Outpatient primary and tertiary healthcare utilisation among public rental housing residents in Singapore

Abstract Background Globally, public housing is utilized to provide affordable housing for low-income households. Studies have shown an association between public housing and negative health outcomes. There is paucity of data pertaining to outpatient primary and tertiary healthcare resources utilization among public rental housing residents in Singapore. Methods A retrospective cohort study was performed, involving patients under the care of SingHealth Regional Health System (SHRS) in Year 2012. Healthcare utilization outcomes evaluated included number of outpatient primary and specialist care clinic visits, emergency department visits and hospitalization in Year 2011. Multivariate logistical analyses were used to examine the association between public rental housing and healthcare utilization. Results Of 147,105 patients, 10,400 (7.1%) patients stayed in public rental housing. There were more elderly (54.8 ± 18.0 vs 49.8 ± 17.1, p 0.05). However, it was associated with increased number of emergency department visits (OR: 2.41, 95% CI: 2.12–2.74) and frequent hospitalization (OR: 1.56, 95% CI: 1.33–1.83). Conclusion Residing in public rental housing was not associated with increased utilization of outpatient healthcare resources despite patients’ higher disease burden and frequency of emergency department visits and hospitalizations. Further research is required to elucidate their health seeking behaviours