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Different Patterns in Health Care Use Among Immigrants in Spain

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Abstract

This study aims to analyze the differences in the use of primary care (PC), hospital, and emergency services between people born in Spain and immigrants. Data were obtained from the 2006 Spanish National Health Survey. The sample was composed of individuals aged 16–64 years from Spain and the seven countries with most immigrants in Spain (n = 22,224). Hierarchical multiple logistic regression models were fitted. Romanian men were less likely to use health care at all levels compared to men from other countries. Women from Argentina, Bolivia and Ecuador reported a lower use of PC. Among women, there were no differences in emergency visits or hospitalizations between countries. Bolivian men reported more hospitalizations than Spanish men, whereas Argentinean men reported more emergency visits than their Spanish counterparts. In Spain, most immigrants made less than, or about the same use of health care services as the native Spanish population.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Agència de Salut Pública de Barcelona, Pl. Lesseps 1, 08023, Barcelona, Spain

    Nazmy Villarroel & Lucía Artazcoz

  2. CIBER en Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain

    Lucía Artazcoz

  3. Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain

    Lucía Artazcoz

  4. Institute of Biomedical Research (IIB-SantPau), Barcelona, Spain

    Lucía Artazcoz

Authors
  1. Nazmy Villarroel
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  2. Lucía Artazcoz
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Correspondence to Lucía Artazcoz.

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Villarroel, N., Artazcoz, L. Different Patterns in Health Care Use Among Immigrants in Spain. J Immigrant Minority Health 18, 318–329 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-015-0202-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-015-0202-4

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