Variations in Emergency Service Utilization among Cancer Survivors: Results from the Pan-Canadian Experiences of Cancer Patients in Transition Study Survey
Table 2
Emergency service utilization in the first year after cancer treatment completion organized by personal and clinical characteristics of cancer survivors included in our study population.
Characteristic
Total
None
1–3 times
>3 times
value
N = 5,774
N = 4,523
N = 913
N = 338
Sex
0.36
Male
2,641 (45.7%)
2,074 (45.9%)
403 (44.1%)
164 (48.5%)
Female
3,133 (54.3%)
2,449 (54.1%)
510 (55.9%)
174 (51.5%)
Age at diagnosis
<0.001
18–44
387 (6.7%)
270 (6.0%)
78 (8.5%)
39 (11.5%)
45–64
2,339 (40.5%)
1,800 (39.8%)
412 (45.1%)
127 (37.6%)
≥65
3,048 (52.8%)
2,453 (54.2%)
423 (46.3%)
172 (50.9%)
Marital status
<0.001
Single
381 (6.6%)
269 (5.9%)
77 (8.4%)
35 (10.4%)
Married/partnered
4,406 (76.3%)
3,483 (77.0%)
684 (74.9%)
239 (70.7%)
Divorced/separated/widowed
950 (16.5%)
748 (16.5%)
143 (15.7%)
59 (17.5%)
Prefer not to answer
37 (0.6%)
23 (0.5%)
9 (1.0%)
5 (1.5%)
Coping with challenges
<0.001
Very easy/easy
3,641 (63.1%)
2,974 (65.8%)
505 (55.3%)
162 (47.9%)
Neither easy nor hard
1,727 (29.9%)
1,277 (28.2%)
314 (34.4%)
136 (40.2%)
Hard/very hard
385 (6.7%)
260 (5.7%)
87 (9.5%)
38 (11.2%)
Missing
21 (0.4%)
12 (0.3%)
7 (0.8%)
2 (0.6%)
Sharing worries
0.003
Very easy/easy
2,907 (50.3%)
2,324 (51.4%)
435 (47.6%)
148 (43.8%)
Neither easy nor hard
1,680 (29.1%)
1,316 (29.1%)
261 (28.6%)
103 (30.5%)
Hard/very hard
1,160 (20.1%)
865 (19.1%)
212 (23.2%)
83 (24.6%)
Missing
27 (0.5%)
18 (0.4%)
5 (0.5%)
4 (1.2%)
Asking questions
0.004
Very easy/easy
4,312 (74.7%)
3,424 (75.7%)
655 (71.7%)
233 (68.9%)
Neither easy nor hard
1,061 (18.4%)
799 (17.7%)
191 (20.9%)
71 (21.0%)
Hard/very hard
381 (6.6%)
282 (6.2%)
67 (7.3%)
32 (9.5%)
Missing
20 (0.3%)
18 (0.4%)
0 (0.0%)
2 (0.6%)
Current insurance
0.018
Government-sponsored
1,150 (19.9%)
868 (19.2%)
193 (21.1%)
89 (26.3%)
Private
2,921 (50.6%)
2,290 (50.6%)
478 (52.4%)
153 (45.3%)
No insurance
797 (13.8%)
635 (14.0%)
114 (12.5%)
48 (14.2%)
No response/other
906 (15.7%)
730 (16.1%)
128 (14.0%)
48 (14.2%)
Born in Canada
0.002
Yes
4,897 (84.8%)
3,854 (85.2%)
757 (82.9%)
286 (84.6%)
No
825 (14.3%)
632 (14.0%)
150 (16.4%)
43 (12.7%)
Prefer not to answer
52 (0.9%)
37 (0.8%)
6 (0.7%)
9 (2.7%)
Language most spoken at home
<0.001
English
4,484 (77.7%)
3,627 (80.2%)
645 (70.6%)
212 (62.7%)
French
1,040 (18.0%)
716 (15.8%)
217 (23.8%)
107 (31.7%)
Other
250 (4.3%)
180 (4.0%)
51 (5.6%)
19 (5.6%)
Highest level of education
<0.001
≤High school diploma
1,816 (31.5%)
1,393 (30.8%)
290 (31.8%)
133 (39.3%)
<University degree
2,157 (37.4%)
1,677 (37.1%)
366 (40.1%)
114 (33.7%)
University degree
1,686 (29.2%)
1,374 (30.4%)
234 (25.6%)
78 (23.1%)
No response
115 (2.0%)
79 (1.7%)
23 (2.5%)
13 (3.8%)
Population density
0.084
≤10,000 people
2,019 (35.0%)
1,558 (34.4%)
336 (36.8%)
125 (37.0%)
10,000 to 50,000 people
946 (16.4%)
737 (16.3%)
154 (16.9%)
55 (16.3%)
>50,000 people
2,740 (47.5%)
2,180 (48.2%)
411 (45.0%)
149 (44.1%)
No response
69 (1.2%)
48 (1.1%)
12 (1.3%)
9 (2.7%)
Employment
<0.001
Full- or part-time
1,986 (34.4%)
1,594 (35.2%)
298 (32.6%)
94 (27.8%)
Sick leave/disability/unemployed
316 (5.5%)
195 (4.3%)
79 (8.7%)
42 (12.4%)
Retired
3,204 (55.5%)
2,535 (56.0%)
482 (52.8%)
187 (55.3%)
No response/other
268 (4.6%)
199 (4.4%)
54 (5.9%)
15 (4.4%)
Income
<0.001
<$25,000
579 (10.0%)
404 (8.9%)
115 (12.6%)
60 (17.8%)
$25,000 to <$50,000
1,258 (21.8%)
982 (21.7%)
208 (22.8%)
68 (20.1%)
$50,000 to <$75,000
994 (17.2%)
780 (17.2%)
147 (16.1%)
67 (19.8%)
≥$$75,000
1,815 (31.4%)
1,495 (33.1%)
246 (26.9%)
74 (21.9%)
Prefer not to answer
1,128 (19.5%)
862 (19.1%)
197 (21.6%)
69 (20.4%)
Overall quality of life
<0.001
Very poor/poor/fair
809 (14.0%)
524 (11.6%)
184 (20.2%)
101 (29.9%)
Good/very good
4,943 (85.6%)
3,984 (88.1%)
723 (79.2%)
236 (69.8%)
Missing
22 (0.4%)
15 (0.3%)
6 (0.7%)
1 (0.3%)
Physical health
<0.001
Very poor/poor/fair
1,261 (21.8%)
877 (19.4%)
254 (27.8%)
130 (38.5%)
Good/very good
4,506 (78.0%)
3,644 (80.6%)
655 (71.7%)
207 (61.2%)
Missing
7 (0.1%)
2 (0.0%)
4 (0.4%)
1 (0.3%)
Emotional health
<0.001
Very poor/poor/fair
1,095 (19.0%)
749 (16.6%)
238 (26.1%)
108 (32.0%)
Good/very good
4,503 (78.0%)
3,644 (80.6%)
644 (70.5%)
215 (63.6%)
Missing
176 (3.0%)
130 (2.9%)
31 (3.4%)
15 (4.4%)
Unmet practical concern
<0.001
No
3,623 (62.7%)
2,958 (65.4%)
507 (55.5%)
158 (46.7%)
Yes
2,151 (37.3%)
1,565 (34.6%)
406 (44.5%)
180 (53.3%)
Unmet emotional concern
<0.001
No
1,793 (31.1%)
1,498 (33.1%)
222 (24.3%)
73 (21.6%)
Yes
3,981 (68.9%)
3,025 (66.9%)
691 (75.7%)
265 (78.4%)
Unmet physical concern
<0.001
No
1,972 (34.2%)
1,611 (35.6%)
262 (28.7%)
99 (29.3%)
Yes
3,802 (65.8%)
2,912 (64.4%)
651 (71.3%)
239 (70.7%)
Number of comorbidities
<0.001
None
2,240 (38.8%)
1,793 (39.6%)
348 (38.1%)
99 (29.3%)
1-2
3,091 (53.5%)
2,407 (53.2%)
486 (53.2%)
198 (58.6%)
≥3
443 (7.7%)
323 (7.1%)
79 (8.7%)
41 (12.1%)
Cancer type
<0.001
Breast
2,022 (35.0%)
1,637 (36.2%)
298 (32.6%)
87 (25.7%)
Hematologic
581 (10.1%)
381 (8.4%)
133 (14.6%)
67 (19.8%)
Colorectal
1,163 (20.1%)
816 (18.0%)
247 (27.1%)
100 (29.6%)
Melanoma
618 (10.7%)
533 (11.8%)
65 (7.1%)
20 (5.9%)
Prostate
1,390 (24.1%)
1,156 (25.6%)
170 (18.6%)
64 (18.9%)
Year of cancer diagnosis
0.25
≤2012
1,521 (26.3%)
1,182 (26.1%)
235 (25.7%)
104 (30.8%)
2013
2,754 (47.7%)
2,180 (48.2%)
428 (46.9%)
146 (43.2%)
≥2014
1,499 (26.0%)
1,161 (25.7%)
250 (27.4%)
88 (26.0%)
Surgery
0.007
No
1,643 (28.5%)
1,310 (29.0%)
224 (24.5%)
109 (32.2%)
Yes
4,131 (71.5%)
3,213 (71.0%)
689 (75.5%)
229 (67.8%)
Radiotherapy
0.070
No
2,935 (50.8%)
2,263 (50.0%)
490 (53.7%)
182 (53.8%)
Yes
2,839 (49.2%)
2,260 (50.0%)
423 (46.3%)
156 (46.2%)
Systemic therapy
<0.001
No
1,131 (19.6%)
964 (21.3%)
118 (12.9%)
49 (14.5%)
Yes
4,643 (80.4%)
3,559 (78.7%)
795 (87.1%)
289 (85.5%)
Time of last treatment
0.045
<1 year ago
512 (8.9%)
383 (8.5%)
88 (9.6%)
41 (12.1%)
1–3 years ago
3,139 (54.4%)
2,444 (54.0%)
517 (56.6%)
178 (52.7%)
3–5 years ago
1,552 (26.9%)
1,225 (27.1%)
236 (25.8%)
91 (26.9%)
No treatment
571 (9.9%)
471 (10.4%)
72 (7.9%)
28 (8.3%)
Currently receiving or received prescribed medication to prevent cancer recurrence
0.006
No
4,014 (69.5%)
3,115 (68.9%)
651 (71.3%)
248 (73.4%)
Yes
1,675 (29.0%)
1,350 (29.8%)
245 (26.8%)
80 (23.7%)
Unsure/blank
85 (1.5%)
58 (1.3%)
17 (1.9%)
10 (3.0%)
Enrolled in a clinical trial
0.009
Yes
611 (10.6%)
449 (9.9%)
110 (12.0%)
52 (15.4%)
No
4,955 (85.8%)
3,912 (86.5%)
772 (84.6%)
271 (80.2%)
No response
208 (3.6%)
162 (3.6%)
31 (3.4%)
15 (4.4%)
Times visit/speak in first 12 months—family doctor/practitioner
<0.001
Not at all
1,019 (17.6%)
883 (19.5%)
104 (11.4%)
32 (9.5%)
1–3 times
2,401 (41.6%)
1,980 (43.8%)
339 (37.1%)
82 (24.3%)
>3 times
2,072 (35.9%)
1,461 (32.3%)
412 (45.1%)
199 (58.9%)
Do not remember/not applicable/missing
282 (4.9%)
199 (4.4%)
58 (6.4%)
25 (7.4%)
Times visit/speak in first 12 months—oncologist/hematologist
<0.001
Not at all
536 (9.3%)
492 (10.9%)
31 (3.4%)
13 (3.8%)
1–3 times
2,279 (39.5%)
1,960 (43.3%)
261 (28.6%)
58 (17.2%)
>3 times
2,911 (50.4%)
2,038 (45.1%)
612 (67.0%)
261 (77.2%)
Do not remember/not applicable/missing
48 (0.8%)
33 (0.7%)
9 (1.0%)
6 (1.8%)
Healthcare provider in charge of follow-up cancer care
<0.001
PCP
1,343 (23.3%)
1,125 (24.9%)
164 (18.0%)
54 (16.0%)
Oncologist
2,420 (41.9%)
1,866 (41.3%)
420 (46.0%)
134 (39.6%)
Both
1,783 (30.9%)
1,336 (29.5%)
311 (34.1%)
136 (40.2%)
No one/unsure
228 (3.9%)
196 (4.3%)
18 (2.0%)
14 (4.1%)
PCP involvement in follow-up cancer care
<0.001
Not at all involved
762 (13.2%)
628 (13.9%)
99 (10.8%)
35 (10.4%)
Not very involved/somewhat involved
3,165 (54.8%)
2,495 (55.2%)
506 (55.4%)
164 (48.5%)
Very involved
1,763 (30.5%)
1,339 (29.6%)
291 (31.9%)
133 (39.3%)
Missing
84 (1.5%)
61 (1.3%)
17 (1.9%)
6 (1.8%)
Care coordination among healthcare providers involved in follow-up cancer care
0.27
Very good/good
3,640 (63.0%)
2,791 (61.7%)
624 (68.3%)
225 (66.6%)
Fair/poor/very poor
1,122 (19.4%)
868 (19.2%)
174 (19.1%)
80 (23.7%)
Missing
1,012 (17.5%)
864 (19.1%)
115 (12.6%)
33 (9.8%)
Received a care plan after cancer treatment
0.013
Yes
2,278 (39.5%)
1,769 (39.1%)
390 (42.7%)
119 (35.2%)
No
2,510 (43.5%)
1,955 (43.2%)
399 (43.7%)
156 (46.2%)
Not applicable/blank
986 (17.1%)
799 (17.7%)
124 (13.6%)
63 (18.6%)
Received or saw a copy of medical records after cancer treatment
