Characteristics and medical care of responders and non-responders
| Patient characteristics | Recruited by GP (n = 145) | Recruited by specialist (n = 123) | Non-responders (n = 86) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mean age, years | 66.0 | 57.7 | 56.4 |
| <50 | 13 (9) | 31 (25) | 25 (29) |
| 50–59 | 21 (15) | 32 (26) | 18 (21) |
| 60–69 | 54 (37) | 36 (29) | 16 (19) |
| 70–79 | 40 (28) | 20 (16) | 17 (20) |
| >80 | 17 (12) | 4 (3) | 2 (2) |
| missing | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 8 (9) |
| Male sex | 67 (46) | 63 (51) | 25 (32) |
| Ethnicity | |||
| Dutch | 137 (95) | 114 (93) | |
| Other | 8 (6) | 9 (7) | |
| Assessment of patients’ own health status (5-point scale) | |||
| (Very) good | 80 (55) | 31 (25) | |
| Neutral | 52 (36) | 59 (48) | |
| (Very) bad | 12 (8) | 30 (24) | |
| Missing | 1 (1) | 3 (2) | |
| Medical care | |||
| Number of chronic diseases according to patient (mean ± SD) | 1.87 ± 1.03 | 2.13 ± 1.20 | |
| Type of chronic diseases | |||
| Diabetes mellitus | 52 (36) | 25 (20) | |
| Asthma/COPD | 28 (19) | 20 (16) | |
| Myocardial infarction | 15 (10) | 24 (20) | |
| CVA/TIA | 7 (5) | 6 (5) | |
| Hypertension | 91 (63) | 38 (31) | |
| Mental disorder | 5 (3) | 21 (17) | |
| Malignancy | 11 (8) | 26 (21) | |
| Disorder of muscles, bones, or joints | 31 (21) | 40 (33) | |
| Other | 23 (16) | 44 (36) | |
| Number of care providers in last year (mean) | |||
| GPs | 1.2 | 1.1 | |
| Medical specialists | 1.1 | 2.1 | |
| Othera | 1.3 | 1.5 | |
| Total | 3.6 | 4.7 | |
| Total number of contacts in the last year in general practice | |||
| 0 times | 0 (0) | 14 (11) | |
| 1 time | 7 (5) | 18 (15) | |
| 2 times | 12 (8) | 23 (19) | |
| 3–5 times | 67 (46) | 30 (24) | |
| >5 times | 53 (37) | 34 (28) | |
| Missing | 6 (4) | 4 (3) | |
| Total number of contacts in the last year in hospital/outpatient department | |||
| 0 times | 51 (35) | 0 (0) | |
| 1 time | 21 (15) | 4 (3) | |
| 2 times | 20 (14) | 14 (11) | |
| 3–5 times | 25 (17) | 42 (34) | |
| >5 times | 24 (167) | 61 (50) | |
| Missing | 4 (3) | 2 (2) | |
Values are n (%) unless otherwise indicated. COPD = chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. CVA = cerebrovascular accident. TIA = transient ischaemic attack.
↵a Mainly nurse practitioners, physician assistants, physiotherapist, occupational therapist, psychologists, social worker, home care, and alternative healer.