Following several years of annual growth, the numbers of Indigenous-specific health checks fell in 2020 and 2021 from the pre-pandemic peak in 2019 and were comparable to the numbers in 2017 and 2018. Telehealth health checks, an option introduced at the onset of the COVID‑19 pandemic, were initially used commonly but saw a gradual decline over time.
- Cat. no: IHW 273
Findings from this report:
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The start of the COVID-19 pandemic coincided with the end of continuous annual growth in Indigenous health check numbers
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In 2021, there were 10% fewer Indigenous health checks than in 2019, the year before the pandemic
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Telehealth was most frequently used for health checks when first introduced, then gradually declined in use
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Numbers of Indigenous health checks were particularly low during months with lockdowns and reduced population mobility