250 Emergency department use among migrant populations in a general Portuguese Hospital

Abstract OP 9: Health Services 1, B210 (FCSH), September 3, 2025, 15:45 - 16:45 Aim Migration has increased significantly worldwide. These populations face challenges in accessing healthcare services due to language barriers and unfamiliarity with the healthcare system, making emergency departments (ED) more accessible than primary care. This study aims to characterize the use of the ED by foreign pediatric patients. Methods Retrospective descriptive study of the use of the pediatric ED at a general hospital in Lisbon between January and December 2023. Included foreign children (non-Portuguese nationality) based on the region of origin (United Nations Statistics Division). Triage according to Manchester Triage System. IBM®SPSS Statistics® was used. Results We analyzed 56,684 ED episodes from 28,978 patients, including 4,981 (17%) of foreign nationality. Among them, 51% were male, with a median age of 8.7 years [0.06; 18.93]. About 93.5% came from five regions: Southern America (35.7%), Western Africa (24.4%), Central Africa (20%), Southern Asia (9.7%), and Eastern Europe (3.7%). Additionally, 80.5% lacked a primary care physician. Eastern Europeans were more often triaged as non-urgent/standard (85.6%), while patients from South America (6.9%) and Central Africa (6.3%) were more frequently very urgent. Southern Asia and Southern America had more frequent users, with 9.7% and 8.8%, respectively. The most common ICD-10 diagnostic groups were respiratory diseases, with a statistically significant regional difference, with highest prevalence in South American patients; infectious diseases showed no significant difference per region. ED visiting hours also showed a statistically significant regional difference, with South Americans presenting more frequently at night, whereas Western Africans visited more during the day. Patients from Central and Western Africa had higher hospitalization rates. Conclusion Relevant regional differences in admission priority, diagnoses, visiting hours, and discharge outcomes were found, reflecting distinct patterns of healthcare utilization among migrant populations. Understanding them can provide deeper insight into the needs of each migrant group, leading to improved accessibility to healthcare services.