Introduction:

The social determinants of health (SDH) are the circumstances in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age, which influence their health status. There are several studies on social determinants and their influence on health; however, little has been investigated about these determinants and their action in the search for primary health care.

Objectives:

This study aims to determine the influence of SDH (sex, age, distance from home to health center, nationality, education, professional situation, income, social dysfunction, and lifestyles) on the use of consultations in primary health care and to reflect on how these can be organized more efficiently and equitably.

Methods:

An observational and retrospective analysis was carried out in a health center; whose target population is patients aged 28 years or older (n=8.781). It uses a multivariate analysis (multiple linear regression) to determine whether the independent variables (SDH) influence the dependent variable (number of consultations in the last 10 years), analyzing year by year and performing a comparison between the period pre and post-COVID-19 pandemic.

Results:

Through this investigation, we concluded that the SDH has an influence on the use of consultations in primary health care, such as sex, age, nationality, body mass index (BMI), income, education, professional status, family dysfunction, distance from home to the health center, the fact of being a non-smoker and drug use. As for the analysis of the period pre and post-COVID-19 pandemic, it was found that this had an impact on changing some patterns of behavior on the part of patients.

Conclusion:

Thus, it is believed that by acting at the level of these determinants, it is possible to improve equity in access to health care and equity in health status.

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