Last update:
29-Apr-2026

OBJECTIVE To record the causes and characteristics of attendance at health services of the populations of two areas in the regional unit of Heraklion in Crete.

METHOD The study design employed a retrospective cohort study approach. The research was conducted in two rural-type primary health care (PHC) centers located within the prefecture of Heraklion. The sample comprised 3,783 individuals who visited the emergency departments of these two PHC centers during the period spanning August to October 2020. The data was sourced from the comprehensive records maintained by these centres. Statistical analysis was conducted using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), version 26.0. Frequency distributions were generated for patients and visitors in the health care. The Chi-square method was used to determine the frequency of grouped causes according to the ICPC-2 classification system.

RESULTS The majority of attendees and visitors were over the age of 65. The month with the highest attendance was August. In October, there was an increase in visits from people under the age of 18. The main reason for attendance at both health centers for the entire period of the study was based on ICPC-2, procedures. During October, the frequency of occurrence as reasons for attendance for symptoms-complaints and infections (p<0.05) increased, while the frequency of attendance for injuries (p<0.05) decreased compared to the two other months of the study.

CONCLUSIONS PHC centres play a substantial and highly effective role in providing care to residents. However, certain improvements are necessary to enhance their overall quality.

Key words: Emergencies, Health centers, Primary health care, Reasons for encounters, Rural.