Table 2.

Demographic and Geographic Characteristics of All Respondents and of Bypassers vs Local Users

Group
CharacteristicAll (N=1,264)Bypassers (n=402)Local Users (n=862)P Value
SF-36 = 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey; CAH = Critical Access Hospital; PCP = primary care physician.
Note: We used the χ2 test (for categorical variables) and the Student t test (for continuous variables) to test for significance of observed differences.
a Possible range of scores, 1–5; higher scores indicate better health.
b Possible range of scores, 1–6; higher scores indicate greater satisfaction.
Age-group, %
    18–34 years10.010.19.9
    35–49 years14.919.012.9.04
    50–64 years24.422.025.6
    ≥65 years50.748.951.5
White, %94.293.894.4.70
Female, %73.471.074.4.22
Married, %62.765.661.3.15
Have health insurance, %90.789.191.4.21
Time to closest hospital, mean (SD), min11.5 (9.4)11.9 (10.5)11.4 (8.9).40
Time to second closest hospital, mean (SD), min41.4 (21.2)41.9 (25.5)41.2 (20.4).68
Self-reported general health, mean (SD), SF-36 score a3.1 (0.8)3.0 (0.8)3.1 (0.8).20
Had inpatient care in the last 12 months, %11.015.68.8<.001
Satisfaction with local CAH, mean (SD), scoreb3.9 (0.8)3.7 (0.9)4.0 (0.7)<.001
Education, %
    Less than high school16.216.915.8
    High school37.439.136.7.18
    Some college17.914.319.5
    College or more28.529.728.0
Income, %
    <$20,00031.125.833.6
    $20,000–$40,00033.032.033.4.02
    >$40,00035.942.233.1
PCP density, %
    ≤3,500 residents per PCP20.220.520.0.12
    3,501–4,500 residents per PCP41.137.142.9
    >4,500 residents per PCP38.842.337.1