Global healthcare use by immigrants in Spain according to morbidity burden, area of origin, and length of stay

Gimeno-Feliu, Luis Andrés; Calderón‐Larrañaga, Amaia; Díaz, Esperanza; Poblador‐Plou, Beatriz; Macipe-Costa, Rosa; Prados‐Torres, Alexandra

doi:10.1186/s12889-016-3127-5

Cited by 32 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…On the other hand, although immigrants tend to be healthier when they arrive at a new country, which is known as the healthy immigrant effect, their health worsens with time in the new country quicker than the host population [ 41 , 42 ]. Previous studies show therefore a general increase in the use of health services after some years in the new country [ 16 , 43 ]. In our study, however, the pattern seems to be reversed for immigrants from Somalia and Gambia.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Differences in primary health care use among sub-Saharan African immigrants in Norway: a register-based study

Díaz

Mbanya

Gele

et al. 2017

BMC Health Serv Res

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BackgroundImmigrants’ utilization of primary health care (PHC) services differs from that of the host populations. However, immigrants are often classified in broad groups by continent of origin, and the heterogeneity within the same continent may hide variation in use among immigrant groups at a national level. Differences in utilization of PHC between sub-Saharan African immigrants have not received much attention.MethodsRegistry-based study using merged data from the National Population Register and the Norwegian Health Economics Administration. African immigrants and their descendants registered in Norway in 2008 (36,366 persons) where included in this study. Using χ2 test and logistic regression models, we assessed the differences in the use of PHC, including general practitioner (GP) and emergency room (ER) services, and the distribution of morbidity burden for immigrants from Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Gambia. For the analyses, we used the number of visits and medical diagnoses from each consultation registered by the physician.ResultAmong the total studied population, 66.1% visited PHC within 1 year. The diagnoses registered were similar for all four immigrants groups, regardless of country of origin. Compared to immigrants from Somalia, the age and sex adjusted odds ratios (OR) for use of GP were significantly lower for Ethiopians (OR 0.91; 0.86–0.97), Eritreans (OR 0.85; 0.79–0.91), and Gambians (OR 0.88; 0.80–0.97). Similarly, we also observed lower use of ER among Ethiopians (OR 0.88; 0.81–0.95), Eritreans (OR 0.56; 0.51–0.62) and Gambians (OR 0.81; 0.71–0.92). However, immigrants from Somalia reduced their use of PHC with longer duration of stay in Norway. Differences between groups persisted after further adjustment for employment status.ConclusionDespite the similarities in diagnoses among the sub-Saharan African immigrant groups in Norway, their use of PHC services differs by country of origin and length of stay. It is important to assess the reasons for the differences in these groups to identify barriers and facilitators to access to healthcare for future interventions.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12913-017-2404-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Differences in primary health care use among sub-Saharan African immigrants in Norway: a register-based study

Díaz

Mbanya

Gele

et al. 2017

BMC Health Serv Res

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“…Studies from the 1990s have shown that immigrants can only be provided with adequate health care if their specific needs and histories are born in mind. This is often neglected in emergency centres [ 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trends and Weekly Cycles in a Large Swiss Emergency Centre: A 10 Year Period at the University Hospital of Bern

Braun

Gnägi

Klukowska‐Rötzler

et al. 2017

IJERPH

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Popular demand for high quality care has increased in recent years. This is also the case for medical services and support at all times of the day and night is nowadays required. During the last ten years, there has been a marked increase in the demands on hospital emergency hospitals, particularly in the Western industrialized countries. The present retrospective study investigates how the demands on a large Swiss university centre have changed over a period of 10 years. Patient numbers are differentiated by age, gender, nationality, weekday and mode of referral. A retrospective analysis was performed of the data of the patients admitted to the Emergency Centre of Bern University Medical Hospital (Inselspital) during the ten-year period from 2004 up to and including 2013 and who were treated as emergencies. A total of 264,272 patients were included in the study. It was shown that there was an uninterrupted annual increase from 23,555 patients in 2004 to 34,918 patients in 2013 (+48%). Most patients came to the Emergency Centre on Mondays, followed by Fridays. Because of the marked increase in life expectancy and the resulting demographic changes, there has been a marked increase in the number of older patients coming to the Emergency Centre for acute medical care. It was found that there were disproportionately high numbers of patients aged 20 to 49 years who were not Swiss citizens. In contrast, most patients over 60 were Swiss. In the coming years, emergency centres will have to adapt to the continued increase in patient numbers. This trend will continue, so that it is essential to consider the sociodemographic structure of a region when planning the availability of emergency medical care.

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“…The average cost per visit in Global Clinic was lower than for physician`s general practice encounter in Finland in 2016 [9]. According to estimates [4] and evidence from actual service use [14] and actual costs [15], extending migrants` healthcare entitlements beyond emergency care is likely to cost less than estimated based on healthcare costs in the general population.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Health service use and costs among migrants in an irregular situation: cross-sectional register-based study from a voluntary-based clinic

Tjukanov

Tiittala²,

Salmi³

2020

Preprint

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AimThe increase in immigration to Europe has led to an increasing demand for information about healthcare needs and costs of vulnerable migrant populations, but few data based on actual demand for healthcare services and related costs exist.MethodsIn this single-centre retrospective register study, we examined the reasons for encounter and diagnoses, service use and costs of healthcare among patients at a voluntary clinic for migrants in an irregular situation in Helsinki, Finland in 2016. ICPC-2 classification and unit costs for primary healthcare in Finland were used as a basis for the cost estimation.Results546 patient visits accounted for 620 ICPC-2 coded reasons for encounter, diagnoses and process codes. The most common health problems were teeth/gum disease (10%), acute upper respiratory infection (5%) and oesophageal disease (3%). Visits seldom led to complementary investigations (2%), follow-up visit to the clinic (5%) or referral to public healthcare (11%). The total cost of treatment, excluding dental health costs, was 39 547 euros, or 71 euros per visit. ConclusionsMigrants in an irregular situation present with a variety of health concerns, the majority of which can be treated in a basic primary healthcare facility. The cost of healthcare was relatively low, as most of the complaints could be treated with simple means. More research is needed to understand the health and cost benefits of extending public healthcare services for migrants in an irregular situation beyond emergency care.

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Global healthcare use by immigrants in Spain according to morbidity burden, area of origin, and length of stay

Cited by 32 publications

References 41 publications

Differences in primary health care use among sub-Saharan African immigrants in Norway: a register-based study

Differences in primary health care use among sub-Saharan African immigrants in Norway: a register-based study

Trends and Weekly Cycles in a Large Swiss Emergency Centre: A 10 Year Period at the University Hospital of Bern

Health service use and costs among migrants in an irregular situation: cross-sectional register-based study from a voluntary-based clinic

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