Introduction:

emergency services worldwide report service demands that exceed available resources. One reason for this is the inappropriate use of emergency services, when users seek care for problems that could be resolved at the primary care level (PCL). In the Canelones Oeste area of Uruguay, this issue has also been identified. This study was conducted at the emergency department of the Hospital de Las Piedras, Canelones, Uruguay.

Objectives:

to explore the reasons why the population chooses to seek care in emergency services, and to assess whether these users have a regular health service or primary care physician.

Materials and method:

an observational, descriptive study was conducted from September to November 2022, using a survey with multiple-choice and short open-ended questions administered via a Google form, which was completed by the researchers in the waiting room.

Results:

a total of 250 users voluntarily participated. Among them, 13.6% reported consulting for a reason that could not be resolved at the primary care level. The main reason for seeking care at the emergency service, selected by 42% of respondents, was “because the care was faster.”

Conclusions:

this study may help identify solutions to the problem of emergency service overload by providing insight into users’ perspectives on their reasons for seeking emergency care. Improving same-day appointment availability at the PCL and educating the population on the appropriate use of healthcare levels are proposed as possible strategies.

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