Table 4 Indicators of access difficulties
| Characteristic | Indicator of access difficulty (outcome variable in regression model) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Difficulty getting needed care or advice1 (n = 233) | Forgone care due to difficulty (n = 231) | Use of ER due to difficulty (n = 273) |
Any ER use (n = 279) | Any hospitalization (n = 269) | |
| Frequency overall | 31.0% | 19.5% | 11.3% | 28.2% | 12.3% |
| Chronic illness burden | – | – | |||
| Category of increasing burden | 1.73 (1.14; 2.62) | 1.48 (1.12; 1.96) | 1.49 (1.03; 2.15) | ||
|
Impact of personal and social characteristics OR (95% CI) | |||||
| Increasing age, decades | 0.71 (0.57; 0.87) | 0.66 (0.25; 0.84) | 0.67 (0.51; 0.89) | 0.80 (0.66; 0.97) | – |
|
Immigrant status ref. = no; 1 = yes | – | – | – |
2.142 (1.14; 4.00) | – |
|
Limited language proficiency ref. = dominant language3 at home, 1 = other language only | – |
3.58 (0.83; 15.45) p = 0.09 | – | – | – |
|
Indigenous/Aboriginal status ref. = no; 1 = yes | – | – | – | 3.13 (1.14; 8.57) | – |
|
Financial vulnerability ref. = modest or comfortable, 1 = poor or very tight | 2.54 (1.32; 4.87) | 3.36 (1.61; 7.00) | 3.30 (1.45; 7.51) | 2.08 (1.15; 3.78) | – |
| Sum of social vulnerabilities, in order of increasing vulnerability | – | 1.59 (1.05; 2.40) | 2.08 (1.30; 3.34) | 2.09 (1.46; 2.97) | – |
|
2+ Social vulnerabilities ref. = less than 1, 1 = 2 or more |
2.19 (0.97; 4.91) p = 0.06 | 2.86 (1.19; 6.85) | 3.18 (1.24; 8.19) | 3.33 (1.57; 7.08) | – |