Trends in Primary Care Practice Among Physician Assistants by Demographic Characteristics
| All Graduates | 2004-2008 Graduates | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Characteristic | P Value | Estimated Mean Change per Year, % | P Value | Estimated Mean Change per Year, % |
| Overall by graduation Year | <.0001 | –0.3 | .02 | 0.9 |
| Sex by graduation year | ||||
| Male | <.0001 | –0.4 | .72 | 0.3 |
| Female | <.0001 | –0.3 | .02 | 1.1 |
| Race, dichotomous, by graduation year | ||||
| White | <.0001 | –0.3 | .08 | 0.8 |
| Nonwhite | .06 | –0.2 | .06 | 2.2 |
| Race, categorical, by graduation year | ||||
| Asian/Pacific Islander | .50 | –0.1 | .003 | 5.3 |
| Black | .40 | –0.4 | .88 | –0.4 |
| Hispanic | .61 | –0.1 | .66 | –0.9 |
| American Indian | .44 | –0.2 | .71 | 0.4 |
| Other | .36 | –5.8 | .52 | –0.5 |
| Overall by age at questionnaire completion | <.0001 | 0.4 | .01 | 0.2 |
| ≤40 y | .67 | –0.1 | .92 | 0.0 |
| >40 y | <.0001 | 0.5 | .20 | 0.4 |
| Overall by age at graduation (≥20 y) | <.0001 | 0.5 | .004 | 0.3 |
Notes: χ2 trend tests were used to determine if the proportion of physician assistants in primary care varied across characteristics. The mean change per year was estimated using linear regression analyses of proportions on year, weighted with the variance of the proportion for the given year.