Summary

First Nations-specific primary health care organisations (referred to as organisations in this report) play a critical role in improving the health of First Nations people through prevention, early intervention, health education, and the timely identification and management of health issues. For information on the terms used in this report see Glossary.

The Online Services Collection (OSR) contains contextual information about the organisations, including clients, client contacts, episodes of care, staffing levels and vacancies.

Maternal and child health organisations

A small number of organisations reporting to the collections receive funding only to provide specific maternal and child health programs or services (such as those based within a hospital or broader health organisation).

Because these organisations (referred to as maternal and child health organisations) are significantly different from other organisations reporting to the OSR collection, both in terms of what they are funded for and what they report, their data are generally excluded from the OSR data presented in this report (unless otherwise noted). See also Interpreting OSR data.

Because the maternal and child health indicators included in the nKPI collection apply directly to the maternal and child health organisations, and the aims of the programs or services they are funded to deliver are considered similar to the aims of maternal and child health care delivered within other reporting organisations, data from maternal and child health organisations are included in the nKPI data presented in this report. See also Interpreting nKPI data.

Most organisations also provide a set of process-of-care and health-status indicators for First Nations people to the national Key Performance Indicators (nKPI) collection. These indicators focus on maternal and child health, preventative health, and chronic disease management.

Key: = improved; X = not improved; = little or no change

Interpreting results over time

A combination of factors affects results over time. For example, variation in results between periods may reflect:

  • general changes in the organisations that report each period, such as changes in the number or type of organisations in-scope to report
  • changes in data quality or data being excluded, for example, as a result of issues identified in organisations’ clinical information systems or changes in their reporting practices
  • changes to indicator specifications, for example, as a result of revisions to relevant clinical or best practice guidelines
  • the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

For more information on interpreting changes over time see Technical notes. For more information on changes to indicator specifications see Interpreting nKPI data. For more information on the impact of COVID-19 on First Nations-specific primary health care organisations (using selected OSR items and nKPI process-of-care indicators) see Related materials.