University of Tasmania, Australia

In this session, four medical students from the Rural Clinical School present their findings from a recent study into health seeking habits and health priorities amongst Indigenous and Non-indigenous populations in Western Australia.

Emergency department doctors in Port Hedland were concerned that patients were not disclosing adequate drug histories to them, resulting in reluctance by doctors to administer medication for fear of drug interaction. The University of Tasmania was tasked with assessing the willingness of patients to disclose drug seeking habits. Other health behaviours were also explored including: Access to medication, where healthcare is sought and health priorities.

Contrary to the doctors' belief, we found the majority of patients were in fact willing to disclose their drug history. Furthermore, there was no significant difference between Indigenous and Non-indigenous populations in this regard. Differences between these groups were observed for other health behaviours.

The medical students presenting are Ashwin Bhana, Kieran Longley, Ve Wen Phang and Nicholas Voon.

This session is open to all UTAS staff and students, interested persons from the business, industry and government sectors, and people from the local community.