Primary care in Germany: Access and utilisation - a cross-sectional study with data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
BMJ Open 8:e021036 (2018)
Objectives (1) To describe the accessibility of general practitioners (GPs) by the German population; (2) to determine factors on individual and area level, such as settlement structure and area deprivation, which are associated with the walking distance to a GP; and (3) to identify factors that may cause differences in the utilisation of any doctors.Design Cross-sectional study using individual survey data from the representative German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) linked with area deprivation data from the German Index of Multiple Deprivation for 2010 (GIMD 2010) and official data for settlement structure (urban/rural areas) at district level. Logistic regression models were estimated to determine the relationship of individual and area factors with the distance to a GP. Negative binomial regressions were used to analyse the association with utilisation.Setting Germany.Population n=20 601 respondents from the SOEP survey data 2009.Primary outcome measure Walking distance to a GP.Secondary outcome measure Doctor visits.Results Nearly 70% of the sample lives within a 20 min walk to a GP. People living in the most deprived areas have a 1.4-fold (95% CI 1.3 to 1.6) increased probability of a greater walking distance compared with the least deprived quintile, even after controlling for settlement structure and individual factors. In rural districts, people have a 3.1-fold (95% CI 2.8 to 3.4) higher probability of a greater walking distance compared with those in cities. Both area deprivation and rurality have a negative relationship with the utilisation of physicians, whereas the distance to a GP is not associated with the utilisation of physicians.Conclusion Walking distance to a GP depends on individual and area factors. In Germany, area deprivation is negatively correlated with the accessibility of GPs while controlling for settlement structure and individual factors. Both area factors are negatively associated with the utilisation of doctors. This knowledge could be used for future GP requirement plans.
Impact Factor
Scopus SNIP
Web of Science
Times Cited
Scopus
Cited By
Altmetric
Publication type
Article: Journal article
Document type
Scientific Article
Thesis type
Editors
Keywords
Accessibility ; Area Deprivation ; Distance To Doctor ; General Practitioner ; Settlement Structure; Spatial Accessibility; Regional Deprivation; Physicians; Health; Recruitment; Retention; England
Keywords plus
Language
english
Publication Year
2018
Prepublished in Year
HGF-reported in Year
2018
ISSN (print) / ISBN
2044-6055
e-ISSN
2044-6055
ISBN
Book Volume Title
Conference Title
Conference Date
Conference Location
Proceedings Title
Quellenangaben
Volume: 8,
Issue: 10,
Pages: ,
Article Number: e021036
Supplement: ,
Series
Publisher
BMJ Publishing Group
Publishing Place
British Med Assoc House, Tavistock Square, London Wc1h 9jr, England
Day of Oral Examination
0000-00-00
Advisor
Referee
Examiner
Topic
University
University place
Faculty
Publication date
0000-00-00
Application date
0000-00-00
Patent owner
Further owners
Application country
Patent priority
Reviewing status
Peer reviewed
Institute(s)
Abteilung Biophysikalische Strahlenforschung
POF-Topic(s)
30202 - Environmental Health
Research field(s)
Genetics and Epidemiology
PSP Element(s)
G-505300-001
Grants
Copyright
Erfassungsdatum
2018-10-25