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[For which health problems in children is the family physician consulted and how often?]
L W van Suijlekom-Smit1, M A Bruijnzeels, J C van der Wouden
1Academisch Ziekenhuis/Sophia Kinderziekenhuis, Rotterdam.
Insights
Children visit general practitioners (GPs) an average of 2.8 times annually, most commonly for respiratory and ear infections. Socioeconomic status and urban living correlate with higher consultation rates for pediatric health problems.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric primary care utilization.
- General practice epidemiology.
- Childhood morbidity patterns.
Context:
- General practitioners (GPs) in the Netherlands serve a diverse pediatric population.
- Understanding patterns of primary care use is crucial for resource allocation and public health initiatives.
- The Dutch National Survey provides a robust dataset for analyzing child health consultations.
Purpose:
- To quantify the frequency of general practitioner (GP) consultations for children.
- To identify the primary health problems leading to pediatric visits.
- To investigate the influence of age, gender, season, socioeconomic status, and urbanization on consultation rates and morbidity.
Summary:
- A descriptive study analyzed data from 63,753 children (0-14 years) across 103 general practices in the Netherlands.
- Children consulted GPs 2.8 times per year on average, with respiratory tract and acute otitis media being the most frequent issues.
- Morbidity varied significantly by age, with children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and urban areas presenting with more health problems, particularly respiratory and ear conditions.
Impact:
- Highlights the significant burden of common childhood illnesses on primary care.
- Reveals disparities in healthcare access and presentation based on socioeconomic factors and urbanicity.
- Underscores the need for age-specific and sociodemographically tailored health information for optimal pediatric care insights.
Objective:
To determine how often and for what health problems in children general practitioners (GPs) are consulted, and whether this is affected by age, gender, season, socioeconomic status and degree of urbanisation.
Design:
Descriptive.
Setting:
103 general practices (161 GPs) in the Netherlands.
Method:
Data from 63,753 children (0-14 years of age) collected in the framework of the Dutch National Survey were used. A random sample of 161 GPs registered all contacts between patient and practice during 3 months. Sociodemographic characteristics of all practice populations were gathered. Health problems were coded according to the International Classification of Primary Care (ICPC). Consultation frequency, morbidity presented, age and gender specific incidence rates were determined, as well as relative risks of presented morbidity relative to sociodemographic characteristics and season.
Results:
Children consulted a GP on average 2.8 times per year. Problems from the respiratory tract (upper respiratory tract infection, acute bronchitis, coughing and acute tonsillitis) and acute otitis media were presented most. The morbidity varied strongly with age. Children from low socioeconomic strata and children living in larger cities presented more problems (in particular respiratory and ear problems).
Conclusion:
The GP is confronted with a great diversity of health problems in children. The variation in consultation frequency and morbidity according to selected sociodemographic characteristics showed that presentation of information in more detail by age is necessary in order to obtain optimal insight.