Estimation of the real population and its impact on the utilisation of healthcare services in Mediterranean resort regions: an ecological study

Abstract

Background: The demographic structure has a significant influence on the use of healthcare services, as does the size of the population denominators. Very few studies have been published on methods for estimating the real population such as tourist resorts. The lack of information about these problems means there is a corresponding lack of information about the behaviour of populational denominators (the floating population or tourist load) and the effect of this on the use of healthcare services. The objectives of the study were: a) To determine the Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) ratio, per person per day, among populations of known size; b) to estimate, by means of this ratio, the real population in an area where tourist numbers are very significant; and c) to determine the impact on the utilisation of hospital emergency healthcare services of the registered population, in comparison to the nonresident population, in two areas where tourist numbers are very significant.

Unobserved tourism

“…In Table 5 only the results corresponding to a value of c equal to 1.30 kg per person per day are reported. These values of c are similar to those reported in the study of Perea-Milla et al (2007), who used three different values of c equal to 1.2, 1.4, and 1.6 kg per capita per day, finding in their study site (Costa del Sol area, Spain) a value of the real population estimate that was always greater than the official one. However, even if there are many ways of calculating the c parameter, the main idea of all the procedures used is to calculate the ratio between waste production in a given period and the resident population in that period for destinations with no tourism activity, or in periods in which tourism flows are assumed equal to zero (e.g.…”

“…Some of the standard indirect measures proposed are: electricity consumption, newspaper sales, and other variables closely related to tourist activities, for which data are more easily available. In this approach, one of the most widely-used indicators of human pressure is given by Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) production (Perea-Milla et al, 2007;Petrosillo, Zurlini, Grato, & Zaccarelli, 2006), since data are often available at a very detailed geographical level, and on a monthly basis.…”

Prevalence and predictors of sunburn among beachgoers

“…The Costa del Sol is a very popular sun‐and‐sand tourist destination on the southern coast of Spain, in the province of Malaga . The level of solar irradiation is very high in this area, where the UV index can reach 10 or 11 in the summer months .…”

Skin Cancer Prevention and Detection Campaign at Golf Courses on Spain's Costa del Sol

“…3 Sun exposure is the only major environmental causative factor for skin cancer (and precancer) that is preventable, 6---8,10,11 and avoidance of intense intermittent sun exposure---the sort that occurs in golfers---and chronic sun exposure---the sort that occurs in golf course workers---is fundamental to prevention. 10,12 Spain's Costa del Sol has a higher concentration of golf courses than any other region of Europe---hence its nickname, ''Costa del Golf''---and it is also home to many foreign-born individuals, predominantly from northern and central Europe, 13 who are attracted by the region's more than 300 days of sun per year. 14 These residents have been identified as a group at risk of developing skin cancer and their high prevalence of cutaneous neoplasms 15 is fundamentally associated with recreational sun exposure, often golf-related.…”