title: Pattern of health services use by immigrants from different regions of the world residing in Spain.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine immigrants' frequency of use of four health services by place of origin and compare it with that of the Spanish population.
  
  
  METHODS
  Based on the 2006 National Health Survey in Spain, we estimated the frequency of use of four health services in men and women from: Spain, Western countries, Eastern Europe, Latin America, North Africa, Sub Saharan Africa and Asia/Oceania. These results were compared with the Spanish population by calculating odds ratios adjusted for age, socioeconomic position, health status, and type of health coverage.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Immigrant men generally use health services less frequently than Spanish nationals. The main exceptions are Latin American men, who more often use emergency services (OR 1.68, 95% CI 1.41-1.99) and Sub-Saharan men, who use specialists more frequently (OR 2.93, 1.70-5.05). Immigrant women use health services about as frequently as Spanish women. The main exceptions are North African women, who less frequently use specialists (OR 0.39, 0.22-0.71) and Sub-Saharan women who more frequently use GPs (OR 4.06, 2.21-7.44), specialists (OR 2.29, 1.06-4.95) and emergency services (OR 2.92, 1.49-5.72).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Health services use by the immigrant population in Spain differs by gender and place of origin.
authors.affiliation: National School of Public Health, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Avda Monforte de Lemos nº5, pabellón 7, 28029 Madrid, Spain. bsanz@isciii.es
authors.forename: Belén
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sanz
authors.forename: Enrique
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Regidor
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Galindo
authors.forename: Cruz
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pascual
authors.forename: Lourdes
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lostao
authors.forename: José Manuel
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Díaz
authors.forename: Elisabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sánchez
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D006296:Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006306:Health Surveys; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult