1. Effects of a culturally informed model of care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients with acute coronary syndrome in a tertiary hospital in Australia: a pre-post, quasi-experimental, interventional study.
- Author
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Harrop DL, Bryce V, Kitchener T, Grugan S, Renouf S, Mitchell S, Hasking G, Pauza D, Richards G, Ng ACT, and Wang WYS
- Subjects
- Female, Humans, Male, Australia epidemiology, Tertiary Care Centers, Acute Coronary Syndrome therapy, Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples
- Abstract
Background: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (Indigenous) peoples with cardiac disease in Australia have worse outcomes than non-Indigenous people with cardiac disease. We hypothesised that the implementation of a culturally informed model of care for Indigenous patients hospitalised with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) would improve their clinical outcomes., Methods: For this pre-post, quasi-experimental, interventional study, cohorts of Indigenous patients before and after the implementation of a model of care were compared. The novel, culturally informed, multidisciplinary-team model of care was a local programme of care developed to reduce morbidity and mortality from cardiac conditions among Indigenous Australians. All index admissions in the 24-month pre-implementation period (Jan 1 2013, to Dec 31, 2014) were analysed, as were all index admissions in the 12-month post-implementation period (Oct 1, 2015, to Sept 30, 2016). Comparisons were also made with non-Indigenous cohorts in the same timeframes. Admissions were excluded if the patient did not survive to hospital discharge. The study was conducted at Princess Alexandra Hospital, a tertiary hospital in metropolitan Brisbane (QLD, Australia). Data on presentation, comorbidities, investigations, treatment, and for outcomes were manually collected from a consolidated clinical information application. Mortality data were obtained from the Queensland Registry of Births, Deaths, and Marriages. The primary outcome was a composite of death, acute myocardial infarction, unplanned revascularisation, and cardiac readmission at 90 days after index admission, assessed in all patients., Findings: The Indigenous cohorts included 199 patients admitted with ACS before the model of care was implemented (85 [43%] were female and 114 [57%] were male) and 119 admitted post-implementation (62 [52%] were female and 57 [48%] were male). The non-Indigenous cohorts included 440 patients with ACS before the model of care was implemented (140 [32%] were female and 300 [68%] were male) and 467 admitted post-implementation (143 [31%] were female and 324 [69%] were male). Compared with the pre-implementation group, Indigenous patients admitted post-implementation had a significant reduction in the primary outcome (67 [34%] of 199 vs 24 [20%] of 119; hazard ratio 0·60, 95% CI 0·40-0·90; p=0·012), which was driven by a reduction in unplanned cardiac readmissions (64 [32%] of 199 vs 21 [18%] of 119; 0·55, 0·35-0·85; p=0·0060). There was no significant change in non-Indigenous patients between the pre-implementation and post-implementation timeframes in the composite endpoint at 90 days (81 [18%] of 440 vs 93 [20%] of 467; 1·08, 0·83-1·41; p=0·54). Pre-implementation, there was significantly more incidence of the primary outcome in Indigenous patients than non-Indigenous patients (p<0·0001), with no significant difference in the post-implementation period (p=0·92)., Interpretation: Clinical outcomes for Indigenous patients admitted to a tertiary hospital in Australia improved after implementation of a culturally informed model of care, with a reduction in the disparity in incidence of primary endpoints that existed between Indigenous and non-Indigenous patients before implementation., Funding: Queensland Department of Health Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Division (now First Nations Health Office)., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests We declare no competing interests. TK, SR, and DP are of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander heritage., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)
- Published
- 2024
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