Février 2011
Summary
Purpose : The purpose of the reported study was to evaluate to what extent the health care of a child under five, in a general practitioner's office, could be conditioned by the social status of his family. As a matter of fact, it is well established that both health decline and position in social scale can be considered in a close relationship, involving a part of determinism starting from early age. From another point of view, health social inequalities can be induced by the nature of the health care offered.
Method : This retrospective study analyses practising in a unique GP's office. The following quantitative variables have been taken into account: diphteria, tetanus and polyomelite vaccinations, prescription of antibiotics, use of laboratory and radiology test, certificate issue, sending to another healthcare profesional and drugs prescription in case of fever. The investigated population was divided into two groups: precarious and non-precarious.
Results : The rate of preventive actions had been lower for the sub population of precarious children. Among the same group, dermatosis diagnosis had been more commonly made. In contrast, prescription of antibiotics and health care in case of fever turned out to be homogeneous for the whole population. The other variables exhibited slightly lower values for the precarious children group.
Conclusion : Whatever their social status, health care of precarious and nonprecarious children were similar. The observed slight discrepancies do not seem to result from a discriminating behaviour of the involved general practitioners. Keywords : Social Status, Precariousness, Children, Health care, General practice
Purpose : The purpose of the reported study was to evaluate to what extent the health care of a child under five, in a general practitioner's office, could be conditioned by the social status of his family. As a matter of fact, it is well established that both health decline and position in social scale can be considered in a close relationship, involving a part of determinism starting from early age. From another point of view, health social inequalities can be induced by the nature of the health care offered.
Method : This retrospective study analyses practising in a unique GP's office. The following quantitative variables have been taken into account: diphteria, tetanus and polyomelite vaccinations, prescription of antibiotics, use of laboratory and radiology test, certificate issue, sending to another healthcare profesional and drugs prescription in case of fever. The investigated population was divided into two groups: precarious and non-precarious.
Results : The rate of preventive actions had been lower for the sub population of precarious children. Among the same group, dermatosis diagnosis had been more commonly made. In contrast, prescription of antibiotics and health care in case of fever turned out to be homogeneous for the whole population. The other variables exhibited slightly lower values for the precarious children group.
Conclusion : Whatever their social status, health care of precarious and nonprecarious children were similar. The observed slight discrepancies do not seem to result from a discriminating behaviour of the involved general practitioners. Keywords : Social Status, Precariousness, Children, Health care, General practice