title: [Prevalence and factors associated with frequent attendence in family medicine clinic].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The use of health services has seen a steep rise. The frequent users are responsible for significant economic, human and social impact. The objective is to analyze the characteristics of frequent attenders in our Health Center, in order to evaluate the possibility of taking corrective measures to improve the quality of care and efficiency in the use of resources.
  
  
  METHODS
  Descriptive observational study of a sample of 379 patients over 18 years old. The dependent variables were attendance (number of visits to their family doctor during the previous year), frequent attendance (10 or more visits to the family doctor in the last year), and persistent frequent attenders (10 or more visits to the family doctor in each of the last two years). Data were collected from medical records and by telephone interview.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean attendance was 6.83 (95%CI: 6.13-7.53), frequent attendance reached 25.4% (95%CI: 21.4-29.6), and persistent frequent attenders, 1.6% (95%CI: 0.5-2.9). Frequent attendance was associated with sex, age, marital status, educational level, family structure, existence of chronic disease, use of anxiolytic and antidepressants, request for additional tests, and referrals to other specialists, proximity to the health center, and level of satisfaction with their family doctor.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The low persistent frequent attenders found suggests that frequent attendance could be largely due to factors related to professional and organization. Studies are required to address the high level of consumption of psychotropic drugs, and improving professional skills in dealing with mental problems.
authors.affiliation: Distrito de Atención Primaria Cádiz, Bahía, la Janda. Servicio Andaluz de Salud. Centro de Salud (UGC) Puerto Real, Puerto Real, Cádiz, España.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Parejo Maestre
authors.affiliation: Distrito de Atención Primaria Cádiz, Bahía, la Janda. Servicio Andaluz de Salud. Centro de Salud (UGC) Puerto Real, Puerto Real, Cádiz, España. Electronic address: jlendinezd@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Lendínez-de la Cruz
authors.affiliation: Distrito de Atención Primaria Cádiz, Bahía, la Janda. Servicio Andaluz de Salud. Centro de Salud (UGC) Puerto Real, Puerto Real, Cádiz, España.
authors.forename: F M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Bermúdez-Torres
authors.affiliation: Distrito de Atención Primaria Cádiz, Bahía, la Janda. Servicio Andaluz de Salud. Centro de Salud (UGC) Puerto Real, Puerto Real, Cádiz, España.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gónzalez-Contero
authors.affiliation: Distrito de Atención Primaria Cádiz, Bahía, la Janda. Servicio Andaluz de Salud. Centro de Salud (UGC) Puerto Real, Puerto Real, Cádiz, España.
authors.forename: M P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Gutierrez-Espinosa de Los Monteros
authors.affiliation: Distrito de Atención Primaria Cádiz, Bahía, la Janda. Servicio Andaluz de Salud. Centro de Salud (UGC) Puerto Real, Puerto Real, Cádiz, España.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Espejo-Almazán María
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005194:Family Practice / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006300:Health Services Misuse / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009819:Office Visits / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015995:Prevalence; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D012737:Sex Factors; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D011619:Psychotropic Drugs
keywords: Atención primaria de salud/utilización; Carga de trabajo/estadística y datos numéricos; Health services misuse; Mal uso de los servicios de salud; Primary health care/utilization; Workload/statistics and numerical data