Regional and temporal variability of GP concultations due to asthma in children aged 0-18 years in Silesian voivodeship.

Unlabelled: The aim of this study was to analyze the spatial and temporal variability of the ratio describing outpatient medical visits due to asthma in children aged 0-18 years, living in Silesian voivodeship.
Material and Methods: Descriptive study was conducted, in which secondary epidemiological data concerning number of medical outpatient visits due to asthma of children in the age of 0-18 years, were analyzed. The required data from the period 2007-2010 were reported on the MZ-11 form. To assess the temporal or spatial variability in Silesian voivodeship the ArcGIS 9.2 Software was used.
Results: Significant spatial and temporal variability of outpatient medical visits due to asthma in children have been discovered. The systematical increase of outpatient visits rate was observed (respectively 20.8 and 26.9% compared to the starting year). The largest values of the ratio concern the central region of the Silesian voivodeship. Most frequently outpatient medical visits due to asthma were related to children aged 5-14 years.
Conclusions: Systematic and detailed analysis of the data collected in the health care system can replace the routine reporting and may be used to identify needs for public health.