The Voice of Australian Health Consumers

The launch of the preliminary results from the latest Australian Health Consumer Sentiment Survey

The Consumers Health Forum of Australia (CHF) hosted this important webinar on Monday 28 March 2022 to coincide with the release of the latest Australian Health Consumer Sentiment Survey, the largest health study of the general population in Australia.

The survey is aimed at understanding the health system from a consumer point of view to inform better delivery and planning of healthcare services in our communities.

CHF CEO Leanne Wells hosted the webinar and panel discussion. She was joined by the two lead researchers Professor Jeffrey Braithwaite and Associate Professor Yvonne Zurynski, who spoke to some of the headline statistics.

The survey provides a national snapshot of health service access, satisfaction, and experiences of over 5,000 consumers before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is aimed at understanding the health system from a consumer point of view to inform better delivery and planning of healthcare services in our communities.

In this presentation, the Minister for Health, the Hon Greg Hunt MP reflects on the results of the survey in a pre-recorded presentation. He paid tribute to health workers who have faced hardship and challenge through the pandemic.

The Shadow Minister for Health, the Hon Mark Butler MP also welcomed the research as an important way to engage with consumers about the health care system

Professor Jeffrey Braithwaite, is the Founding Director of the Australian Institute of Health Innovation at Macquarie University, and Associate Professor Yvonne Zurynski is from the NHMRC Partnership Centre for Health System Sustainability (PCHSS)

They are joined by expert commentators:

• Professor Ian Hickie AM, Co-Director, Health and Policy at the University of Sydney's Brain and Mind Centre and internationally renowned researcher in clinical psychiatry
• Laila Hallam, Health Care Consumer Advocate
• Professor Rosemary Calder AM, Professor of Health Policy at the Mitchell Institute, Victoria University and leads the Australian Health Policy Collaboration, (AHPC)
• Annette Schmiede, Acting CEO, Digital Health CRC

The survey was designed and conducted by CHF in collaboration with the National Health and Medical Research Council’s (NHMRC) Partnership Centre for Health System Sustainability (PCHSS) and the Australian Institute of Health Innovation.

PCHSS_consumersentimentsurveyreport_thumb

The report, titled The Voice of Australian Health Consumers, is available for download here>>>

More than 5,000 (5,100) Australians aged 18 and over were included in the survey which was conducted in October 2021 during the height of the Covid-19 Delta outbreak. The 2021 sample size is five times larger than the previous survey in 2018. The CHF co-designed the survey, which was conducted by the Australian Institute of Health Innovation, and the NHMRC Partnership Centre for Health System Sustainability (PCHSS).

The survey is aimed at understanding the health system from a consumer point of view to inform better delivery and planning of healthcare services in our communities.

Whilst the survey results show overall satisfaction with healthcare services remains high, gaps remain in affordability and accessibility among disadvantaged groups and people with chronic conditions.

On the eve of the Federal Budget where cost of living pressures are front and centre, the Health Consumer Sentiment Survey is a timely indicator of the challenges many vulnerable Australians face in accessing the healthcare services they need.

The CHF and PCHSS wish to thank all the participants in the survey, the teams analysing the first cut of the data and everyone who attended the webinar. There will be further deep dives and research articles to come from the 2021 survey and a lot of work with stakeholders to convert the consumer voices into actions.

Key findings from the Health Consumer Sentiment Survey

Areas of satisfaction or confidence with the system:

• 84% of Australians were satisfied with health services they received
• 30% said their confidence in the health system increased since the COVID-19 pandemic
• 71% of Australians who used telehealth said it was as good or better than face-to-face
• 85% with mental distress were satisfied with the care they received via digital healthcare

Areas of dissatisfaction or concerns with the system:

• 14% of Australians with chronic conditions could not pay for healthcare or medicine because of cost
• 24% did not fill a prescription or omitted doses of medicine – over a third said this was because of cost
• 55% of Australians in regional and remote regions said they needed more doctors, nurses and health workers
• 23% of Australians reported experiencing discrimination or disrespect when receiving healthcare
• 23% believed that residential aged care services are bad or very bad
• 24% experienced serious levels of mental distress

Further information

If you would like further information, please contact Jenna Gray on email J.Gray@chf.org.au