Public Health Information Development Unit - Access to and use of services

Access to and use of services

Child care

Indicators:

Out of school hours care

Context:

Services offering outside school hours’ care provide supervised, quality care for primary school children before and after school, and during school vacations, enabling parents to participate in the labour force. These services provide flexible care on a regular or casual basis, and aim to foster children's physical, emotional, intellectual and social development in a safe setting. They provide programs whereby school children can participate in a range of activities as well as having time for homework, rest and interaction with their friends (ABS 2007).

Reference: ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) 2007.Australian Social Trends. [ABS Cat. no. 4102.0] AusInfo: Canberra.

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Internet access at home for children and young people

Indicators:

Total Internet connection; Broadband connection; Dial-up connection; other connection; no Internet connection

Context:

A household can be considered to be disadvantaged if it lacks the resources to participate fully in society (Townsend 1987). Access to the outside world, through a telephone or the Internet provides a means of communicating with friends and family, as well as services, employers and schools, thereby increasing educational, employment and other opportunities, including greater social interaction (ABS 2007). For children and young people, access to the Internet and to a computer is increasingly seen as a pre-requisite for learning and education, as access encourages the development of skills including literacy, numeracy and inquiry (Orr Vered 2006).

Socioeconomic characteristics of households continue to influence the rate of computer and Internet connectivity across Australia. Households which do not have children under 15 years of age, those that are located in non-metropolitan or regional areas of Australia and/or have lower household incomes are less likely to have a computer and/or the Internet (ABS 2007). These socioeconomic factors also influence the rate of Broadband access, in addition to the technical issues regarding service availability in certain locations.

References:

Townsend P 1987. Deprivation. Journal of Social Policy 16:125-146.

Orr Vered K 2006. Children and Media in Out of School Hours Care: A Practical Resource for Service and Program Planning. Department of Education and Children’s Services: Adelaide.

Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) 2007. Household Use of Information Technology, Australia, 2006-07. ABS Cat. No. 8146.0. Canberra: ABS.

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Dental participation

Indicators:

Participation of children and young people in a government funded school dental service program

Context:

Oral health is fundamental to overall health, wellbeing and quality of life. The oral health of children in South Australia has improved markedly over several decades, as a result of changes in diet and declines in sugar consumption, exposure to fluoride and changes in disease management. However, recent trends indicate some deterioration – for example, there was a 21% increase in decay experience in 5-year-old children between 1996 and 1999 (Armfield et al. 2003).

Government-funded dental services for children and young people are provided by the South Australian Dental Service. Its School Dental Service offers expert oral health care to eligible children at clinics throughout South Australia. This care is provided by teams of dentists, dental therapists, and dental assistants. All preschool, primary school and secondary school students, aged under 18 years, are eligible for oral health care with the School Dental Service; for school-aged children who are dependants of concession card holders, and for all preschool children, such care is free of charge (SADS 2009).

References:

Armfield JM, Roberts-Thomson KF & Spencer AJ 2003. The Child Dental Health Survey, Australia 1999: Trends across the 1990s. AIHW Cat. No DEN 95. Adelaide: The University of Adelaide (AIHW Dental Statistics and Research Series No. 27).

SADS (South Australian Dental Service) 2009. School Dental Service. At http://www.sadental.sa.gov.au/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=34 (accessed 28 September 2009)

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Community health services

Indicators:

Community health services (ages 0 to 24 years); Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS), ages (0 to 19 years)

Context:

Community health services offer early intervention, prevention, screening, treatment, and health promotion and education services in community settings. Services are staffed by a range of practitioners who often work in multidisciplinary, community-based teams.

These services do not include child- and youth- specific health centres, Aboriginal family and child health teams (such as those provided at Nunkunwarrin Yunti Inc. in Adelaide, Muna Paiendi in Elizabeth, Pika Wiya in Port Augusta) or universal and family home visiting programs

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Hospital admissions

Indicators:

Hospital admissions ages (0 to 24 years); Public hospital admissions (0 to 24 years); Private hospital admissions (0 to 24 years); Admissions for a tonsillectomy and/or adenoidectomy (0 to 24 years); Admissions for a myringotomy (tubes in the ear drum) (0 to 9 years)

Context:

Hospital admission for infants, children and young people is usually an uncommon occurrence and most health practitioners aim to keep young patients out of hospital. However, those who require admission may be admitted either as an emergency or as a planned admission. Emergency patients are seriously injured or ill patients who need immediate treatment. Most patients come into hospital as a booked (elective) admission, either as a day patient or an inpatient. A day patient comes to hospital for a test or treatment and returns home the same day. An inpatient stays overnight or for a few days in the hospital.

Unfortunately, hospital admission carries with it a risk of harm. It has been demonstrated in Australia that rates of serious adverse medical events are similar to those found in studies in the United States, with 0.3% of hospital admissions associated with an iatrogenic (medically caused) death and 1.7% associated with major iatrogenic disability (Runciman et al. 2000). Admission to hospital per se alsocarries a risk of adverse events, in addition to those related to any medical treatment undertaken. These include risks of cross-infection, injury, and rarely, death.

Reference: Runciman WB, Webb RK, Helps SC et al 2000. A comparison of iatrogenic injury studies in Australia and America II: reviewer behaviour and quality of care. The International Journal of Quality in Healthcare 12(5):379-388.