Table 1.
Independent Variables: Patient, Physician, and Contextual Characteristics of the Doctor-Older Patient Encounter Sample
| Sample Characteristics (N = 116) | Percent or Averageof Sample |
|---|---|
| Patient Characteristics | |
| Age | |
| Average | 73.6 years |
| 65–74 years | 62.5% |
| 75–84 years | 27.7% |
| ≥ 85 years | 9.8% |
| Gender | |
| Female | 55.8% |
| Male | 44.2% |
| Race/Ethnicity | |
| White (non-Hispanic) | 87.6% |
| Black/Hispanic | 12.4% |
| Education | |
| College graduation or more | 31% |
| Less than college graduation | 69% |
| SF-36 Physical Functioning Scale score | |
| Average | 62.4 points |
| Physician Characteristics* | |
| Age | |
| Average | 49.4 years |
| < 50 years | 61.9% |
| ≥ 50 years | 38.1% |
| Gender | |
| Male | 80.7% |
| Female | 19.3% |
| Race/Ethnicity | |
| White (non-Hispanic) | 92.1% |
| Black/Hispanic | 7.9% |
| Geriatric Training | |
| No | 74.6% |
| Yes | 25.4% |
| Physician ADEPT Supportiveness Score | |
| Average | 17.7 points |
| Contextual Characteristics | |
| Site of Care | |
| Academic medical center | 36% |
| Managed care clinic | 58.8% |
| Inner city private practice | 5.3% |
| Length of Patient-Physician Relationship | |
| Average | 6.27 years |
| ≤ 1 year | 30.3% |
| > 1 and ≤ 3 years (median) | 22.9% |
| > 3 and ≤ 10 years | 28.5% |
| > 10 years | 18.3% |
| Presence of Companion | |
| Yes | 19.3% |
| No | 80.7% |
| Number of Topics Discussed | |
| One (PA alone) | 35.3% |
| More than one | 64.7% |
| Reason for visit | |
| Acute | 15% |
| Nonacute | 85% |
| Length of Visit | |
| Average | 17 minutes, 22 seconds |
*
n = number of doctor-patient encounters, not individual physicians.