Australians with osteoarthritis: satisfaction with health care providers and the perceived helpfulness of treatments and information sources

Figures & data

Table 1 Univariate and multivariate predictors of satisfaction with GP care

Variable	Comparison	OR	95% CI (OR)	Siga	Sigb
Age	Each additional year of age	1.03	1.00–1.01	0.030
Sex	Male	1.00
	Female	0.90	0.51–1.61	0.727
Education	<Year 12	1.00
	Year 12 or higher	0.79	0.46–1.35	0.389
Amount of time GP spends with patient	One level more satisfied	12.50	7.14–20.00	<0.001	0.005
Ability to talk freely with GP about medical problems	One level more satisfied	11.11	6.25–20.00	<0.001
GP’s response when symptoms explained	One level more satisfied	14.29	7.69–25.00	<0.001
GP’s willingness to answer questions	One level more satisfied	14.29	7.69–25.00	<0.001
GP’s willingness to address new problems	One level more satisfied	7.69	4.76–12.50	<0.001
Information provided by GP about illness	One level more satisfied	14.29	7.69–25.00	<0.001
Information GP provides about what to expect	One level more satisfied	20.00	10.00–33.30	<0.001	<0.001
Communication between patient and GP	One level more satisfied	16.67	9.09–33.30	<0.001	0.001
Ability to talk freely with GP about emotional problems	One level more satisfied	4.17	2.94–5.88	<0.001
Information GP provides about medications	One level more satisfied	14.29	7.99–25.58	<0.001	0.042

Notes:

a Based on logistic regression

b From multivariable model. Blank spaces indicate variables that did not reach statistical significance during the backwards elimination process and were thus dropped from the final model.

Abbreviations: CI, confidence interval; GP, general practitioner; OR, odds ratio; Sig, significance.

Table 2 Respondent satisfaction with other health professionals

Health professional	%	n	Denominator	95% CI (%)
Pharmacist	80	77	96	71–87
Rheumatologist	76	37	49	62–85
Orthopedic surgeon	72	90	125	64–79
Complementary medicine practitionera	61	62	102	51–70
Podiatrist	60	71	119	51–68
Physiotherapist	59	87	147	51–67
Occupational therapist	58	18	31	41–74
Dietician	50	14	28	33–67

Note:

a For example, chiropractor, osteopath, homeopath, naturopath, or masseur.

Abbreviation: CI, confidence interval.

Table 4 Helpfulness of information sources

Information source	%	n	Denominator	95% CI (%)
General practitioner	94	383	407	91–96
Other health professionala	94	109	116	88–97
Physiotherapist/occupational therapist	92	178	194	87–95
Internet	90	118	131	84–94
Podiatrist	88	140	159	82–92
Rheumatologist	87	71	82	78–92
OA support group(s)	82	14	17	59–94
Family and/or friends	82	203	248	77–86
Newspapers, magazines, books	81	174	216	75–85
Television	62	101	163	54–69

Note:

a For example, chiropractor, osteopath, homeopath, naturopath, or masseur.

Abbreviations: CI, confidence interval; OA, osteoarthritis.

Table 3 Helpfulness of OA treatments

Treatments	%	n	Denominator	95% CI (%)
Joint replacement surgery	91	96	105	85–95
Prescription anti-inflammatory medications	66	178	271	60–71
Aids and assistive devices	65	90	139	57–72
Intra-articular injections	63	98	155	55–70
Prescription painkiller medications	62	144	233	55–68
Exercise	48	178	374	43–53
OTC painkiller/anti-inflammatory medications	45	155	348	39–50
Physiotherapy	43	90	208	37–50
Complementary therapies	39	53	136	31–47
Other (eg, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, heat or cold therapy)	36	39	108	28–46
Weight loss	34	87	256	28–40
Complementary medicines	29	88	303	24–34
Topical creams	22	60	272	18–27

Abbreviations: CI, confidence interval; OA, osteoarthritis; OTC, over-the-counter.