[Factors related to the use of pediatric emergency services: results from the Spanish National Health Survey].

OBJECTIVES: To determine the frequency of use of Spanish pediatric emergency services, and to describe user profiles and geographic variations.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: Descriptive study based on data from the Spanish National Health Survey. We calculated descriptive statistics and analyzed crude and adjusted odds ratios (ORs).

RESULTS: Thirty-five percent of the 5495 respondents had come to an emergency department in the past year, and 88.1% of them had used the services of a Spanish national health service hospital. Factors associated with higher use of emergency services were male sex of the patient, (OR, 1.202; 95% CI, 1.047-1.381), a higher educational level of parents (OR, 1.255; 95% CI, 0.983-1.603), and younger age of the child (OR, 0.909; 95% CI, 0.894-0.924). Emergency department use varied widely from one Spanish community to another. There was a positive correlation between use and the presence of a foreign-born population (ρ=0.495, P=.031).

CONCLUSION: The rate of emergency department use is high in Spain. Variability between geographic areas is considerable, and some variation is explained by population characteristics.