenous people were 11 a.m.–12 p.m. and 2 p.m.–3 p.m. while it was 10 a.m.–12 p.m. for non-Indigenous patients. The most common reason for attending PUCC for both patient groups was superficial injuries. The second most common reason was digestive issues for Indigenous patients and musculoskeletal issues for non-Indigenous patients. These findings provide insights for enhancing future PUCC models to better meet the community needs, especially the underserved Indigenous population in regional areas.
Keywords: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders; Indigenous people; general practice; primary healthcare; primary urgent care; community urgent care Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders; Indigenous people; general practice; primary healthcare; primary urgent care; community urgent care

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Fjaagesund, S.; Zang, W.; Gadd, R.; Hart, J.; Swierkowski, P.; Ladhams, A.; Hicks, C.; Andrew-Starkey, S.; Jones, E.; Coman, A.; et al. Indigenous People’s Use of a Primary Urgent Care Centre at a GP-Led Primary Healthcare Service in Regional Queensland in 2020–2021. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2025, 22, 998. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph22070998

AMA Style

Fjaagesund S, Zang W, Gadd R, Hart J, Swierkowski P, Ladhams A, Hicks C, Andrew-Starkey S, Jones E, Coman A, et al. Indigenous People’s Use of a Primary Urgent Care Centre at a GP-Led Primary Healthcare Service in Regional Queensland in 2020–2021. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2025; 22(7):998. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph22070998

Chicago/Turabian Style

Fjaagesund, Shauna, Wenwen Zang, Raymond Gadd, Jayley Hart, Piotr Swierkowski, Andrew Ladhams, Christopher Hicks, Sylvia Andrew-Starkey, Evan Jones, Alexandru Coman, and et al. 2025. "Indigenous People’s Use of a Primary Urgent Care Centre at a GP-Led Primary Healthcare Service in Regional Queensland in 2020–2021" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 22, no. 7: 998. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph22070998

APA Style

Fjaagesund, S., Zang, W., Gadd, R., Hart, J., Swierkowski, P., Ladhams, A., Hicks, C., Andrew-Starkey, S., Jones, E., Coman, A., Beccaria, G., Oprescu, F., & Hou, X.-Y. (2025). Indigenous People’s Use of a Primary Urgent Care Centre at a GP-Led Primary Healthcare Service in Regional Queensland in 2020–2021. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 22(7), 998. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph22070998

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Metrics

Back to TopTop