Referral pattern of patients received at the national referral hospital: challenges in low income countries.
East Afr J Public Health
; 5(1): 6-9, 2008 Apr.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-18669115
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
To examine the medical referral pattern of patients received at the Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH) in order to inform the process of strengthening the referral system.METHODS:
The study design was a prospective study conducted at MNH during a 10-week study period from January to March 2004. The study sample consisted of patients referred to MNH.RESULTS:
Of the 11,412 patients seen, 72.5% were self-referrals. More than 70% of the patients seen required admission, though not necessarily at tertiary level. Only 0.8% came from outside the Dar es Salaam region. More than 70% of the patients seen required admission. Surgical services were required by 66.8% of patients, with obstetric conditions being most prominent (24.6% of all patients). For those who were formally referred from other health services, lack of expertise and equipment were the most common reasons given for referral (96.3%).CONCLUSION:
Efforts to improve referral systems in low-income countries require that the primary and secondary level hospitals services be strengthened and increased so as to limit inappropriate use of national referral hospitals.
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Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Admissão do Paciente
/
Encaminhamento e Consulta
/
Renda
Tipo de estudo:
Observational_studies
Limite:
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
País/Região como assunto:
Africa
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2008
Tipo de documento:
Article