| Health care use | Group, % (95% CI)*† | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 1 chronic condition | ≥ 2 chronic conditions | |
| Contact with a specialist regarding the chronic condition in the prior 12 mo | |||
| No contact | 79.6 (76.4–82.8) | 85.5 (81.9–89.1) | 67.2 (61.1–73.4) |
| ≥ 1 contacts | 20.4 (17.2–23.6) | 14.5 (10.9–18.1) | 32.8 (26.6–38.9) |
| Prevalence rate ratio | — | — | 2.3 (1.7–3.1) |
| No. of contacts, mean (95% CI) | 1.03 (0.1–2.1) | 0.4 (0.2–0.6) | 2.3 (0.0–5.3) |
| Reasons for not seeing a specialist | |||
| Not required | 70.5 (66.5–74.5) | 72.5 (67.7–77.5) | 64.9 (58.4–71.3) |
| Doctor did not recommend it | 28.9 (24.8–32.9) | 28.3 (23.4–33.3) | 30.3 (23.9–36.8) |
| Other reason | 4.4 (2.8–6.0) | 2.5 (1.3–3.6) | 9.5 (4.7–14.3) |
| Either not required or doctor did not recommend it | 96.1 (94.6–97.7) | 98.1 (97.1–99.1) | 91.0 (86.2–95.7) |
| No. of different physicians and specialists seen in the prior 12 mo | |||
| 0 or 1 | 75.9 (72.3–79.6) | 80.2 (75.6–84.7) | 66.9 (71.2–72.7) |
| > 1 | 24.1 (20.4–27.7) | 19.8 (15.3–24.4) | 33.1 (27.3–38.8) |
| No. of emergency department visits for the chronic condition in the prior 12 mo | |||
| 0 | 91.9 (89.9–93.9) | 94.6 (92.4–96.8) | 86.1 (81.9–90.3) |
| ≥ 1 | 8.1 (6.1–10.1) | 5.4 (3.2–7.6) | 13.9 (9.7–18.1) |
| Respondent thought last emergency department visit for the chronic condition could have been avoided if regular provider had been available | |||
| No | 97.1 (95.8–98.3) | 98.0 (97.0–99.0) | 95.0 (91.7–98.3) |
| Yes | 2.9 (1.7–4.2) | 2.0 (1.0–3.0) | 5.0 (1.7–8.3) |
| Admission to hospital in prior 12 mo for chronic condition | |||
| No | 95.2 (93.7–96.7) | 98.2 (96.9–99.4) | 88.9 (84.9–93.0) |
| Yes | 4.8 (3.3–6.3) | 1.8 (0.6–3.1) | 11.1 (7.0–15.1) |
Note: CI = confidence interval. *Unless stated otherwise. †All proportions and 95% CIs are weighted and bootstrapped as per Statistics Canada guidelines. All items were based on self-reported data.