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[The demand for primary pediatric care]
L A García Llop1, A Asensi Alcoverro, C Grafiá Juan
1Centro de Salud de Manises, Valencia.
Insights
Pediatric primary health care demand is high, with an average of 6.2 consultations per child annually. This analysis informs updated health programs and continuing education for primary care providers.
Area of Science:
- Primary Health Care
- Pediatrics
- Public Health
Background:
- Pediatric care in primary health centers requires detailed demand analysis for effective resource allocation.
- Understanding consultation patterns is crucial for optimizing healthcare services and educational programs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantify pediatric demand in a primary health care setting.
- To inform the planning of healthcare services and continuing education for healthcare professionals.
Main Methods:
- A retrospective study analyzing pediatric consultations over a two-year period.
- Data collected included patient demographics, consultation frequency, reasons for visit, and diagnostic/referral patterns.
Main Results:
- 3,848 children accounted for 48,936 consultations, averaging 6.2 visits per child annually.
- High consultation rates were observed in younger children, with acute respiratory tract infections and breastfeeding support being common reasons.
- Significant healthcare provider workload was noted, with an average of 24.15-27.33 consultations per pediatrician per day.
Conclusions:
- Primary care pediatric demand necessitates adaptation of continuing education and health promotion strategies.
- Focusing on prevalent conditions like respiratory infections and optimizing care pathways is essential for primary care settings.
Objective:
To determine the pediatric demands in a primary health care center in order to better plan the work, as well as to up-date the health care and continuing education programs.
Patients And Methods:
The total number of pediatric consultations to a health care center during two years were studied.
Results:
A total number of 3,848 children, with a maximum age of 13 years, consulted this office a total of 48,936 times. The annual frequency index increases in accordance with a decrease in age, with an average of 6.2 consultations per child per year. The assistencial pressure was 24.15 consultations/ pediatrician/day in 1993 and 27.33 consultations/pediatrician/day in 1994. Consultations by children older than 7 years of age comprised 24.4% of the total. As for the distribution of these consultations, 74.19% were with a previous appointment, 18.06% without appointment, 7.16% due to health programs and 0.58% due to consultations done at home. For every 100 visits, 1.34 complementary tests, 1.8 x-rays and 6.5 referrals were done. Using Wonca's classifications, 42.23% belonged to group VIII, the next greatest number to group XVIII, followed by I, with the last being XVI. The most frequent reasons for consultations were: SRI in 24.3% of the cases, followed by the breast-feeding program, normality, tonsillitis and otitis. In addition, acute respiratory tract infection and acute childhood diarrhoea had weekly distributions throughout these two years.
Conclusions:
We comment on the necessity of adapting the continued education programs and the prevention and health promotion plans so that they better address the pathologies that are most frequently found in primary care.