This study analyses how both ambulatory care groups (ACGs) and physician characteristics explain the variability in health-service use among primary care patients in Spain. During the period 1996-1997, data derived from 52,152 patients and their 38 respective primary care physicians were collected. The response variables were as follows: number of visits; diagnostic tests requested; and referra...

OBJECTIVE To assess the effects of physician-centred gatekeeping on health, health care utilization, and costs by conducting a systematic review of the literature. METHODS Systematic search in PubMed (MEDLINE and Pre-MEDLINE), EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library, from the databases' respective inception dates up to January 2010, using the search words "gatekeeping", "gatekeeper*", "first contact...

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to examine racial/ethnic differences in the relationship between functional disability and the use of health care services in a nationally representative sample of older adults by using the Andersen behavioral model of health services utilization. DESIGN AND METHODS The study used 12 years of longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study (1992-20...

BACKGROUND Although health strategies and policies have addressed equitable distribution of health care in Mongolia, few studies have been conducted on this topic. Rapid socio-economic changes have recently occurred; however, there is no evidence as to how horizontal inequity has changed. The aim of this paper is to evaluate income related-inequalities in health care utilizations and their chan...

INTRODUCTION This study assesses trends in horizontal equity in the utilization of healthcare services from 1998 to 2008--a period of major economic and social change in Brazil. METHODS Data are from nationally representative surveys repeated in 1998, 2003, and 2008. We apply established methods for assessing horizontal inequity in healthcare access (the principle that people with the same he...

BACKGROUND Intermediate care is a health care model developed to optimize the coordination of health care services and functional independence. In Central Norway, an intermediate care hospital (ICH) was established in a municipality to improve hospital discharge and follow-up among elderly patients with chronic conditions and comprehensive care needs. The aim of this study was to investigate th...

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of the increasing prevalence of obesity on the development of health care utilization in Denmark in the period 1987-2005. PATIENTS AND METHODS From a random sample of adult Danes (19,142 women and 18,335 men) who participated in the Danish Health Interview Surveys in 1987, 1994, 2000, and 2005, self-reported data on type of health...

The medical literature has focused on violent victimization as a public health concern, examining its correlates and evaluating intervention models. However, the emphasis on victimization in this literature overlooks the strong ties between victimization and offending risks outlined in the criminological literature, which may unnecessarily limit the scope of public health efforts to influence v...

OBJECTIVE To describe the methodology used to measure and explain income-related inequalities in health and health care utilization over time in selected Latin American and Caribbean countries. METHODS Data from nationally representative household surveys in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Jamaica, Mexico, and Peru were used to analyze income-related inequalities in health status and health care uti...

Because depression and painful symptoms commonly occur together, we conducted a literature review to determine the prevalence of both conditions and the effects of comorbidity on diagnosis, clinical outcomes, and treatment. The prevalences of pain in depressed cohorts and depression in pain cohorts are higher than when these conditions are individually examined. The presence of pain negatively ...