Public awareness and knowledge of sepsis: a cross-sectional survey of adults in Canada

Table 3 Sociodemographic predictors of sepsis knowledge

Covariate	Categories	Overall p value	β estimated parameter	p value
Education	High school or less	0.000
	CEGEP/Vocational college/Trade		− 0.028	0.932
	Some College/University (no degree)		0.803	0.033
	College/University degree (s)		1.234	0.000
Healthcare employment	No	0.000
Healthcare employment	Yes		2.756	0.000
Income	< $60 k	0.097
	$60 k − < $125 K		− 0.226	0.325
	> = $125 K		0.328	0.245
Prior sepsis experience	No	0.000
Prior sepsis experience	Yes		7.711	0.000
Sex	Female	0.000
Sex	Male		− 1.092	0.000

Multiple linear regression model selection was conducted from the fitted model using backward stepwise selection with elimination stopping rule set to p value < 0.1. Response options ‘Prefer not to answer’ and ‘I don’t know’ from each independent variable were excluded from the dataset, resulting in a sample size of 2709. ‘Healthcare employment’ was coded from respondent’s identification of the ‘main employment sector worked in’ with ‘Medical/Health’ coded as ‘Yes’ and all other response options coded as ‘No’ (Animal Careers, Aviation, Arts, Business, Education, Law Enforcement, Media, Military Careers, Service Industry, Science/Technology/Engineering/ Math (STEM) Careers, Other). ‘Prior sepsis experience’ was coded as ‘Yes’ if respondents answered, ‘Yes’ to ‘Have you heard of the medical condition sepsis?’ or did not select ‘No, I do not personally know anyone who has had sepsis’ to the question ‘Do you know anyone who has ever had sepsis?’ The beta coefficient is the average difference in sepsis knowledge between the predictor group in question and the reference group, while holding other predictors in the model constant. For example, the sepsis knowledge score of those who have prior sepsis experience is expected to be on average 7.71 point higher than individuals without previous sepsis knowledge

ISSN: 1364-8535