International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Volume 15, Issue 9, 2018

Increased urgent care center visits by southeast european migrants: A retrospective, controlled trial from Switzerland (Article) (Open Access)

Klukowska-Röetzler J.* , Eracleous M. , Müller M. , Srivastava D.S. , Krummrey G. , Keidar O. , Exadaktylos A.K.
  • a Department of Emergency Medicine, University Hospital, Berne, 3010, Switzerland
  • b Department of Rheumatology, Immunology and Allergology, University Hospital, Bern, 3010, Switzerland
  • c Department of Emergency Medicine, University Hospital, Berne, 3010, Switzerland, Institute of Health Economics and Clinical Epidemiology, University Hospital, Cologne, 50935, Germany
  • d Department of Emergency Medicine, University Hospital, Berne, 3010, Switzerland
  • e Department of Emergency Medicine, University Hospital, Berne, 3010, Switzerland
  • f Department of Emergency Medicine, University Hospital, Berne, 3010, Switzerland
  • g Department of Emergency Medicine, University Hospital, Berne, 3010, Switzerland

Abstract

We investigated whether immigrants from Southeast Europe (SE) and Swiss patients have different reasons for visiting the emergency department (ED). Our retrospective data analysis for the years 2013–2017 describes the pattern of ED consultations for immigrants from SE living in Switzerland (Canton Bern), in comparison with Swiss nationals, with a focus on type of referral and reason for admission. A total of 153,320 Swiss citizens and 12,852 immigrants from SE were included in the study. The mean age was 51.30 (SD = 21.13) years for the Swiss patients and 39.70 (SD = 15.87) years for the SE patients. For some countries of origin (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Turkey), there were highly statistically significant differences in sex distribution, with a predominance of males. SE immigrants had a greater proportion of patients in the lower triage level (level 3: SE: 67.3% vs. Swiss: 56.0%) and a greater proportion of patients in the high triage level than the Swiss population (level 1: SE: 3.4% vs. Swiss: 8.8%). SE patients of working age (16–65 years) were six times more often admitted by ambulance than older (≥65 years) SE patients, whereas this ratio was similar in the Swiss population. In both groups, the fast track service was primarily used for patients of working age (<65) and more than three times more often in the SE than the Swiss group (SE: 39.1%, Swiss: 12.6%). We identified some indications for access to primary care in emergency departments for immigrants and highlighted the need for attention to the role of organizational characteristics of primary health care in Switzerland. We highlighted the need for professional support to improve the quality of healthcare for immigrants. In the future, we will need more primary care services and general practitioners with a migrant background. © 2018 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

Author Keywords

Immigrant healthcare Southeast europe

Index Keywords

immigrant hospitalization ambulance controlled clinical trial Bern [Switzerland] Albania Swiss sex ratio human epidemiology middle aged Ethnic Groups ethnic group Turkey (republic) controlled study Bosnia and Herzegovina Aged general practitioner emergency ward Young Adult Humans migrant Adolescent male Emigrants and Immigrants female patient referral Ambulatory Care Facilities outpatient department health services Article Retrospective Studies adult migration emergency health service data analysis hospital emergency service Emergency Service, Hospital Transients and Migrants attention retrospective study Switzerland primary health care public health European immigrant
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85052587161&doi=10.3390%2fijerph15091857&partnerID=40&md5=c468833b68aec98608e602b7c54c22a8
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph15091857
ISSN: 16617827
Cited by: 2
Original Language: English