Impact of an addiction medicine consult team intervention in a Canadian inner city hospital on acute care utilization: a pragmatic quasi-experimental study

Table 1 Participant characteristics by study arm

Patient Characteristic	Intervention (N = 290)	Control (N = 226)	Significance (p-value)
Age (mean)	44 years	45 years	0.64
Male	177 (61%)	154 (68%)	0.12
Indigenous	121 (42%)	54 (24%)	<0.01*
Shelter use (past 6 months)	71 (26%)	113 (50%)	<0.01*
Opioid use (past 6 months)	111 (38%)	60 (27%)	0.01*
Perceived unmet need for care^a	212 (73.1%)	184 (81.4%)	0.04*
Clinical Risk Group^b
High	137 (47%)	67 (30%)
Medium	94 (32%)	73 (32%)
Low	54 (19%)	80 (35%)
Recruitment Location (Inpatient)	245 (86%)	112 (50%)	<0.01*
Participant Eligibility
Unstable housing^c	209 (72%)	175 (77%)
Alcohol/drug use (past 6 months)^d	272 (94%)	205 (91%)
Unstable income^e	208 (72%)	184 (81)%

^*Statistically significant at the level of 0.05
^aAs measured by the Perceived Need for Care Questionnaire [42]
^bClinical Risk group scores; low = 1–3, medium = 4–5 and high = 6–9
^cAs measured by the baseline survey (see supplementary file 1). Participants met this eligibility criteria if they reported their living situation as unstable, had no home or slept in more than 5 places in the past 6 months
^dAs measured by the baseline survey (see supplementary file 1). Participants met this eligibility criteria if they consumed any alcohol or injection or non-injection drugs in the past 6 months
^eAs measured by the baseline survey (see supplementary file 1). Participants met this eligibility criteria if they reported their income below the low income level cut-off

ISSN: 1747-597X