How do selected factors affect the use of an AMS/CC?
Multivariate logistic regression models were run to look at how selected factors (variables) affected whether Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 18 and over who preferred to use an AMS/CC had used one (had an AMS/CC as their usual source of health care) (see Technical notes). Results (odds ratios) over 1 indicate a higher likelihood, while odds ratios under 1 indicate a lower likelihood.
Once all included variables were controlled for (model 4), the results for 2022–23 showed that by far the strongest predictor of being able to use an AMS/CC when a person preferred one was having one in their local area. The odds of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 18 and over who had only an AMS/CC in their local area having an AMS/CC as their usual source of care (that is, using an AMS/CC) were higher than for those without one in their local area (odds ratio of 20). The odds of using an AMS/CC were also higher for those who had both an AMS/CC and a mainstream GP in their area (odds ratio of 8.6). This finding again highlights the importance of the local service environment in supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ preferences for type of health care.
Model 4 also showed that among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 18 and over who preferred to use an AMS/CC, the odds of having an AMS/CC as their usual source of care were:
- Location and demographic variables
- higher for those aged 35–44 and 45–54 than for those aged 18–24 (odds ratios of 2.2 and 2.0, respectively)
- higher for those in Remote and Very remote areas than for those in Major cities (odds ratios of 2.6 and 2.2, respectively).
- Cultural factors/experiences of unfair treatment – lower for those who were not very/not at all satisfied or felt neutral/did not know about their own knowledge of culture than for those who were satisfied/very satisfied (odds ratios of 0.4).