Table 1.
Univariate comparisons of predisposing characteristics, by primary and specialist health service use
| Variable | Primary health service use | Specialist health service use | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All N (%) | Low use (<3 visits) N (%) | High use (≥3 visits) N (%) | P value | Low use (<3 visits) N (%) | High use (≥3 visits) N (%) | P value | |
| Male gender | 358 (73) | 288 (74) | 70 (69) | 0.292 | 316 (73) | 43 (72) | 0.830 |
| Age at enrolment visit | |||||||
| Youth | 36 (7) | 28 (7) | 8 (8) | 0.889 | 27 (6) | 9 (15) | 0.031 |
| 25-44 years | 280 (57) | 224 (57) | 56 (54) | 253 (58) | 28 (47) | ||
| > 44 years | 180 (36) | 141 (36) | 31 (38) | 157 (36) | 23 (38) | ||
| Ethnicity | |||||||
| Aboriginal | 77 (15) | 61 (16) | 16 (16) | 0.068 | 71 (16) | 6 (10) | 0.433 |
| Caucasian | 279 (56) | 212 (54) | 67 (65) | 245 (56) | 35 (58) | ||
| Other | 140 (28) | 120 (31) | 20 (19) | 121 (28) | 19 (32) | ||
| Education (≤Grade 8) | 76 (15) | 62 (16) | 14 (14) | 0.840 | 65 (15) | 11 (18) | 0.093 |
| Single marital status | 342 (70) | 278 (72) | 64 (62) | 0.067 | 301 (70) | 42 (70) | 0.939 |
| Have children (under 18) | 122 (25) | 89 (23) | 33 (32) | 0.059 | 108 (25) | 14 (25) | 0.920 |
| Hospitalized for mental illness (>6 months) in past 5 years | 57 (12) | 49 (13) | 8 (8) | 0.164 | 49 (11) | 8 (13) | 0.666 |
| Hospitalized for mental illness (>2 times) in past 5 years | 253 (53) | 206 (54) | 47 (47) | 0.190 | 213 (50) | 40 (71) | 0.003 |
| Worked continuously at least one year in the past | 322 (65) | 257 (66) | 65 (63) | 0.597 | 280 (65) | 43 (72) | 0.275 |
| Jail in last 6 months | 68 (14) | 53 (14) | 15 (15) | 0.777 | 06 (14) | 8 (13) | 0.933 |
| Shelter in last 6 months | 143 (29) | 113 (29) | 30 (29) | 0.941 | 127 (29) | 16 (27) | 0.701 |
| Duration of homelessness in lifetime | |||||||
| 1-3 Years | 256 (52) | 208 (54) | 48 (47) | 0.197 | 223 (52) | 34 (57) | 0.474 |
| 3 Years Plus | 234 (48) | 179 (46) | 55 (53) | 208 (48) | 26 (43) | ||
| Duration of homelessness -longest single period | |||||||
| 1 Year | 246 (50) | 190 (49) | 56 (54) | 0.330 | 210 (49) | 36 (60) | 0.102 |
| 1 Year Plus | 245 (50) | 198 (51) | 47 (46) | 221 (51) | 24 (40) | ||
| Age of first homelessness (<25 years) | 214 (44) | 166 (43) | 48 (47) | 0.427 | 191 (44) | 23 (38) | 0.381 |
| Housing Status (Absolutely Homeless) | 388 (78) | 313 (80) | 75 (73) | 0.135 | 342 (78) | 23 (38) | 0.780 |
Bolded p-values indicate significance at p ≤ 0.10.