Exploratory Spatial Analysis of Osteoarthritis Patients in Alberta

Equitable access to Osteoarthritis (OA) health services in Alberta is challenged by the geographic spread of the Alberta population coupled with variations in OA prevalence across the province. OA is a degenerative chronic condition affecting 10-15% of adults in Canada. Our goal was to determine geographic variations of patients with OA, considering their needs for access to specialty and non-specialty OA-related health services use in Alberta. To reveal the geographic variations, we used longitudinal administrative health records from which we identified 323,674 OA prevalence cohort cases in Alberta (April 1, 2012 –March 31, 2013). Our analysis showed significantly larger numbers of prevalence cases for women than men (p-value<0.001). There were significantly higher age- and sex-standardized OA prevalence rates per 1,000 population in rural remote areas, rural areas, satellite communities located on the periphery of the city of Edmonton (moderate metro areas), and in moderate urban areas in the centre. Our hot spot analysis results showed local hot spots in Alberta that were particularly consistent with already identified communities with high numbers of elderly patients, and patients with comorbidities and/or low socio-economic status. The specialty care weighted hot spot analysis showed slightly higher numbers of hot spots in communities from rural remote and rural south areas, compared to other areas where patients mostly used non-specialty health services. This information will help inform the distribution and delivery of healthcare resources to communities with high OA prevalence in Alberta