Trends in the Morbidity of Pre-school Children Registered in Family Medicine and Primary Pediatrics in Croatia: 1995–2012

Abstract

Primary health care for pre-school children in Croatia is provided by the primary paediatricians (PPs) in urban, or family doctors (FDs) in rural areas. The main aim of the study was to determine the trends in morbidity as recorded by FDs, and those recorded by PPs, from 1995-2012. The study was based on the routinely collected, national statistics data from the Croatian Health Service Yearbooks. The results obtained clearly indicate that there are no differences in the morbidity patterns registered by FDs and PPs. The average annual number of diagnoses per child, and the most frequently registered diagnostic groups were almost the same for both services. The number of children under the particular service was the only difference, with a decreasing trend in family medicine and an increasing in paediatric service. The national routine health statistics system does not provide enough information to permit a deeper analysis of the childhood morbidity in two services.