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Differences in rural and urban physician populations in Ontario: A closer look at the north and south

This study analyzes data from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario to examine the differences in physician populations between rural and urban regions in the northern and southern areas of the province. The study identifies differences in practice characteristics and explores the implications for healthcare delivery in these regions.

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Differences in rural and urban physician populations in Ontario: A closer look at the north and south

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  1. A Closer look at Ontario’s Northern and Southern Rural Physicians Northern Health Research Conference June 4 & 5, 2010 Elizabeth Wenghofer, PhD Raymond W. Pong, PhD Patrick Timony, MA

  2. Research Objective • Examine differences in physician populations between rural and urban regions of the northern and southern areas of the province

  3. Study Design • Descriptive secondary data analysis • Data from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) 2007Annual Membership Renewal (98% response rate) • Ethical approval was granted by the Laurentian University Research Ethics Board.

  4. Study Population • 22,688 Physicians • General practitioners • College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) • Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) • Primary practice address in Ontario • Active, independent practice

  5. CPSO Annual Survey • Active practice • Practice Address(es) • Hospital appointments • Language of practice • Accepting new patients • Clinical activities (% of time) • Practice description (hours worked, number of patient visits) • Continuing medical education

  6. Northern-Southern Definitions

  7. Urban-Rural Definitions • Urban: • Located within a Statistics Canada defined CMA or CA. • Rural: • Strong MIZ: ≥30% of the employed labour force living in the CSD works in any CMA/CA urban core. • Moderate MIZ: ≥5%, but ≤30%, of the employed labour force living in the CSD works in any CMA/CA urban core. • Weak MIZ: > 0%, but < 5%, of the employed labour force living in the CSD works in any CMA/CA urban core. • No MIZ: includes all the CSDs that have a small employed labour force (< 40 people), as well as any CSD that has no commuters to a CMA/CA urban core (that is, none of the employed labour force living in the municipality works in any CMA/CA urban core).

  8. Regions

  9. Summary • Differences between NORTH & SOUTH • Differences also with increasing rurality • RURAL ≠ NORTHERN • South RURAL ≠ North RURAL

  10. Next Steps • Accepting new patients into primary care practices  Masters project to be completed in 2010 • Clinical practice activities by specialty  scope of practice differences • Continuing education/professional development activities

  11. Acknowledgements • Many thanks to the CPSO for providing access to their Annual Survey Data • Funding for this study was provided by the Laurentian University Research Fund

  12. A Closer look at Ontario’s Northern and Southern Rural Physicians Northern Health Research Conference June 4 & 5, 2010 Elizabeth Wenghofer, PhD Raymond W. Pong, PhD Patrick Timony, MA

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