title: [Why do patients use hospital emergency services on their own initiative?].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The aim of this study was to determine the reasons why patients use hospital emergency services (HES) on their own initiative and the characteristics of these users.
  
  
  METHODS
  An ad hoc questionnaire was designed and applied by consecutive selection to patients who could have waited for medical care (level 1 triage) over a 1-week period in November 2002.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 348 patients completed the questionnaire; 82.5% attended on their own initiative; of these, 17.7% reported they did not know how Primary Care worked in relation to the Emergency Services; 18.8% consulted a Primary Care physician; 55.0% preferred the HES and 13.5% attended because of a delay in another health care setting. Half the patients (50.5%) were younger than 40 years old and 9.2% were foreigners.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Changes in health services' consumption patterns could jeopardize the public health system unless supply is adapted to the demand expressed and/or interventions are performed to educate the public in rational health services' consumption.
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Medicina Preventiva, Hospital Universitari Sant Joan d'Alacant, Alicante, España. aranaz_jes@gva.es
authors.forename: Jesús M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Aranaz Andrés
authors.forename: Rafael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Martínez Nogueras
authors.forename: M Teresa
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Gea Velázquez de Castro
authors.forename: Vicenta
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Rodrigo Bartual
authors.forename: Pedro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Antón García
authors.forename: Fernando Gómez
authors.initials: FG
authors.lastname: Pajares
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013030:Spain; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires