[Health services utilization by the immigrant population in Spain].
OBJECTIVE
To compare health services utilization between the immigrant and indigenous populations in Spain.


METHODS
We used information provided by the following four health surveys carried out around 2005: Catalonia 2005; city of Madrid 2005, Canary Islands 2004 and the Autonomous Community of Valencia 2005. The health services studied were general practice, specialist services, emergency services, hospitalization, and two preventive services: pap smear test and mammography.


RESULTS
In general, most health services were less frequently used by the immigrant population than by the Spanish population. The health services showing the least differences between the two populations were general practice and hospitalization, while the greatest differences were found in the use of specialist and preventive services. The most heterogeneous results were found in general practice and hospitalization, since some immigrant groups showed a relatively high frequency of use in some geographical areas and a relatively low frequency in other areas.


CONCLUSIONS
The results of the present study reproduce those found in other studies carried out in countries with similar social and economic characteristics to Spain. Like previous results, the present results are difficult to explain. Future research should aim to use other study designs and to test hypotheses not put forward by the scientific community to date.
Regidor
Enrique
E
Departamento de Medicina Preventiva, Salud Pública e Historia de la Ciencia, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, España.
Sanz
Belén
B
Pascual
Cruz
C
Lostao
Lourdes
L
Sánchez
Elisabeth
E
Díaz Olalla
José Manuel
JM
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003752:Dental Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005194:Family Practice / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006296:Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006306:Health Surveys; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008327:Mammography / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008511:Medicine / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008875:Middle Aged; D065006:Papanicolaou Test; D013030:Spain; D014626:Vaginal Smears / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055815:Young Adult