Unmet need for primary health care and subsequent inpatient hospitalisation in Aotearoa New Zealand. A cohort study.

Introduction The inability to afford a consultation with a general practitioner may lead to delays in accessing care pathways. Aim This study aimed to explore the characteristics of people by their unmet need for a general practitioner consultation because of cost, and the characteristics of subsequent inpatient hospitalisations. Methods From the New Zealand Health Surveys (2013/14-2018/19), two groups were formed based on their unmet need for a general practitioner consultation due to cost. These groups were compared by socio-demographic factors and subsequent inpatient hospitalisation characteristics during follow-up. Time to an inpatient hospitalisation was the outcome in a proportional hazards regression model with need status as the key variable. The model was expanded to include confounding variables: sex, age group, ethnicity, the New Zealand Deprivation Index and self-rated health. Results The need group, characterised by having a higher proportion of females, younger adults, Māori, increased socioeconomic deprivation and poorer self-rated health experienced a greater chance of hospitalisation, a similar number of visits during follow-up, shorter stays and a quicker time to hospitalisation compared to the no-need group. Proportional hazards survival models gave a 28% higher hazard rate for the time to an inpatient hospitalisation for the need group compared to the no-need group. The inclusion of all the confounders in the model gave a similar hazard ratio. Discussion Although consultation fees vary across general practices, it is evident that this may not eliminate the cost barriers to accessing care for some groups. Needing multiple consultations may contribute to persistent unmet needs.