Objectives: to identify the characteristics of the population who seek continued medical healthcare, the type of healthcare service sought, nursing techniques and procedures that are carried out and hospital referrals.
Material and methods: cross-sectional, descriptive study of a population comprised of 15,000 people from a rural setting who sought continued healthcare (CH) services, both at the point of care (hospital or ambulatory setting) and localized (domiciliary care or nursing home), throughout one year (between 2005 and 2006). Aside from techniques and procedures performed on each patient, age, sex, city/town of residence, time of consultation request, domiciliary care or centre and patient referral were registered.
Results: a total of 1,730 patients were seen, of whom 669 required domiciliary care and 1,061 required care in the area’s point of care. The group which most sought healthcare services was the one ranging between 76 and 80 years of age, with 152 visits (8,78%). More men (58%) than women sought healthcare services. 70% of visits took place in the afternoon. In the point of care, healthcare delivery to patients was performed mainly in the health centre (62%). 220 patients (13%) were referred to the nearest hospital. Wound care was the most frequently performed technique (n=393, 37%).
Conclusions: the most requested area is the one at the point of care. The elderly and an important middle-age group constitute the population with the highest number of requests. More men than women seek healthcare services. Visits take place especially in the afternoon. A small percentage of patients is referred to the hospital. The study enabled us to identify the most frequently performed techniques and procedures. Our findings have allowed us to make changes with a view to improve the quality of the service provided.