Factors related to the use of pediatric emergency services: results from the Spanish National Health Survey

• Published in: Emergencias : revista de la Sociedad Espanola de Medicina de Emergencias Vol. 29; no. 2; p. 117
• Main Authors: Expósito-Ruiz, Manuela, Sánchez-López, Juan, Ruiz-Bailén, Manuel, Rodríguez-Del Águila, María Del Mar
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Spanish
• Published: Spain 01.04.2017
• Subjects: Adolescent; Age Factors; Child; Child Health Services - utilization; Child, Preschool; Cross-Sectional Studies; Diagnosis-Related Groups; Emergency Service, Hospital - utilization; Emigrants and Immigrants; Female; Health Services Accessibility; Health Surveys; Humans; Infant; Male; Odds Ratio; Pediatric Emergency Medicine - organization & administration; Sex Factors; Socioeconomic Factors; Spain; Pediatric emergency services; Demand, health services; Accesibilidad; Hospital emergency department; Urgencias hospitalarias; Urgencias pediátricas; Demanda asistencial; Accessibility, health services
• ISSN: 2386-5857

To determine the frequency of use of Spanish pediatric emergency services, and to describe user profiles and geographic variations. Descriptive study based on data from the Spanish National Health Survey. We calculated descriptive statistics and analyzed crude and adjusted odds ratios (ORs). Thirty-five percent of the 5495 respondents had come to an emergency department in the past year, and 88.1% of them had used the services of a Spanish national health service hospital. Factors associated with higher use of emergency services were male sex of the patient, (OR, 1.202; 95% CI, 1.047-1.381), a higher educational level of parents (OR, 1.255; 95% CI, 0.983-1.603), and younger age of the child (OR, 0.909; 95% CI, 0.894-0.924). Emergency department use varied widely from one Spanish community to another. There was a positive correlation between use and the presence of a foreign-born population (ρ=0.495, P=.031). The rate of emergency department use is high in Spain. Variability between geographic areas is considerable, and some variation is explained by population characteristics.