ABSTRACT
Objective:A study was conducted about the putative links of older rural Australians'health knowledge and preparation with their quality of involvement in patient-general practitioner(GP)communication during health intake visits. Methods:It was a cross-sectional study between January 2021 and April 2022.The 32-item quality of involve-ment in communication scale was designed and incorporated into the Survey Gizmo software.This online survey was administered by sending an email request to the Renmark Rotary Club,which actively promoted this study across five rural towns in South Australia.121 participants completed the surveys.Mean-sum scores were cal-culated based on the questionnaire responses to evaluate outcomes,specifically initiation of information,active participation,and emotional expression.We employed different methods including t-tests,ANOVA,and leaner regressions to analyse data. Results:The demographic profile of participants characterised by a female predominance(58.7％,71/121),a ma-jority falling within the 65-＜70 age bracket(47.1％,57/121),and a high level of educational attainment(58.7％had completed high school or higher,71/121).Additionally,35％of the participants predominantly spoke a lan-guage other than English at home.Regarding the initiation of information with GPs,the mean sum-score was(20.5±3.7),indicating a marginally above-average level of engagement.Contrarily,the active participation was suboptimal,as suggested by a mean sum score of(35.9±6.3).Furthermore,the emotional expression was rela-tively low,with a mean score of(13.9±1.8).Substantial variations were discerned in the quality of patient-GP communication,contingent upon factors such as educational background,language spoken at home,health lit-eracy,and preparatory measures for clinical visits.Participants who predominantly spoke a language other than English at home demonstrated significantly lower levels of information initiation with their GPs(P＜0.001).Higher educational attainment was positively correlated with increased active participation(P＜0.001).En-hanced health literacy and thorough visit preparation were significantly associated with increased levels of active participation(P＜0.001). Conclusion:Meaningful engagement through recognition,empowerment,and support(health literacy pro-grams)for older rural adults is suggested for improving their quality of involvement in communication with GPs.