Table 3. Bivariate analysis: Mean HT prescribing frequency by provider characteristic a.
| Question | Mean HT Prescribing Frequency b (number of providers) | P-Value |
|---|---|---|
| Provider Practice | ||
| Site | ||
| Northwest site | 11.8 (177) | <0.001 |
| Northeast site | 3.7 (72) | |
| Field of practice | ||
| Primary Care | 7.5 (203) | <0.001 |
| OB/GYN | 18.1 (46) | |
| Type of practice | ||
| Physician | 9.4 (216) | 0.64 |
| Other (nurse, physician assistant) | 8.6 (32) | |
| Years at health care organization | ||
| <3 | 6.3 (29) | 0.001 |
| 3-10 | 7.0 (55) | |
| 11-37 | 11.5 (143) | |
| Years of practice | ||
| <5 | 5.5 (17) | 0.06 |
| 5-10 | 7.3 (27) | |
| 11-25 | 10.0 (119) | |
| 26-50 | 11.5 (64) | |
| Provider Characteristic | ||
| Provider gender | ||
| Female | 10.0 (97) | 0.19 |
| Male | 8.4 (79) | |
| Provider age | ||
| <40 years | 5.7 (38) | 0.04 |
| 40- 49 years | 9.4 (65) | |
| 50-59 years | 10.1 (116) | |
| 60-78 years | 11.8 (24) | |
| Female provider menopausal status | ||
| Premenopausal | 8.6 (64) | 0.13 |
| Menopausal transition | 10.5 (22) | |
| Postmenopausal | 13.2 (41) | |
| Is female provider taking HT | ||
| Yes | 18.4 (20) | 0.001 |
| No | 9.0 (107) | |
| How likely is it that female provider will herself use HT in the future | ||
| 1-4:Average to Likely | 12.7 (22) | 0.02 |
| 5-7:Unlikely | 7.7 (82) | |
| Patients visiting provider | ||
| Average age of women being seen by provider | ||
| ≤ 56 years | 18.0 (31) | <0.001 |
| > 56years | 8.2 (218) | |
| Average RX Risk score of women being seen by provider (NW only) | ||
| upper tertile | 9.3 (58) | 0.02 |
| lower tertile | 13.0 (119) | |
| Provider perception of patient | ||
| For perimenopausal women in my practice the WHI results are | ||
| 1-4: Irrelevant to average | 12.5 (52) | 0.03 |
| 5-7:Relevant | 9.0 (174) | |
| Most women on HT want to come off | ||
| 1-2:Disagree | 12.8 (81) | 0.001 |
| 3-5:Neutral to agree | 8.4 (144) | |
| Women want HT for libido, sleep, mood, or energy | ||
| 1-3:Disagree to neutral | 7.7 (33) | 0.16 |
| 4-5:Agree | 10.3 (193) | |
| Providers perception of science and preparedness for HT counseling | ||
| The risk of estrogen w/progestogen have been exaggerated | ||
| 1-3:Exaggerated | 14.5 (56) | <0.001 |
| 4-7:Appropriately described to average | 8.3 (130) | |
| Knowledge level of recent trials | ||
| 1-4:Limited to average | 6.4 (85) | <0.001 |
| 5-7:Expert | 12.0 (141) | |
| How prepared do you feel to counsel a woman about HT | ||
| 1-3:Somewhat to adequately | 8.7 (185) | <0.001 |
| 4:Very well | 14.9 (43) | |
a
All provider characteristics and other covariates were assessed. Only variables significant at and α ≤ 0.20 are included in this table.
b
HT prescribing frequency: For the 12 month period prior to the survey, we divided the total days supply of estrogen fills for women age 45-80 written by a particular provider by the total number of visits made by women in the same age group to the provider.