Table 2.
Characteristics of rheumatologists according to their level of therapeutic inertia
| Total (n = 101) | At least 1 TI (n = 47) | No TI (n = 54) | P-valuea | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Practice, % | ||||
| Exclusively hospital-based | 34 | 21 | 44 | <0.05 |
| Exclusively private | 33 | 47 | 20 | <0.05 |
| Mixed practice | 34 | 32 | 35 | NS |
| Duration of practice, years | 23 | 25 | 21 | <0.05 |
| Number of managed patients, mean | ||||
| Rheumatoid arthritis | 134 | 122 | 145 | NS |
| Psoriatic arthritis | 61 | 56 | 66 | NS |
| Osteoarthritis | 407 | 483 | 340 | <0.05 |
| Time to access an appointment, mean; median (range), days | 52.5; 45 (2–180b) | 36.0; 30 (2–150b) | 67.0; 60 (10–180b) | <0.05 |
| Participation in international, national and regional conferences, % | ||||
| Attended at least one of the three types of conference | 91 | 87 | 94 | NS |
| Followed up communications from at least one of the three types of conference | 72 | 81 | 65 | NS |
| Did not attend or follow the communications at any of the three types of conferences | 3 | 6 | 0 | NS |
Characteristics of the two subgroups of respondents who demonstrated TI on at least one vignette (n = 47) and those who did not demonstrate TI (n = 54).
a
P-value for inter-group difference with TI attitude vs no TI.
b
There was no significant difference between the max values. NS: not significant; TI: therapeutic inertia.