Study on Primary Care Health Service Utilization in Hong Kong

Completed

• Conditions: Primary Care; Health Services Utilization; Family Practice

• Registration Number: NCT01422031
• Lead Sponsor: The University of Hong Kong

Brief Summary

The aim of this study was to find out the utilization rate and pattern of primary health care services, and the process and outcomes of primary care consultations of the general population in Hong Kong, and whether having a family doctor would make any difference.

The study objectives were to determine

1. the rates and pattern of utilization of different primary health care services and self-care

2. Patient self-reported outcomes (global rating on change in health, satisfaction and patient enablement) of primary care consultations;

3. the process of care in consultations including drug and non-drug managements, investigations, preventive care and referrals;

4. the effect of having a regular family doctor on service utilization rate and pattern, health promotion practice, and process and outcomes of primary care consultations.

Detailed Description

Study Design: A Cross-sectional general population survey and a longitudinal study (12-weeks follow up)

Method: Two phases, corresponding to Summer and Winter, respectively, of cross-sectional telephone survey on the Hong Kong general population using a structured questionnaire to collect information on the choice primary care doctors, illness rates, primary care service utilization rates and self-reported process and outcomes of consultations. A longitudinal study for 12 weeks was carried out on a sub-sample of the cross-sectional study subjects to collect data to cross-validate cross-sectional data. Univariate and multivariate regression analyses were used to determine whether there was any difference in service utilization rates, process and outcomes among people using different types of primary care doctors.

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2007-09
• Primary Completion: 2008-08
• Study Completion: 2008-08
• Study First Submitted: 2011-08-08
• Study First Submitted QC: 2011-08-22
• Study First Posted: 2011-08-23
• Status Verified: 2015-01
• Last Update Submitted: 2015-01-23
• Last Update Posted: 2015-01-26

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 3148

Inclusion Criteria

• Written consent to study

Exclusion Criteria

• Non-residential numbers
• Inability to communicate in Cantonese, Putonghua or English
• Refusal to telephone interview
• No contact after 5 attempts

Study & Design

• Study Type: OBSERVATIONAL
• Study Design: Not specified

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Primary care doctor choice group	baseline
Monthly utilization rate	Baseline
Patient Enablement Instrument (PEI)	Baseline
Rates of non-drug managements	Baseline

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Prevalence of preventive care	Baseline
Self-medication rates during the last episode of illness	Baseline
Patient satisfaction	Baseline
Doctor shopping rate	Baseline
Prescribing rate during last episode of illness	Baseline
Self-perceived health score	Baseline

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Family Medicine Unit, Faculty of Medicine, HKU; 🇨🇳 Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China