Sian Wright Email & Phone Number

Shepparton

Project coordinator for the Crossroads research project based in Shepparton, Cobram, Benalla and Seymour.Project Details Longitudinal study of health, disease and access to care in rural Victoria: the Crossroads follow up study.This research has been supported by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing through the University Department of Health (UDRH) and Rural Clinical Training and Support (RCTS) programs.The project was funded by the NHMRC in partnership with nine local health and local government organisations as well as a specialist liver research group. The findings from the study will assist local health organisations with service planning to meet the needs of their communities. The overarching aim of the study is to understand why the Goulburn Valley continues to have poorer health outcomes (for example, cardiovascular disease) than metropolitan Victoria, despite the increased availability of primary care in the region that has occurred in the past decade.This study followed on from the original Crossroads study conducted from 2001 to 2003 and compares rates of self reported, undiagnosed and undermanaged chronic disease between the baseline and 2016-2018 study periods. The study compares the self-reported waiting times and other barriers to accessing primary care, community services, dentistry, allied health, mental health and specialist care between the baseline and current study periods. The study involved face to face surveys of people from randomly selected households and comprehensive health check-ups of approximately half of the survey participants in a 'clinic'. The clinic included assessment of dental health, lung function, mental health, liver health, hearing, body mass index, cardiovascular health and cognitive function.