In Australia, primary health care is usually a person’s first encounter with the health system when they have a health concern. Primary health care broadly encompasses health care that is not related to a hospital visit.
8 in 10
Australian men visited a GP in the past 12 months
Using the ABS Patient Experience Survey, in 2018–19, 78% of males aged 15 and over visited their general practitioner (GP) in the last 12 months (ABS 2019).
Barriers to accessing health services may impede the best possible health outcomes for men. In 2018–19, among males aged 15 and over (ABS 2019):
- almost 1 in 5 (16.5%) waited longer than they felt acceptable to get an appointment with a GP
- more than 1 in 40 (2.7%) delayed seeing, or did not see, a GP when needed because of cost at least once in the past 12 months
- 1 in 20 (5.0%) delayed getting, or did not get, prescribed medication because of cost.
Nearly 1 in 10
Australian men in 2013–14 (8%) were unable to access health care when needed in the last 12 months
The Ten to Men Australian Longitudinal Study on Male Health also captures self-reported information on the primary health care habits of Australia’s men (Schlichthorst et al. 2016).
According to this study, the proportion of men (aged 18 and over) visiting a GP varied by age and health status. In 2013–14 (Schlichthorst et al. 2016):
- the odds of visiting a GP increased with age and decreased with remoteness
- men with 3 or more health conditions were 4 times as likely to visit a GP in the last 12 months as those without an underlying health condition.
Nearly 1 in 5
Australian men aged 45 and over spoke to their GP about their emotional and psychological health in 2014–15
Using data from the Survey of Health Care 2016, of Australian men aged 45 and over who had at least one GP visit in the 12 months between November 2014 and November 2015 (ABS 2017):
- almost 1 in 5 (18%) had spoken to their GP about their emotional and psychological health
- nearly 2 in 5 (39%) indicated they received care from a health professional other than their GP or specialist doctor or nurse for their physical health (for example, physiotherapist, podiatrist or dietitian)
- almost 1 in 10 (8%) indicated that they received care from a health professional other than their GP or specialist doctor or nurse for their emotional or psychological health (for example, psychologist, counsellor or social worker)
- nearly 8 in 10 (79%) were taking at least 1 medication on a regular and ongoing basis
- almost 3 in 4 (73%) indicated they were always or usually involved in making decisions about their medications for their own health.
For more information see: Primary health care.