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Health status and access to health care of British nationals living on the Costa Blanca, Spain

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 November 2008

DANIEL LA PARRA  and
MIGUEL ANGEL MATEO
DANIEL LA PARRA*
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology II, University of Alicante, Spain.
MIGUEL ANGEL MATEO
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology II, University of Alicante, Spain.
*
Address for correspondence: Daniel La Parra, Departemento Sociología II, Universidad de Alicante, ap.correos 99, 03080, Alicante, Spain. E-mail: daniel.laparra@ua.es
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Abstract

The aims of this paper are to review the health status of British nationals living on the Costa Blanca in the Province of Alicante, Spain, and to examine their access to health-care services. A sample of 155 of those that spent over three months a year in the area was interviewed. The results for those aged 45 or more years have been compared with those of the Health Survey for England 2003, the British Household Panel Survey 2004, the National Health Survey for Spain 2003, and the Spanish Household Panel Survey 2000. British nationals resident on the Costa Blanca appear to have a similar health profile to the Spanish and the British populations, and score higher than Spaniards and the British home population on some indicators: they have, for example, fewer mobility problems and a more positive perception of their state of health. These findings are consistent with the ‘healthy migrant hypothesis’. The Valencia Region Health Service provides health-care services to 62 per cent of this population. The total number of British residents' visits to a general practitioner is approximately the same as that of their Spanish neighbours. As for admissions to hospital, British residents on the Costa Blanca show trends similar to the population of the United Kingdom. The use of private health-care is relatively high, compared to the Spanish and the British populations.

Keywords

health carehealth statusmigrationexpatriatesBritish citizensSpain
Type
Research Article
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 28 , Issue 1 , January 2008 , pp. 85 - 102
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2008

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