Table 4 Determinants of physician’s choice of a specific goal
From: Drug prescription goals in primary care: a cross-sectional study
|  | Specific goals (n = 2144) | Non-specific goals (n = 2808) | Univariate analysis | Multivariable analysisa | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
OR | [IC 95%] | OR | [IC95%] | |||||
Characteristics of the health problem managed | ||||||||
 Psycho-social | 93 | (4.3%) | 323 | (11.5%) | 1.00 |  | 1,00 |  |
 Somatic | 2051 | (95.7%) | 2485 | (88.5%) | 2.86 | [2.27; 3.57] | 3.23 | [2.56; 4.17] |
Characteristics of the patient | ||||||||
Age (yrs) | ||||||||
  < 50 | 554 | (25.8%) | 1285 | (45.8%) | 1.00 |  | 1.00 |  |
  ≥ 50 | 1590 | (74.2%) | 1523 | (54.2%) | 2.42 | [2.14; 2.73] | 1.12 | [1.09; 1.15] |
Gender | ||||||||
 Females | 1154 | (53.8%) | 1692 | (60.3%) | 1.00 |  | 1,00 |  |
 Males | 990 | (46.2%) | 1116 | (39.7%) | 1.30 | [1.16; 1.45] | 1.23 | [1.09; 1.39] |
Long-term condition | ||||||||
 No | 1183 | (55.2%) | 2077 | (74.0%) | 1.00 |  | 1,00 |  |
 Yes | 961 | (44.8%) | 731 | (26.0%) | 2.31 | [2.05; 2.60] | 1.70 | [1.47; 1.97] |
Low income | ||||||||
 Yes | 72 | (3.4%) | 144 | (5.0%) | 1.00 |  | 1.00 |  |
 No | 2072 | (96.6%) | 2664 | (95.0%) | 1.56 | [1.17; 2.08] | 1.30 | [0.95; 1.79] |
Patient known by the physician | ||||||||
 No | 60 | (2.8%) | 167 | (5.9%) | 1.00 |  | 1.00 |  |
 Yes | 2084 | (97.2%) | 2641 | (94.1%) | 2.20 | [1.63; 2.97] | 1.63 | [1.19; 2.23] |
Characteristics of the physician | ||||||||
Work environment | ||||||||
 Urban | 539 | (25.1%) | 789 | (28.1%) | 1.00 |  | 1.00 |  |
 Rural or semi-rural | 1605 | (74.9%) | 2019 | (71.9%) | 1.16 | [1.02; 1.32] | 1.20 | [0.98; 1.47] |