Physician utilization and urban native people in Saskatoon, Canada

This paper compares the physician utilization patterns of similarly disadvantaged urban native and non-native people in the western Canadian city of Saskatoon. Through the administration of a large survey instrument to 142 native and 84 non-native respondents, the author demonstrates the extensive utilization by native residents of a particular 'walk-in' clinic located in the area which has come to be viewed by many natives as their regular source of medical care. Non-natives, in contrast, demonstrated a greater utilization of physicians in private practice. Beyond the actual location of the physician providing the service, the data demonstrate few differences between natives and non-natives in the extent of their physician utilization. The paper suggests that socio-economic rather than cultural factors better explain the observed patterns of behaviour.