[An exploration of factors that influence the frequency of the use of hospital emergency services and admissions]. / Exploración de algunos factores que influyen en la frecuentación a urgencias del hospital y su ingreso.

OBJECTIVE: To examine how some factors connected with Continuous Care Points (CCP) affect attendance at hospital Casualty departments and admittance from them. DESIGN: Ecological study. SETTING: León Health area. PATIENTS AND OTHER PARTICIPANTS: All the CCP's belonging to the León Health area. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Average attendance at hospital Casualties was 15.7 per 1,000 inhabitants per month. Those patients who brought with them a P10 form were more likely to be admitted (39.5% to 26.5%) than those who did not bring this form (p < 0.01). It was concluded from a regression analysis that the distance between the CCP and the hospital decisively affects attendance at hospital Casualties (r = -0.74) and that the admission rate is positively related to distance (r = 0.72) and negatively to the said attendance at Casualties (r = -0.77). CONCLUSION: Use of hospital Casualty departments increases as accessibility (distance) improves. Distance and the ageing of the population are factors which have an important effect on the admission rates from Casualties.

[Self-perceived health, the use of services and drug consumption in a noninstitutionalized older population]. / Salud percibida, utilización de servicios y consumo de medicamentos en población anciana no institucionalizada.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the self-perceived health status, the use of services and drugs consumption of the elderly population in Toledo province. DESIGN: Descriptive crossover study. SETTING: Primary Care, Toledo province. PATIENTS AND OTHER PARTICIPANTS: 591 people over 65 and not in an institution. Stratified according to age, gender and place of residence. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: A validated questionnaire was administered to the elderly people in their homes. 86.6% of them suffered from at least one chronic illness: the average was 2.30 per person. 55.2% referred to chewing problems; 43.2% to difficulty in walking; 69.2% to sight problems; and 40.3% to hearing trouble. 59.6% had visited the general doctor at least once during the previous month. During the previous two weeks, 71.6% had taken at least one medicine prescribed by the doctor; and 21.2% had taken medicine on their own initiative. CONCLUSIONS: There was coincidence between the perception of their own health status, the number of chronic complaints from which they suffered, the frequency of use of the health services and the number of drugs consumed. Women and those over 75 were those who described their own health in the most negative way.