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Health care utilisation and out-of-pocket expenditure associated with hypertension: an analysis of Australian adults from the 45 and Up Study

Journal of Human Hypertension volume 34, pages 833–840 (2020)Cite this article

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Abstract

Hypertension is a common condition worldwide that significantly increases morbidity and mortality rates in the older population. A number of treatment options are available to control blood pressure. The purpose of this study was to assess the use of health services and self-care amongst people with hypertension and to estimate the out-of-pocket expenses associated with such health care use. A sub-study of the 45 and Up Study was conducted amongst 1300 individuals who had earlier reported a clinical diagnosis of hypertension in 2017. A total of 753 (57.9%) individuals with hypertension returned a completed questionnaire. In the last 12 month, for their hypertension management, 84% of participants consulted a doctor, 19% of them consulted an allied health practitioner and 9% of them consulted a complementary medicine practitioner. The average total out-of-pocket expenditure for hypertension-related health care was Australian $461.8 per annum, with an estimated Australian $941 million per annum if extrapolated to all Australians aged 55 years and over with hypertension. Older people with hypertension use a wide range of health services to control their blood pressure including conventional medicine, allied health and complementary medicine practitioners as well as various self-care practices. A substantial amount of out-of-pocket expenditure has been spent on hypertension care annually. Given the global health and economic burden of hypertension, there is an urgent need for more research exploring cost-effective management(s) for hypertensive patients.

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Acknowledgements

This research was completed by using data collected through the 45 and Up Study (www.saxinstitute.org.au). The 45 and Up Study is managed by the Sax Institute in collaboration with major partner Cancer Council NSW; and partners: the National Heart Foundation of Australia (NSW Division); NSW Ministry of Health; NSW Government Family & Community Services—Ageing, Carers and the Disability Council NSW; and the Australian Red Cross Blood Service. We thank the many thousands of people participating in the 45 and Up Study. We extend our sincere thanks to the Australian Research Council for funding Distinguished Professor JA via an ARC Professorial Future Fellowship (FT140100195) while working on this paper.

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  1. School of Public Health, Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Jon Adams, Mahdie Hosseini, Wenbo Peng & David Sibbritt

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  1. Jon Adams
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  2. Mahdie Hosseini
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Contributions

DS and JA conceived this study and obtained ethical approval. DS and WP conducted data analysis. JA and MH wrote the first draft of the paper. DS and WP revised the paper. All authors approved the submitted version of the paper.

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Correspondence to David Sibbritt.

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Adams, J., Hosseini, M., Peng, W. et al. Health care utilisation and out-of-pocket expenditure associated with hypertension: an analysis of Australian adults from the 45 and Up Study. J Hum Hypertens 34, 833–840 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41371-020-0363-z

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