In 2019–20, 239,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people received an Indigenous‑specific health check – of these people, 47% (112,000) received an Indigenous‑specific follow‑up service in the 12 months following their health check.
Among people who had a health check in 2019–20:
- The follow‑up rate was slightly higher among Indigenous females (48%) than among Indigenous males (45%). The differences were greatest among those aged 15–34, but negligible below the age of 15.
- For both males and females, the follow‑up rate was highest among those aged 65 and over (54% and 57%, respectively).
- For males, the follow‑up rate was lowest among those aged 15–24 (38%).
- For females, the follow‑up rate was lowest among those aged 5–14 (41%) (Figure 14).
The variation in follow‑up rates may partly reflect differences in the need for follow‑up care among different age groups (see also Box 4). For example, in general, older people have higher health care needs than younger people, and so are likely to have a greater need for follow‑up services. However, follow-up rates do not differ greatly between age groups. To some extent, this could be due to older people being more likely to have follow-up activities that are not covered by the included MBS items.