Geen verschil in frequentie van huisartsbezoek door Turkse, Surinaamse en Marokkaanse kinderen van 0-14 jaar en door Nederlandse, maar wel in contactredenen

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether consultation behaviour of Turkish, Surinam and Moroccan children (0-14 years old) with a GP differs from that of a comparable group of Dutch children.

DESIGN: Cohort study with comparison of matched groups.

SETTING: 103 general practices in the Netherlands.

METHODS: Data on 63.753 children collected in the Dutch National Survey were used. 161 GPs registered all contacts between patient and practice during 1 year (in 4 parts of each 3 months). Sociodemographic characteristics of all 103 practice populations were gathered. For each Turkish, Surinam and Moroccan child a Dutch child was selected with similar age, gender, socio-economic status, degree of urbanisation, season of registration and sickness insurance coverage. Consult frequency, number of encounters per episode of care, morbidity presented, duration of encounter and percentages of encounters during evening, night and weekend were registered.

RESULTS: There were no significant differences in consult frequency between the three ethnic groups and their Dutch reference group, nor were there any differences in number of encounters during an episode of care. The morbidity presented did vary compared with Dutch children. Turkish children consulted the GP more often for gastrointestinal problems (relative risk (RR): 1,81) and respiratory problems (RR: 1,27), but less often for ear problems (RR: 0,54). Surinam children consulted the GP less often for musculoskeletal problems (RR: 0,65), but more often for respiratory problems (RR: 1,20). Moroccan children consulted the GP less often for ear problems (RR: 0,51). For a larger percentage of ethnic children the duration of encounter was less than ten minutes.

CONCLUSION: Turkish, Surinam and Moroccan children do not consult a GP more often than a comparable group of Dutch children. The morbidity presented differed.