An analysis of frequencies of surgical procedures in Canada

This paper reports preliminary and selected results of an analysis of the frequencies of 36 common surgical procedures in hospitals across Canada during the period April 1985 to March 1987. Age-sex-specific and age-sex-standardized procedure rates were calculated for each procedure for each of 245 Census Divisions (CDs) across Canada, as well as for 338 smaller urban areas (FSAs) within the province of Ontario. Special attention was given to adjusting the rates for differing population sizes of the geographical regions. Procedure rates were computed based on the residence of the patient, not on the location of the hospital. Graphical techniques, analysis of variance, and other statistical techniques were used to identify unusually high or low procedure rates and to determine effects due to differences in age, sex, and geographical region. The relationship of procedure rate to the socio-economic level of a region (as measured by the proportion of low-income individuals in the region) was analyzed.