Hospitalisation for cancer and co-morbidities among people with learning disability in Australia

Title
Hospitalisation for cancer and co-morbidities among people with learning disability in Australia
Publication Date
2008
Author(s)
Sullivan, Sheena G
Hussain, Rafat
Type of document
Journal Article
Language
en
Entity Type
Publication
Publisher
Blackwell Publishing Ltd
Place of publication
United Kingdom
DOI
10.1111/j.1468-3156.2008.00518.x
UNE publication id
une:3018
Abstract
In Australia, general health and medical services are subsidised by the government. This includes care for people with disabilities, screening and diagnostic services for common diseases, including cancer, and care and treatment for various medical conditions. In Western Australia, the majority of state-provided health services are well documented in linkable databases. We have examined data from a large cohort of people receiving services for learning disability from the state and linked this with the state cancer registry and hospital records. While people with learning disability appear to be at similar risk for cancer, they may have poorer treatment outcomes as they already experience a range of health conditions which can exacerbate medical complications associated with treatment and/or other primary or secondary co-morbid conditions. Our results show that the mean number of hospital admissions were higher for the cancer group, even when adjustments were made for conditions such as childhood leukaemia and renal dialysis both of which often require frequent hospitalisations. Multivariate regression analyses showed that younger age, female sex and severe or unspecified level of disability were significant contributors to the frequency of hospital admissions. Qualitative information gleaned from detailed chart reviews showed that in addition to considerable morbidity, some patients were admitted repeatedly either because of lack of supportive environments and/or lack of compliance with treatment. Issues in providing appropriate support services for individuals and their carers are discussed.
Link
Citation
British Journal of Learning Disabilities, 36(3), p. 191-197
ISSN
1468-3156
1354-4187
Start page
191
End page
197

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