[Use of outpatient services in an urban area of Southern Brazil: place and frequency]. / Utilização de serviços ambulatoriais em Pelotas: onde a população consulta e com que freqüência.

OBJECTIVE: The objective was determine the use of health services by the adult population in Pelotas, RS, Brazil. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was made on the basis of a population sample. One thousand six hundred and fifty-seven persons we interviewed during the months of March and June, 1992. A percentage of 9.7 of the sample was lost. RESULTS: Two dependents variables. One the type of service as determined by type of payment. The other the number of medical visits made during the previous year. The type of service was seen to be associated with the following social variables: social class, level of schooling and place of residence. The frequency of medical visits was associated with sex, risk factors and reasons for the visit. CONCLUSION: It was concluded that choice of the type of service depends more heavily in social class than other variables associated with the severity of the disease in question.