Instituto de Salud Pública, 2004. Madrid. Morató Griera J, Pertiñez Mena J, Clusa
Gironella T. Migración y Atención Primaria. In: Martin Zurro A, Cano Perez JF.
Social and demographic profile of the immigrant population in an Endoscopy Unit in Hospital de Fuenlabrada, Madrid, Spain. Introduction Immigration in Spain has increased during the last 10 years. There is a new social and demographic profile in Spain due to this group of people. It is important to know their health characteristics to implement preventive measures nad priorities in Health Service. Some of the problems that we, as caregivers, find are of linguistic and cultural nature. Some studies say that immigrants agree to questions which are not fully understood, or try to be “politically correct”. The aim of this study is to describe the social and demographic characteristics of our immigrant patient group and their Spanish understanding skills.
Methods A cross-sectional design developed from March to June 2006 in 1332 patients. 102 were selected as representing patients not born in Spain. 92 finished the questionnaire. All of them were undergoing a Digestive Procedure, older than 16 years old and mentally competent.. The data were collected in a data base specifically designed for this study and were analyzed by SPSS 10.0. Results 54’9% were males. The average age was 38’8 ± 11’82 years old. 72’8% were active workers and 14’1% housewives. 48’9% of then had completed secondary education and 28’3% primary education. 38’3% came from Africa, 33’3% from Central and South America (, 22’5% from Europe and 5’9% from Asia and Russia. Spanish is mostly their first language (41’3%), and the rest is: Arabic (21’7%), Rumanian (9’8%), Portuguese (6’5%), Chinese (4’3%), Russian (2’2%). The comprehension in mother tongue is 88% oral and written and 12% just oral. In the other hand, Spanish is understood oral and written by 78’3%, just oral 12%. 9’8% of the patients in this study needed an interpreter. Discussion The patient who goes to our Unit is 38’8 years old as average, he or she is an active worker after their secondary or primary studies, and he or she has been in Spain for more than 5 years.
Since Spain is a country that receives immigrants on a regular basis, we believe the linguistic and cultural barriers should be taken into account when considering these patients’ accessibility to the Health Services Programs in our country.
Martinez M, Garabato S, Martínez L. Documentos Técnicos de Salud Pública. Inmigración, Salud y Servicios Sanitarios. Instituto de Salud Pública, 2004. Madrid. Morató Griera J, Pertiñez Mena J, Clusa Gironella T. Migración y Atención Primaria. In: Martin Zurro A, Cano Perez JF. In: Atención Primaria. Elsevier, 2003. Madrid, 5ª ed. P.141-155
