Table 1 Characteristics of the total adult population and of frequent users of ambulatory care services in Quebec, Canada for 2014–2015
Characteristics | Total population n, (%) | Frequent usersa | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Emergency departments (3+) n, (%) | General practitioners (7+) n, (%) | Specialist physicians (10+) n, (%) | Total ambulatory care services (17+) n, (%) | ||
Population size | 5,316,830 (100.0) | 213,920 (100.0) b | 347,370 (100.0) b | 307,696 (100.0) b | 271,358 (100.00) b |
Age, yr, Mean ± SD | 50.7 ± 17.9 | 53.9 ± 20.4 | 54.7 ± 19.2 | 58.9 ± 17.6 | 58.0 ± 18.4 |
Age groups | |||||
 18–44 | 1,976,637 (37.2) | 74,368 (34.8) | 113,083 (32.6) | 71,654 (23.3) | 70,026 (25.8) |
 45–64 | 2,068,153 (38.9) | 66,776 (31.2) | 119,492 (34.4) | 98,639 (32.1) | 86,423 (31.9) |
 65–84 | 1,137,476 (21.4) | 58,801 (27.5) | 92,913 (26.8) | 125,460 (40.8) | 101,019 (37.2) |
 85+ | 134,564 (2.5) | 13,975 (6.5) | 21,882 (6.3) | 11,943 (3.9) | 13,890 (5.1) |
Sex | |||||
 Female | 2,776,966 (52.2) | 120,318 (56.2) | 233,770 (67.3) | 184,796 (60.1) | 170,729 (62.9) |
 Male | 2,539,864 (47.8) | 93,602 (43.8) | 113,600 (32.7) | 122,900 (39.9) | 100,629 (37.1) |
Material deprivation | |||||
 1 (Least deprived) | 998,294 (18.8) | 25,972 (12.1) | 56,067 (16.1) | 60,734 (19.7) | 47,999 (17.7) |
 2 | 1,026,652 (19.3) | 33,079 (15.5) | 64,090 (18.5) | 57,411 (18.7) | 48,968 (18.1) |
 3 | 1,019,183 (19.2) | 38,503 (18.0) | 66,696 (19.2) | 57,632 (18.7) | 50,732 (18.7) |
 4 | 1,020,353 (19.2) | 45,851 (21.4) | 69,035 (19.9) | 57,831 (18.8) | 52,645 (19.4) |
 5 (Most deprived) | 968,560 (18.2) | 54,363 (25.4) | 66,835 (19.2) | 55,618 (18.1) | 52,412 (19.3) |
 Missing | 283,788 (5.3) | 16,152 (7.6) | 24,647 (7.1) | 18,470 (6.0) | 18,602 (6.9) |
Number of medical conditions | |||||
 0 | 3,810,758 (71.7) | 109,021 (51.0) | 177,934 (50.2) | 113,712 (37.0) | 100,573 (37.1) |
 1 | 1,013,676 (19.1) | 47,962 (22.4) | 96,444 (27.8) | 85,208 (27.7) | 73,216 (27.0) |
 2 | 254,778 (4.8) | 19,698 (9.2) | 34,562 (10.0) | 45,289 (14.7) | 38,619 (14.2) |
 3 | 95,851 (1.8) | 10,867 (5.1) | 14,323 (4.1) | 22,834 (7.4) | 20,058 (7.4) |
 4+ | 141,767 (2.7) | 26,372 (12.3) | 24,107 (6.9) | 40,653 (13.2) | 38,892 (14.3) |
Medical conditions, Mean ± SD | 0.5 ± 1.1 | 1.3 ± 2.1 | 1.0 ± 1.6 | 1.4 ± 2.6 | 1.6 ± 2.1 |
Comorbidity score | |||||
 0 | 4,653,358 (87.5) | 149,691 (70.0) | 267,237 (76.9) | 184,545 (60.0) | 164,730 (60.7) |
 1 | 219,171 (4.1) | 19,143 (9.0) | 28,089 (9.0) | 31,014 (10.1) | 28,580 (10.5) |
 2–3 | 296,335 (5.6) | 23,855 (11.2) | 31,264 (9.0) | 49,656 (16.1) | 40,638 (15.0) |
 4–5 | 79,517 (1.5) | 10,051 (4.7) | 10,757 (3.1) | 18,872 (6.1) | 16,522 (6.1) |
 6+ | 68,449 (1.3) | 11,180 (5.2) | 10,023 (2.9) | 23,609 (7.7) | 20,888 (7.7) |
Social deprivation | |||||
 1 (Least deprived) | 1,000,193 (18.8) | 34,502 (16.1) | 57,188 (16.5) | 51,373 (16.7) | 43,840 (16.2) |
 2 | 1,024,222 (19.3) | 38,568 (18.0) | 61,989 (17.9) | 52,559 (17.1) | 46,111 (17.0) |
 3 | 1,038,625 (19.5) | 39,424 (18.4) | 65,668 (18.9) | 57,497 (18.7) | 50,388 (18.6) |
 4 | 1,000,609 (18.8) | 40,607 (19.0) | 68,781 (19.8) | 62,983 (20.5) | 54,954 (20.3) |
 5 (Most deprived) | 969,393 (18.2) | 44,667 (20.9) | 69,097 (19.9) | 64,814 (21.1) | 57,463 (21.2) |
 Missing | 283,788 (5.3) | 16,152 (7.6) | 24,647 (7.1) | 18,470 (6.0) | 18,602 (6.9) |
Rurality | |||||
 Non rural | 4,207,825 (79.1) | 150,372 (70.3) | 274,378 (79.7) | 258,919 (84.2) | 222,419 (82.0) |
 Rural | 1,074,234 (20.2) | 62,647 (29.3) | 69,256 (19.9) | 47,766 (15.5) | 47,963 (17.7) |
 Missing | 34,771 (0.7) | 901 (0.4) | 1230 (0.4) | 1011 (0.3) | 976 (0.3) |
ED frequent visits | 213,920 (4.0) | 213,920 (100.0) | 38,684 (11.1) | 51,047 (16.6) | 70,530 (26.0) |
GP frequent visits | 348,238 (6.5) | 38,684 (18.1) | 347,370 (100.0) | 51,345 (16.7) | 119,344 (44.0) |
SP frequent visits Total frequent visits | 266,413 (5.8) 271,358 (5.1) | 51,047 (23.9) 70,530 (33.0) | 51,345 (14.8) 119,344 (34.4) | 307,696 (100.0) 271,358 (88.2) | 195,359 (72.0) 271,358 (100.0) |