[The companion at the clinical interview].
OBJECTIVE
To discover how often patients attend a clinical interview with a companion; and to define this companion by the variables of age, gender, reason for the interview, the relationship (friend or relation) and his/her typology.


METHODS
This was a descriptive, prospective study.


METHODS
The study was carried out in the Almanjayar and Cartuja Health Centres.


METHODS
The 899 people who attended for a consultation during the last week of July, 1991, were included in the study.


RESULTS
Companions were present in 39.15% of the clinical interviews. Patients under 20 and those with acute complaints were those who most commonly attended with a companion. 94% of the companions were family members: most commonly, the mother or the husband/wife. 18.7% of the companions caused conflict.


CONCLUSIONS
The companion can be seen as an important element of the health network as well as a social support. Companions with a collaborative attitude can be used to find out clinical data and family background during the interview; whereas difficult or sick companions require a particular approach to prevent their interfering with the development of the clinical interview.
de la Revilla
L
L
Unidad Docente de Medicina Familiar y Comunitaria, Granada-Norte.
Montoro
R
R
Prados
M A
MA
Marcos
B
B
Bailón
E
E
Castro
J A
JA
D000328:Adult; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012944:Social Support; D013030:Spain
El acompañante en la entrevista clínica.