Understanding the Unattached Population in Ontario: Evidence from the Primary Care Access Survey (PCAS)
Year: 2010
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: To measure primary care access on an ongoing basis, the Ontario ministry of Health and Long-Term Care implemented the Primary Care Access survey (PCAs) in 2006.The PCAs, a cross-sectional telephone survey, samples approximately 8,400 Ontario adults each year.It collects information on access to a family doctor, use of services, health status and socio-demographics.Analysis of the 2007-2008 PCAs (n=16,560) shows that 7.1% of Ontario' s adults were without a family doctor (i.e., unattached).The attached and unattached populations differed on socio-demographic and health characteristics.Emergency department use was similar between the two groups, but walk-in clinic use was higher among the unattached.The unattached were less likely to have used care for immediate issues but accessed care in a more timely fashion than the attached.This initial exploration of the PCAs provides a better understanding of some of the differences between the attached and unattached populations in Ontario. RésuméEn 2006, le ministère ontarien de la santé et des soins de longue durée mettait en place le sondage sur l' accès aux soins primaires (Primary Care Access survey, ou PCAs) pour mesurer de façon continue l' accès à ce type de soins.Le PCAs est une enquête téléphonique transversale dont l' échantillon annuel est d' environ 8 400 Ontariens adultes.Elle permet de recueillir des renseignements sur l' accès au médecin de famille, l'utilisation des services, l' état de santé et la situation sociodémographique.L' analyse des données du PCAs de 2007-2008 (n=16 560) montre que 7,1 % des Ontariens adultes n' ont pas de médecin de famille.Les populations avec et sans médecin de famille présentent différentes caractéristiques sociodémographiques et sanitaires.L'utilisation du service des urgences est semblable entre les deux groupes,
Source: Healthcare policy
Language: English
Subfield: Family Practice
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2039791604