Research objectives
1. To quantify variation between metropolitan and non-metropolitan healthcare service access for Parkinson’s disease or neurodegenerative diseases patients, and assess if such variation differs between categories of healthcare facilities. This knowledge may enable us to identify factors that promote or prevent access to healthcare services in regional areas and provide the basis for informed and coordinated healthcare services.
2. To determine distance travelled by Parkinson's or neurodegenerative diseases patients to the nearest healthcare services. This will help in understanding the potential impact of travel distance on out-of-pocket health care expenses and overall health outcome.
3. To examine variation between the “baseline” survey and “follow-up” survey for Parkinson's or neurodegenerative diseases patients and assess if such variation differs between categories of healthcare facilities. This will help identify any improvements or deteriorations in healthcare services by categories and regions over time.
4. To study the variation between metropolitan and non-metropolitan Parkinson's or neurodegenerative diseases patients in terms of pharmaceutical needs, including both prescription and over-the-counter medications. A better understanding of access to medication use would improve our understanding of the limitations of pharmaceutical delivery, particularly to regional areas.