Disparities in surgical outcomes for low socioeconomic status patients in Australia

Background There are disparities in surgical outcomes for patients of low socioeconomic status globally, including in countries with universal healthcare systems. There is limited data on the impact of low socioeconomic status on surgical outcomes in Australia. This study examines surgical outcomes by both self-reported unemployment and neighbourhood level socioeconomic status in Australia. Methods A retrospective administrative data review was conducted at a tertiary care centre over a 10-year period (2008-2018) including all adult surgical patients. Multivariable logistic regression adjusting for year, age, sex and Charlson Comorbidity Index was performed. Results 106 197 patients underwent a surgical procedure in the decade examined. The overall adverse event rates were mortality (1.13%), total postoperative complications (10.9%), failure to rescue (0.75%) and return to theatre (4.31%). Following multivariable testing, unemployed and low socioeconomic patients had a higher risk of postoperative mortality (OR 2.06 (1.50-2.82), OR 1.37 (1.15-1.64)), all complications (OR 1.43 (1.31-1.56), OR 1.21 (1.14-1.28)), failure to rescue (OR 2.03 (1.39-2.95), OR 1.38 (1.11-1.72)) and return to theatre (OR 1.42 (1.27-1.59), OR 1.24 (1.14-1.36)) (P < 0.005 for all). Conclusions Despite universal healthcare, there are disparities in surgical adverse events for patients of low socioeconomic status in Australia. Disparities in surgical outcomes can stem from three facets: a patient's access to healthcare (the severity of disease at the time of presentation), variation in perioperative care delivery, and social determinants of health. Further work is required to pinpoint why these disparities are present and to evaluate the impact of strategies that aim to reduce disparities.