Patterns in contacts with primary health care centres in Greenland

• Published in: International Journal of Circumpolar Health
• Main Authors: Botvid, Sofia Hedvig Christina, Storgaard Hove, Lone, Sauer Mikkelsen, Carsten, Skovgaard, Nils, Lynge Pedersen, Michael, Balslev Backe, Marie
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis 2023
• Subjects: Original Research Article; Greenland; Nuuk; Circumpolar Health; greenlandic
• Online Access: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10208127/; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37219998; https://doi.org/10.1080/22423982.2023.2217007

The aim of this study was to evaluate the activity within the primary health care (PHC) in Greenland by identifying the patterns of all registered contacts made by patients in 2021, and to compare the most frequently used types of contacts and diagnostic codes in Nuuk to the rest of Greenland. The study was designed as a cross-sectional register study using data from the national electronic medical records (EMR) and diagnostic codes from the ICPC-2-system. In 2021, 83.7% (46,522) of the Greenlandic population were in contact with the PHC, resulting in 335,494 registered contacts. The majority of the contacts with PHC was made by females (61.3%). On average, females were in contact with PHC 8.4 times per patient per year, while males were in contact with PHC 5.9 times per patient per year. The most frequently used diagnostic group was “General and unspecified”, followed by “Musculoskeletal” and “Skin”. The results are in line with studies from other northern countries and indicate an easily accessible PHC system, with a predominance of female contacts.