What Explains Interprovincial Differences in the Uptake of Autonomous NP Primary Care Practice?

This paper examines trends in the evolution of the primary care nurse practitioner (NP) workforce in Canada. Specifically, it focuses on two linear regression models. One, unsurprisingly, shows that the number of NPs per capita is positively correlated with the proportion of people declaring having an NP as their regular provider. The second shows that the proportion of patients without a regular provider in a province is very strongly correlated with the proportion of people declaring having an NP as their regular provider. In our view, this analysis supports the hypothesis that NPs are granted more autonomy only when access to care becomes critically constrained.