Introduction: Little is known about immigrants' contact with the Danish health system. The aim of this study was to compare the pattern of contact with general practitioners of guest workers, refugees and non-immigrants in Copenhagen. Materials and methods: 2.04 daytime contacts (home visits, clinic consultations and telephone consultations) by 423,202 inhabitants during the year 1998 as recorded in the National Patient Registry were merged with information about citizenship and place of birth in the Danish Central Office of Civil Registration. The contacts were described by the average number of contacts per person at risk per year. The differences between non-immigrants and immigrants were analyzed using Poisson regression. Results: Immigrants and non-immigrants showed nearly the same sex- and age-dependent contact pattern. Immigrant children (1-18 years) and older people (60+ years) had a lower contact rate than non-immigrants in the same age groups. The 19- to 59-year-old guest worker women and men had 3% and 5% higher contact rates and the refugee women and men 2% and 17% higher contact rates, respectively, than non-immigrants in the same age group. The percentage of telephone consultations was lower for immigrants and the clinic consultation rate higher than for non-immigrants. Conclusion: There are sex- and age-specific differences between immigrants and non-immigrants. If equity is a goal in public health care, we should know more about its actual use. More complex research designs are needed, as well as theoretical studies, to shed light on these issues.

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statistical analysis immigrant refugee register human Refugees middle aged Denmark controlled study professional practice Aged general practitioner Urban Health Services Humans teleconsultation Adolescent consultation male female Infant Child, Preschool Article health care adult Sex Factors Age Factors Office Visits Emigration and Immigration Poisson distribution health care system Family Practice Child