RESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: In recent years, it has been seen that, despite the existence of emergency services in Primary Care, some users attend emergency services of their referral hospital on their own initiative. The objective of this study was to explore the causes of the increase in the Northern Health Management Area of Huelva (Spain) population's own initiative to attend hospital emergency services, to the detriment of the provision of emergency services by Primary Care. METHODS: A qualitative study based on the Grounded Theory by Glasser and Strauss was carried out on a sample of nineteen patients and sixteen physicians from the Northern Health Management Area of Huelva (Spain), divided into four focus groups. This method has four phases: data collection, data organisation, data analysis, and theory development. RESULTS: The qualitative analysis process of the four focus groups resulted in 104 codes or minimum units of information. The main causes of the increase in this own initiative were related to delays in medical appointments and complementary tests, mistrust in Primary Care physicians and greater trust in hospital specialists, ignorance regarding the offer of services, proximity to the hospital, and the closure of the Riotinto (Huelva) emergency point. CONCLUSIONS: Lack of accessibility to specialised care, geographic dispersion, mistrust due to deterioration of the physician-patient relationship, lack of health education among the population, and the culture of immediacy are the main causes of the increase in attending hospital emergency services on their own initiative identified in this population.
OBJETIVO: En los últimos años se ha apreciado que, pese a existir servicios de Urgencias en Atención Primaria, muchos usuarios acuden a los servicios de Urgencias de su hospital de referencia por iniciativa propia. El objetivo de este estudio fue explorar las causas del aumento de la iniciativa propia de la población del Área de Gestión Sanitaria Norte de Huelva (España) para acudir a los servicios de Urgencias Hospitalarias, en detrimento de la prestación de servicios de Urgencias por Atención Primaria. METODOS: Se realizó un estudio cualitativo basado en la Teoría Fundamentada de Glasser y Strauss sobre una muestra de diecinueve pacientes y dieciséis facultativos del Área de Gestión Sanitaria Norte de Huelva (España), divididos en cuatro grupos focales. Este método presenta cuatro fases: recogida de datos, organización de datos, análisis de datos y desarrollo de la teoría. RESULTADOS: El proceso de análisis cualitativo de los cuatro grupos focales ofreció como resultado 104 códigos o unidades mínimas de información. Las principales causas de aumento de la iniciativa propia estuvieron relacionadas con la demora en las citas médicas y en las pruebas complementarias, la desconfianza con el médico de Atención Primaria y por la mayor confianza en los especialistas del hospital, por el desconocimiento en la oferta de servicios, por la cercanía del hospital y por el cierre del punto de Urgencias de Riotinto (Huelva). CONCLUSIONES: La falta de accesibilidad a la asistencia especializada, la dispersión geográfica, la desconfianza por el deterioro de la relación médico-paciente, la falta educación sanitaria de la población y la cultura de la inmediatez son las principales causas del aumento de la iniciativa propia a acudir al servicio de Urgencias Hospitalarias.
Asunto(s)
Servicio de Urgencia en Hospital/estadística & datos numéricos , Utilización de Instalaciones y Servicios/estadística & datos numéricos , Derivación y Consulta/estadística & datos numéricos , Adulto , Servicios Médicos de Urgencia/organización & administración , Femenino , Grupos Focales , Humanos , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Atención Primaria de Salud/organización & administración , Investigación Cualitativa , EspañaRESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: To analyse the increase of self-referral patients at the Emergency Department of Riotinto District Hospital (in Huelva, Spain) during a short period. The study focused on patients' profiles to identify key factors that explained the increase of self-referrals. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Retrospective descriptive study using patient's data from a hospital emergency department between 2003-2015, excluding the period 2012-14 due to the lack of records. Socio-demographic variables, type of referral, access to health services, hospital route, transfer time and organisational changes were analysed, among other factors. Descriptive statistics, chi-square test, and binary logistic regression analysis were used. RESULTS: Self-referral patients to the hospital emergency department revealed a growing trend. Logistic regression model showed that the variables that best predict its occurrence were the health system changes from 2008 and the time it takes to get to the Extra-hospital Emergency Services, where those changes act as modifiers of the effect. From 2008, the likelihood of self-referral in towns with an Extra-hospital Emergency Service over 2 minutes away by car was of 76.43%. When including the triage level, the logistic regression model showed that 83.1% of patients referred themselves. CONCLUSIONS: Changes in the health system and in the time for patients to get to the reference hospital from their origin, affect the likelihood of self-referral to the emergency department. Once the patient's severity level was included, this variable, along with the time to get to the emergency department, modified the probability of self-referral to the emergency department. We found an increase in hospital services together with a reduction of resources in the primary care emergency system. This may have led to inefficiencies in the public health system, together with an increase in self-referrals and greater problems to service users.