Skip to main content

Main menu

  • HOME
  • LATEST ARTICLES
  • ALL ISSUES
  • AUTHORS & REVIEWERS
  • RESOURCES
    • About BJGP Open
    • BJGP Open Accessibility Statement
    • Editorial Board
    • Editorial Fellowships
    • Audio Abstracts
    • eLetters
    • Alerts
    • BJGP Life
    • Research into Publication Science
    • Advertising
    • Contact
  • SPECIAL ISSUES
    • Artificial Intelligence in Primary Care: call for articles
    • Social Care Integration with Primary Care: call for articles
    • Special issue: Telehealth
    • Special issue: Race and Racism in Primary Care
    • Special issue: COVID-19 and Primary Care
    • Past research calls
    • Top 10 Research Articles of the Year
  • BJGP CONFERENCE →
  • RCGP
    • British Journal of General Practice
    • BJGP for RCGP members
    • RCGP eLearning
    • InnovAIT Journal
    • Jobs and careers

User menu

  • Alerts

Search

  • Advanced search
Intended for Healthcare Professionals
BJGP Open
  • RCGP
    • British Journal of General Practice
    • BJGP for RCGP members
    • RCGP eLearning
    • InnovAIT Journal
    • Jobs and careers
  • Subscriptions
  • Alerts
  • Log in
  • Follow BJGP Open on Instagram
  • Visit bjgp open on Bluesky
  • Blog
Intended for Healthcare Professionals
BJGP Open

Advanced Search

  • HOME
  • LATEST ARTICLES
  • ALL ISSUES
  • AUTHORS & REVIEWERS
  • RESOURCES
    • About BJGP Open
    • BJGP Open Accessibility Statement
    • Editorial Board
    • Editorial Fellowships
    • Audio Abstracts
    • eLetters
    • Alerts
    • BJGP Life
    • Research into Publication Science
    • Advertising
    • Contact
  • SPECIAL ISSUES
    • Artificial Intelligence in Primary Care: call for articles
    • Social Care Integration with Primary Care: call for articles
    • Special issue: Telehealth
    • Special issue: Race and Racism in Primary Care
    • Special issue: COVID-19 and Primary Care
    • Past research calls
    • Top 10 Research Articles of the Year
  • BJGP CONFERENCE →
Research

Routinely asking patients about income in primary care: a mixed-methods study

Andrew David Pinto, Erica Shenfeld, Tatiana Aratangy, Ri Wang, Rosane Nisenbaum, Aisha Lofters, Gary Bloch and Tara Kiran
BJGP Open 2022; 6 (1): BJGPO.2021.0090. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3399/BJGPO.2021.0090
Andrew David Pinto
1 Upstream Lab, MAP/Centre for Urban Health Solutions, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, Canada
2 Department of Family and Community Medicine, St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, Canada
3 Department of Family and Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
4 Division of Clinical Population Health, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
5 Institute for Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for Andrew David Pinto
  • For correspondence: andrew.pinto@utoronto.ca
Erica Shenfeld
1 Upstream Lab, MAP/Centre for Urban Health Solutions, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, Canada
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Tatiana Aratangy
6 MAP/Centre for Urban Health Solutions, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, Canada
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Ri Wang
6 MAP/Centre for Urban Health Solutions, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, Canada
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Rosane Nisenbaum
6 MAP/Centre for Urban Health Solutions, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, Canada
7 Division of Epidemiology, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Aisha Lofters
3 Department of Family and Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
4 Division of Clinical Population Health, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
6 MAP/Centre for Urban Health Solutions, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, Canada
8 Department of Family and Community Medicine, Women’s College Hospital, Toronto, Canada
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Gary Bloch
2 Department of Family and Community Medicine, St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, Canada
3 Department of Family and Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Tara Kiran
2 Department of Family and Community Medicine, St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, Canada
3 Department of Family and Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
5 Institute for Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
6 MAP/Centre for Urban Health Solutions, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, Canada
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • Figures & Data
  • Info
  • eLetters
  • PDF
Loading

Article Figures & Data

Figures

  • Tables
  • Figure 1.
    • Download figure
    • Open in new tab
    • Download powerpoint
    Figure 1. Questions about income
  • Figure 2.
    • Download figure
    • Open in new tab
    • Download powerpoint
    Figure 2. Responses to income questions. Responders are those who responded to both parts of the question. Non-responders answered ‘don’t know’, ‘prefer not to answer’, or left a question blank.

Tables

  • Figures
    • View popup
    Table 1. Test of association between responding to two-part income question and sociodemographic characteristics of patients
    CharacteristicResponders, n = 10 441, n (%)a Non-responders, n = 3806, n (%)a P valueb
    Sex P< 0.0001
     Male4435 (42)1252 (33) 
     Female (reference)5738 (55)2133 (56) 
     Otherc 98 (1)30 (1) 
     Missing170 (2)391 (10) 
    Age, years P< 0.0001
     <1099 (1)98 (3) 
     10–1978 (1)125 (3) 
     20–291294 (12)625 (16) 
     30–392704 (26)757 (20) 
     40–492117 (20)618 (16) 
     50–591944 (19)661 (17) 
     60–691327 (13)494 (13) 
     ≥70878 (8)428 (11) 
     Median (IQR)44 (34–57)44 (31–59) P = 0.01
    Language (spoken)  
     English (reference)9764 (94)3382 (89) P< 0.0001
     Other624 (6)316 (8) 
     Missing53 (1)108 (3) 
    Immigration status P< 0.0001
     Born outside Canada4193 (40)1689 (44) 
     Canadian born (reference)6167 (59)1677 (44) 
     Missing81 (1)440 (12) 
    Housing status P< 0.0001
     Own home (reference)4301 (41)1173 (31) 
     Rent4846 (46)1300 (34) 
     Other935 (9)359 (9) 
     Missing359 (3)974 (26) 
    Ethnic group P< 0.0001
     White (reference)6128 (59)1414 (37) 
     Non-White3901 (37)1636 (43) 
     Missing412 (4)756 (20) 
    Sexual orientation P< 0.0001
     Heterosexual (reference)8173 (78)2611 (69) 
     Gay, bisexual, lesbian, queer, two-spirit, or other1777 (17)345 (9) 
     Missing491 (5)850 (22) 
    Mental health  
     Severe mental illnessd 296 (3)107 (3) P = 0.99
    Neighbourhood income quintilee  
     Q1 (reference)2469 (28)1041 (32) P< 0.0001
     Q21458 (17)543 (17) 
     Q31379 (16)493 (15) 
     Q41399 (16)417 (13) 
     Q52114 (24)717 (22) 
    • aUnless otherwise stated. bχ2 for categorical and Mann-Whitney U Test for continuous variables (age) as age data not normally distributed; bold indicates statistically significant. cIncludes trans-FTM (female to male), trans-MTF (male to female), intersex, ‘other‘, and those who selected multiple sex terms. dIncludes patients with a bill submitted that includes the diagnostic code for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, psychosis, paranoia, or psychosis not otherwise specified. eFor participants with a valid postal code (n = 8819 responders, n = 3211 non-responders), linkable to 2006 Census data on income. IQR = interquartile range. Q = quintile.

    • View popup
    Table 2. Adjusted odds of responding to a two-part question on income
    CovariateCharacteristicAOR (CI) P valuea
    SexFemale0.79 (0.72 to 0.87) < 0.001
    Otherb 0.92 (0.54 to 1.56)0.762
    Prefer not to answer, do not know, or missing0.51 (0.39 to 0.66) < 0.001
    Male (reference)1.0n/a
    Age, years<10 versus 30–390.51 (0.36 to 0.74) < 0.001
    10–19 versus 30–390.22 (0.15 to 0.31) < 0.001
    20–29 versus 30–390.53 (0.46 to 0.62) < 0.001
    40–49 versus 30–390.97 (0.84 to 1.12)0.659
    50–59 versus 30–390.84 (0.73 to 0.98)0.022
    60–69 versus 30–390.78 (0.67 to 0.92)0.003
    ≥70 versus 30–390.66 (0.56 to 0.79) < 0.001
    Housing statusRenting versus own home1.15 (1.03 to 1.28)0.013
    Other versus own home0.86 (0.73 to 1.01)0.067
    Prefer not to answer, do not know, missing versus own home0.18 (0.15 to 0.21) < 0.001
    Ethnic groupNon-White versus White0.62 (0.56 to 0.68) < 0.001
    Prefer not to answer, do not know, or missing versus White0.29 (0.25 to 0.34) < 0.001
    Sexual orientationGay, bisexual, lesbian, queer, two-spirit, or other versus heterosexual1.42 (1.23 to 1.65) < 0.001
    Prefer not to answer, do not know, or missing versus heterosexual0.37 (0.32 to 0.43) < 0.001
    Income quintileQ2 versus Q11.06 (0.92 to 1.22)0.392
    Q3 versus Q11.04 (0.91 to 1.2)0.554
    Q4 versus Q11.14 (0.98 to 1.32)0.091
    Q5 versus Q10.98 (0.86 to 1.12)0.752
    • aBold indicates statistically significant. bIncludes trans-FTM (female to male), trans-MTF (male to female), intersex, ‘other‘, and those who selected multiple sex terms. Q = quintile. n/a = not applicable.

Supplementary Data

  • BJGPO.2021.0090_Supp.pdf -

    Supplementary material is not copyedited or typeset, and is published as supplied by the author(s). The author(s) retain(s) responsibility for its accuracy.

Back to top
Previous ArticleNext Article

In this issue

BJGP Open
Vol. 6, Issue 1
March 2022
  • Table of Contents
  • Index by author
Download PDF
Download PowerPoint
Email Article

Thank you for recommending BJGP Open.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person to whom you are recommending the page knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Routinely asking patients about income in primary care: a mixed-methods study
(Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from BJGP Open
(Your Name) thought you would like to see this page from BJGP Open.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Citation Tools
Routinely asking patients about income in primary care: a mixed-methods study
Andrew David Pinto, Erica Shenfeld, Tatiana Aratangy, Ri Wang, Rosane Nisenbaum, Aisha Lofters, Gary Bloch, Tara Kiran
BJGP Open 2022; 6 (1): BJGPO.2021.0090. DOI: 10.3399/BJGPO.2021.0090

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Share
Routinely asking patients about income in primary care: a mixed-methods study
Andrew David Pinto, Erica Shenfeld, Tatiana Aratangy, Ri Wang, Rosane Nisenbaum, Aisha Lofters, Gary Bloch, Tara Kiran
BJGP Open 2022; 6 (1): BJGPO.2021.0090. DOI: 10.3399/BJGPO.2021.0090
del.icio.us logo Facebook logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One
  • Mendeley logo Mendeley

Jump to section

  • Top
  • Article
    • Abstract
    • How this fits in
    • Introduction
    • Method
    • Results
    • Discussion
    • Notes
    • References
  • Figures & Data
  • Info
  • eLetters
  • PDF

Keywords

  • Inequalities
  • social determinants of health
  • income
  • Socioeconomic factors
  • surveys and questionnaires
  • primary health care

More in this TOC Section

  • Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels and treatment intensity in secondary prevention of patients with ischaemic heart disease in the primary care setting: a real-world data registry study
  • “We’re all in the same boat… some of us just have more holes in their boat”: a qualitative interview study primary care staff views of Deep End Cymru
  • General practitioner characteristics and video use in out-of-hours primary care: a register-based study
Show more Research

Related Articles

Cited By...

Intended for Healthcare Professionals

 
 

British Journal of General Practice

NAVIGATE

  • Home
  • Latest articles
  • Authors & reviewers
  • Accessibility statement

RCGP

  • British Journal of General Practice
  • BJGP for RCGP members
  • RCGP eLearning
  • InnovAiT Journal
  • Jobs and careers

MY ACCOUNT

  • RCGP members' login
  • Terms and conditions

NEWS AND UPDATES

  • About BJGP Open
  • Alerts
  • RSS feeds
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

AUTHORS & REVIEWERS

  • Submit an article
  • Writing for BJGP Open: research
  • Writing for BJGP Open: practice & policy
  • BJGP Open editorial process & policies
  • BJGP Open ethical guidelines
  • Peer review for BJGP Open

CUSTOMER SERVICES

  • Advertising
  • Open access licence

CONTRIBUTE

  • BJGP Life
  • eLetters
  • Feedback

CONTACT US

BJGP Open Journal Office
RCGP
30 Euston Square
London NW1 2FB
Tel: +44 (0)20 3188 7400
Email: bjgpopen@rcgp.org.uk

BJGP Open is an editorially-independent publication of the Royal College of General Practitioners

© 2025 BJGP Open

Online ISSN: 2398-3795