Immigrants’ use of hospital emergency services

López Rillo N, Epelde Gonzalod F

Objectives: To compare the use of hospital emergency services by immigrant and

Spanish national populations, particularly with regard to severity and type of health

problem for which care is sought.

Methods: Prospective, descriptive, observational study carried out on 15 consecutive

days. We recorded the following data: age, sex, country of origin, severity of the

emergency on the Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale, type of complaint, and time of visit.

Results: A total of 5660 patients were attended during the study period. Of that total,

792 were immigrants (14.2%). According to municipal records, this percentage was very

similar to the proportion of registered foreign residents in the area served by the

hospital’s emergency service. The largest group of immigrants was of Latin American

origin (520 [9.3%]). There were no statistically significant differences between the

immigrant and Spanish national emergency service users with regard to sex (more

women attended in both groups), severity of the emergency situation (simple

complaints were most common in both groups), or day of the week when visits occurred

(both sought emergency care mainly on week days). However, the immigrant users were

significantly younger (P=.001), consulted more often with gynecological or digestive

complaints (P<.001), and attended more often between 8 PM and 8 AM (P<.001). Conclusions: Immigrants and Spanish national patients use the emergency department in the same way. The severity of complaints is similar, although the immigrant users are younger and seek emergency care more often at night and for gynecologic or digestive complaints.

Epelde Gonzalod F, López Rillo N