CIS - Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas

• According to the first wave of the 2024 Health Barometer, carried out by the CIS, 40.5% went to a Primary Care facility
• The assessment given by users of Primary Care has risen three points to 83.6%, and the percentage of citizens who consider that waiting lists have worsened has fallen by more than four points.
• Half of the population still believes that public healthcare is funded by Social Security contributions and not through the taxes paid by all citizens.

The first wave of the 2024 Health Barometer reveals a slight increase in population satisfaction with the public health system, which reached 6.26 points out of 10 in April, slightly exceeding the score of 6.14 recorded in the same period in 2023.

Satisfaction with Primary Care experienced a slight increase, reaching 6.29 points compared to 6.19 the previous year. While specialized care remains positive, its score decreased from 5.95 to 5.86 points.

On the other hand, emergency services (7.51 points) and hospital care (7.14 points) remain the most highly valued aspects of the healthcare system.

Regarding waiting lists, the percentage of citizens who believe they have worsened has decreased by more than four percentage points, from 39.2% to 34.6%.

50.1% of the population still believes that public healthcare is financed in whole or in part by contributions from working people, and only 45.6% know that it is financed by taxes from all citizens.

Primary Care

83.6% of primary care service users rate the care they receive positively. This percentage has increased slightly compared to 80.4% in 2023. The most highly rated aspects are the trust and security conveyed by both the nursing and medical staff (8.08 and 7.87 out of 10, respectively).

Regarding wait times, 25.1% of those who made an appointment were seen by their primary care physician on the same day or the next day, five points more than last year's survey. The rest had an average wait of 8.3 days, compared to 9.12 in 2023. Furthermore, almost 80% of citizens who needed primary care assistance last year were seen in person.

Specialties

42.3% have consulted a public health specialist in the last twelve months, either by referral from a Primary Care physician (37.2%) or by appointment from the specialist physician during a previous consultation (57.9%).

81.5% of users positively rate the care they receive, with no significant changes compared to 2023 (82.8%). The aspects most highly valued by users are the information they receive about their health problems and the trust and security instilled by the medical staff (7.74 and 7.73, respectively).

Hospital admission

10.1% reported having been admitted to a public hospital in the last twelve months. 40.3% were scheduled for surgery or diagnostic testing; 56.9% for an urgent illness or health problem; and 2.8% for childbirth.

87.6% of public hospital users positively rate the care they received during their stay. The highest-rated aspects are the care provided by the various professionals (nursing, 8.46 points, and medicine, 8.39 points).

Emergencies

44.6% of citizens admit to having visited a public health emergency service in the last twelve months. Primary care services accounted for 40.5% of the demand during this period, hospital emergency services accounted for 52.7%, and 6.5% used a 061/112 type emergency service.

The National Health System's emergency services are rated positively by 76.5% of those who used them.

Equality

This year, 2024, the Health Barometer included a question about the population's perception of equal treatment in public healthcare based on various aspects.

Nearly 40% of the general population perceives that services are not received equally depending on the autonomous community in which they live, and 36% also believe that treatment is unequal depending on the person's handling of new technologies.

Socioeconomic status, or the age of the people served, are the aspects in which the greatest equality in treatment is perceived.

Mental health

This edition also explores, for the first time, some aspects related to the care of mental health problems. In April 2024, 17.8% of respondents reported having needed to consult a healthcare professional for a mental health problem or psychological or emotional distress.

46.3% received care in the public health system, 44.7% in the private health system, and 2.6% in both. Among those treated in the public health system, 40.1% reported being treated primarily by a psychiatric specialist, 33.1% by their family doctor, and 20.8% by a psychologist.

Twenty-six percent of those who consulted a professional for mental health issues got their appointment in less than 30 days; 40% were seen within one to three months; and another 26% waited more than three months to receive a consultation.

78.9% of people treated in public healthcare stated they were satisfied with the care they received during their visit, and 49.0% reported receiving better care than they expected.

Acceptance of vaccines

The Health Barometer has also included, for the first time, a series of questions to assess the degree of acceptance of vaccine use among the general population.

Vaccination acceptance in our country is high, despite the fact that 36.7% believe they cause adverse health effects. The level of agreement with the protective aspects of vaccines exceeds 90%, and 89.9% state they follow the recommendations of healthcare professionals regarding vaccination.

Knowledge and use of technologies

In this wave, the Health Barometer also asks about citizens' use of digital technologies to interact with the healthcare system.

55.9% of those interviewed reported having an electronic certificate for carrying out administrative procedures, and only 0.9% did not know what it was. This indicator is relevant since access to the interoperable NHS medical record and, in most cases, to regional medical records, requires a personal electronic certificate.

38.5% have accessed their electronic medical records, compared to 61.5% of those interviewed who have never accessed them: 32.2% of them were unaware of this possibility, and 19.3% do not know or cannot use the Internet.

60.4% of respondents know they can pick up medications prescribed by the public health system outside their autonomous community thanks to the interoperable electronic prescription system, and 44.3% of them have used this service.

The Health Barometer is an annual public opinion survey conducted by the Ministry of Health in collaboration with the Center for Sociological Research (CIS) since 1993. The annual survey, the basis of the study, consists of approximately 7,800 home interviews with people aged 18 and over, in all Spanish provinces. The first wave was conducted in April 2024, with 2,576 interviews.

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