Estimation of the real population and its impact on the utilisation of healthcare services in Mediterranean resort regions: an ecological study Export

@article{study base, abstract = {BACKGROUND:The demographic structure has a significant influence on the use of healthcare services, as does the size of the population denominators. Very few studies have been published on methods for estimating the real population such as tourist resorts. The lack of information about these problems means there is a corresponding lack of information about the behaviour of populational denominators (the floating population or tourist load) and the effect of this on the use of healthcare services. The objectives of the study were: a) To determine the Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) ratio, per person per day, among populations of known size; b) to estimate, by means of this ratio, the real population in an area where tourist numbers are very significant; and c) to determine the impact on the utilisation of hospital emergency healthcare services of the registered population, in comparison to the non-resident population, in two areas where tourist numbers are very significant.METHODS:An ecological study design was employed. We analysed the Healthcare Districts of the Costa del Sol and the island of Menorca. Both are Spanish territories in the Mediterranean region.RESULTS:In the two areas analysed, the correlation coefficient between the MSW ratio and admissions to hospital emergency departments exceeded 0.9, with p < 0.001. On the basis of MSW generation ratios, obtained for a control zone and also measured in neighbouring countries, we estimated the real population. For the summer months, when tourist activity is greatest and demand for emergency healthcare at hospitals is highest, this value was found to be double that of the registered population.CONCLUSION:The MSW indicator, which is both ecological and indirect, can be used to estimate the real population in areas where population levels vary significantly during the year. This parameter is of interest in planning and dimensioning the provision of healthcare services.}, author = {Milla, Emilio P. and Pons, Sergi and Ruiz, Francisco R. and Gallofre, Anna and Jurado, Enrique and Ales, Marco and Puente, Alberto J. and Nieto, Fidel F. and Cerda, Joan and Carrasco, Manuel and Martin, Lydia and Cano, Damian and Gutierrez, Gonzalo and Macias, Rafael and Ruiz, Jose G.}, citeulike-article-id = {1082391}, citeulike-linkout-0 = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1472-6963-7-13}, citeulike-linkout-1 = {http://view.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17266744}, citeulike-linkout-2 = {http://www.hubmed.org/display.cgi?uids=17266744}, day = {31}, doi = {10.1186/1472-6963-7-13}, issn = {1472-6963}, journal = {BMC Health Services Research}, keywords = {base, care, demographic, health, population, services, study}, month = {January}, number = {1}, pages = {13+}, posted-at = {2009-09-16 06:58:40}, priority = {2}, title = {Estimation of the real population and its impact on the utilisation of healthcare services in Mediterranean resort regions: an ecological study}, url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1472-6963-7-13}, volume = {7}, year = {2007} }

TY - JOUR ID - study base L3 - citeulike-article-id:1082391 N2 - BACKGROUND:The demographic structure has a significant influence on the use of healthcare services, as does the size of the population denominators. Very few studies have been published on methods for estimating the real population such as tourist resorts. The lack of information about these problems means there is a corresponding lack of information about the behaviour of populational denominators (the floating population or tourist load) and the effect of this on the use of healthcare services. The objectives of the study were: a) To determine the Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) ratio, per person per day, among populations of known size; b) to estimate, by means of this ratio, the real population in an area where tourist numbers are very significant; and c) to determine the impact on the utilisation of hospital emergency healthcare services of the registered population, in comparison to the non-resident population, in two areas where tourist numbers are very significant.METHODS:An ecological study design was employed. We analysed the Healthcare Districts of the Costa del Sol and the island of Menorca. Both are Spanish territories in the Mediterranean region.RESULTS:In the two areas analysed, the correlation coefficient between the MSW ratio and admissions to hospital emergency departments exceeded 0.9, with p < 0.001. On the basis of MSW generation ratios, obtained for a control zone and also measured in neighbouring countries, we estimated the real population. For the summer months, when tourist activity is greatest and demand for emergency healthcare at hospitals is highest, this value was found to be double that of the registered population.CONCLUSION:The MSW indicator, which is both ecological and indirect, can be used to estimate the real population in areas where population levels vary significantly during the year. This parameter is of interest in planning and dimensioning the provision of healthcare services. IS - 1 JF - BMC Health Services Research SN - 1472-6963 TI - Estimation of the real population and its impact on the utilisation of healthcare services in Mediterranean resort regions: an ecological study VL - 7 SP - 13 KW - base KW - care KW - demographic KW - health KW - population KW - services KW - study AU - Milla, Emilio AU - Pons, Sergi AU - Ruiz, Francisco AU - Gallofre, Anna AU - Jurado, Enrique AU - Ales, Marco AU - Puente, Alberto AU - Nieto, Fidel AU - Cerda, Joan AU - Carrasco, Manuel AU - Martin, Lydia AU - Cano, Damian AU - Gutierrez, Gonzalo AU - Macias, Rafael AU - Ruiz, Jose PY - 2007/01/31/ UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1472-6963-7-13 ER -