title: [Availability and use of emergency services in Tunisia: principal results of an exhaustive national survey].
abstract: In order to assess hospital emergency rooms, a comprehensive national epidemiological investigation was conducted in all 155 public emergency structures in Tunisia. Here we present the main results of the levels of availability and use of emergency services. Coverage of the population by services is adequate (one emergency service per 60,000 people). Emergency wards admit about 2,500,000 patients every year (a quarter of the population of the country). The university hospital emergency services are the most heavily used (150 patients per day on average). Emergency services are sought for medical (60%), surgical (18%), paediatric (14%) and gynaecological reasons (5%). It would be useful to assess the quality of care delivered and the satisfaction of citizens and health workers.
authors.affiliation: Département de Médecine préventive, Faculté de Médecine de Tunis, Tunis, Tunisie.
authors.forename: M K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Chahed
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Somrani
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Achour
mesh_terms: D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004632:Emergency Medical Services / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000592:standards*; D006742:Hospital Bed Capacity; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010343:Patient Admission / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011156:Population Density; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D012041:Regional Medical Programs / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012111:Residence Characteristics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014416:Tunisia