Table 4.
Description of the degree of urbanization and potential healthcare offer characteristics of the municipalities in the entire Bretagne region and within the higher-risk and lower-risk clusters (no. of municipalities = 1270).
| Variables | Entire Bretagne (n = 1270) | Higher-Risk Cluster ** (n = 53) | Lower-Risk Cluster ** (n = 169) | p-Value * |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Degree of URBANIZATION | ||||
| Urban (%) | 17.2 | 24.5 | 23.1 | <0.0001 |
| Peri-urban (%) | 5.3 | 0 | 10.6 | |
| Rural (%) | 77.6 | 75.5 | 66.3 | |
| POTENTIAL HEALTHCARE OFFER | ||||
| Proportion of municipalities with at least one dialysis facility, number (%) | 36 (2.8%) | 3 (5.6%) | 2 (1.2%) | 0.09 |
| General practitioners’ density per 10,000 inhabitants | 5.5 ± 7.5 | 7.6 ± 9.3 | 5.5 ± 8.2 | 0.09 |
* p-values are calculated from the Chi-square test or exact Fisher test except for the GP density where the Wilcoxon rank test was used comparing high-risk cluster group to low-risk cluster group of municipalities in each covariate. ** The higher and lower-risk clusters were identified by SaTScan software as having significantly elevated or decreased risk of emergency first dialysis.