To the Editor: The recently published article by Lindsay and colleagues1 stated that they “found few differences by socio‐economic status or remoteness in health care service use by people with primary diagnoses of invasive melanoma” and drew the conclusion “that access to health care for people with melanoma is fairly equitable in Queensland”. We are concerned that poor conceptualisation of access and equity, lack of reference to other Australian and international literature, and limitations in the study methods may have led to inappropriate conclusions being drawn.
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- 1. Lindsay D, Whiteman DC, Olsen CM, Gordon LG. Health care service use by people diagnosed with invasive melanoma in Queensland: a benefit incidence analysis. Med J Aust 2023; 219: 417‐422. https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2023/219/9/health‐care‐service‐use‐people‐diagnosed‐invasive‐melanoma‐queensland‐benefit
- 2. Devaux M. Income‐related inequalities and inequities in health care services utilisation in 18 selected OECD countries. J Health Econ 2015; 16: 21‐33.
- 3. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Rural and remote health [website]. Canberra: AIHW, 2023. https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/rural‐remote‐australians/rural‐and‐remote‐health (viewed Nov 2023).
- 4. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Cancer in Australia 2021 [Cat. No. CAN 144]. Canberra: AIHW, 2021. https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/cancer/cancer‐in‐australia‐2021/summary (viewed Nov 2023).
- 5. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Health workforce [website]. Canberra: AIHW, 2022. https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/workforce/health‐workforce (viewed Nov 2023).
- 6. Jiang AJ, Rambhatla PV, Eide MJ. Socioeconomic and lifestyle factors and melanoma: a systematic review. Br J Dermatol 2015; 172: 885‐915.
- 7. Ludbrook J. Multiple comparison procedures updated. Clin Exp Pharmacol Physiol 1998; 25: 1032‐1037.
- 8. Levesque JF, Harris MF, Russell G. Patient‐centred access to health care: conceptualising access at the interface of health systems and populations. Int J Equity Health 2013; 12: 18.
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