Modelling tourist itineraries in heritage cities: Routes around Old The District of Girona

Tourists do not follow random behavior in heritage cities, but they are consciously or unconsciously guided by socially constructed itineraries. This article studies the shaping of these itineraries in a heritage city (Girona), using the direct observation methodology during the visit (following the tourists from a prudent distance and gathering all the information about their visits) and the conventional questionnaire at the end of the visit. It also establishes which the sociodemographic, environmental and informative factors are that explain this behavior. The simultaneous use of the observation method and a questionnaire was found to be a useful technique for analyzing tourists' behavior and the factors that explain this behavior

Benchmarking Spare Parts' Logistics Process

Työn tavoitteena oli selvittää SBU:n varastovaraosien logistinen prosessin tämänhetkinen tilanne verrattuna muihin ja sitä kautta oppia uusia tehokkaita tapoja hallita sitä sekä parantaa sen kilpailukykyä. Selvittäminen tapahtui benchmarkkaamalla SBU:n varastovaraosien logistinen prosessi kahteen sen kilpailijaan ja viiteen muuhun ei kilpailija yritykseen. Bechmarking -aineiston kerääminen tapahtui pääasiassa Inter netin, haastattelujen, bechmarking -kyselyn ja yritysvierailujen avulla. Tulosten vertailu ja analysointi perustui kerättyyn aineistoon. Kriteereiksi lopullista vertailua varten valittiin seikat, joihin liittyvä tieto oli saatavilta suurimmalta osalta bechmarking -yrityksistä. Tuloksena lopullisesta vertailusta muodostettiin "ranking" lista, jossa yritykset on laitettu paremmuus-järjestykseen. Tässä vertailussa SBU sijoittui viimeiseksi ja SBU varastovaraosien logistisessa prosessissa havaittiin olevan useita parannuskohteita. Joka tapauksessa SBU sai paljon tietoa siitä, kuinka muut yritykset hallitsevat prosessinsa ja kuinka SBU:n tulisi tulevaisuudessa hallita oma logistinen prosessinsa ja kuinka se voisi sitä kautta lisätä kilpailukykyään.

La prise en charge de l'hyper- tension artériette par des médecins en formation suit-elle les recommandations actuettes [Are the guidelines for the management of hypertensive patients followed by primary care residents and fellows?]

Numerous international guidelines are published which define how hypertensive patients should be managed. Are these guidelines followed and applicable? We have assessed the quality of management of 225 hypertensive ambulatory patients followed by young fellows in teaching for primary care medicine. The control rate defined by a blood pressure < 140/90 mmHg was 32,4%. In the last three visits, 60% of hypertensive patients had a blood pressure measurement. 79% of blood pressure readings ended with 0 or 5. Blood pressure control was identical whatever the comorbidities. In conclusion, the quality of management of hypertensive patients by in teaching fellow could potentially be improved. The actual recommendations are limited in their application. The control of high risk vascular patients is not better than those with a lower risk.

Vaccines safety; effect of supervision or SMS on reporting rates of adverse events following immunization (AEFI) with meningitis vaccine (MenAfriVac?): a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: To ensure vaccines safety, given the weaknesses of the national pharmacovigilance system in Cameroon, there is a need to identify effective interventions that can contribute to improving AEFI reporting. OBJECTIVE: To assess the effect of: (i) sending weekly SMS, or (ii) weekly supervisory visits on AEFI reporting rate during a meningitis immunization campaign conducted in Cameroon in 2012 using the meningitis A conjugate vaccine (MenAfriVac?). METHODS: Health facilities that met the inclusion criteria were randomly assigned to receive: (i) a weekly standardized SMS, (ii) a weekly standardized supervisory visits or (iii) no intervention. The primary outcome was the reported AEFI incidence rate from week 5 to 8 after the immunization campaign. Poisson regression model was used to estimate the effect of interventions after adjusting for health region, type of health facility, type and position of health workers as well as the cumulative number of AEFI reported from weeks 1 to 4. RESULTS: A total of 348 (77.2%) of 451 health facility were included, and 116 assigned to each of three groups. The incidence rate of reported AEFI per 100 health facility per week was 20.0 (15.9-24.1) in the SMS group, 40.2 (34.4-46.0) in supervision group and 13.6 (10.1-16.9) in the control group. Supervision led to a significant increase of AEFI reporting rate compared to SMS [adjusted RR=2.1 (1.6-2.7); p<0.001] and control [RR=2.8(2.1-3.7); p<0.001)] groups. The effect of SMS led to some increase in AEFI reporting rate compared to the control group, but the difference was not statistically significant [RR=1.4(0.8-1.6); p=0.07)]. CONCLUSION: Supervision was more effective than SMS or routine surveillance in improving AEFI reporting rate. It should be part of any AEFI surveillance system. SMS could be useful in improving AEFI reporting rates but strategies need to be found to improve its effectiveness, and thus maximize its benefits.

Medication exposure during pregnancy: a pilot pharmacovigilance system using health and demographic surveillance platform.

BACKGROUND: There is limited safety information on most drugs used during pregnancy. This is especially true for medication against tropical diseases because pharmacovigilance systems are not much developed in these settings. The aim of the present study was to demonstrate feasibility of using Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS) as a platform to monitor drug safety in pregnancy. METHODS: Pregnant women with gestational age below 20 weeks were recruited from Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) clinics or from monthly house visits carried out for the HDSS. A structured questionnaire was used to interview pregnant women. Participants were followed on monthly basis to record any new drug used as well as pregnancy outcome. RESULTS: 1089 pregnant women were recruited; 994 (91.3%) completed the follow-up until delivery. 98% women reported to have taken at least one medication during pregnancy, mainly those used in antenatal programmes. Other most reported drugs were analgesics (24%), antibiotics (17%), and antimalarial (15%), excluding IPTp. Artemether-lumefantrine (AL) was the most used antimalarial for treating illness by nearly 3/4 compared to other groups of malaria drugs. Overall, antimalarial and antibiotic exposures in pregnancy were not significantly associated with adverse pregnancy outcome. Iron and folic acid supplementation were associated with decreased risk of miscarriage/stillbirth (OR 0.1; 0.08 - 0.3). CONCLUSION: Almost all women were exposed to medication during pregnancy. Exposure to iron and folic acid had a beneficial effect on pregnancy outcome. HDSS proved to be a useful platform to establish a reliable pharmacovigilance system in resource-limited countries. Widening drug safety information is essential to facilitate evidence based risk-benefit decision for treatment during pregnancy, a major challenge with newly marketed medicines.

Jäähdytykseen ja täyssuolanpoistoon perustuva lauhteen puhdistus soodakattilalaitoksella

Tämän diplomityön oleellisempana tavoitteena oli tutkia ioninvaihtohartsien pitkäaikaista toiminnallista lämpötilakestävyyttä kirjallisuustutkimuksin ja kuormituskokein. Lisaksi työssä optimoitiin taloudellisesti ja teknisesti paras kytkentävaihtoehto soodakattilan lauhteenpuhdistuslaitokselle. Tässä diplomityössä selvitettiin myös soodakattilan ulospuhallusveden sisältämien veden jälkiannostelukemikaalien ja epäpuhtauksien vaikutusta ioninvaihtohartsien vanhenemiseen.; Ioninvaihtohartsien lämpötilakestävyyteen liittyvät koeajot suoritettiin Stora Enso Laminating Papers Oy Kotkan tehtaalla. Koeajoja varten oli erikseen suunniteltu koeajolaitteisto, jossa lauhdenäytettä puhdistettiin patruunasuotimella ja sekavaihtimella. Sekavaihtimessa käytettiin vahvoja anioni- ja kationihartseja. Koeajoja oli yhteensä neljäkappaletta ja niissä tutkittiin hartsien lämpötilakestävyyttä ja anionihartsin silikaatti-vuodon riippuvuutta lämpötilasta. Lämpötilakestävyyskoeajoissa käytetyt hartsit lähetettiin Rohm and Haasille analysoitavaksi. Lopulta koeajojen tuloksia verrattiin kirjallisuudessa esitettyihin aikaisempiin tutkimuksiin. Lauhteenpuhdistuslaitoksen kytkentävaihtoehtojen optimoinnissa käytettiin apuna Kotkan ja UPM-Kymmene Oyj Pietarsaaren tehtaiden kokemuksia. Kytkentävaihtoehtojen energiataseet laskettiin kuudelle eri laitokselle, joiden syöttöveden virtaukset olivat 37 -180 kg/s. Lisaksi selvitettiin kytkentävaihtoehtojen investointikustannukset ja kertakäyttöhartsien vuotuiset kustannukset laitokselle, jossa syöttöveden virtaus oli 67 kg/s. Ulospuhalluksen talteenottojärjestelmän energiataseet laskettiin kuudelle eri laitokselle, joiden syöttöveden virtaukset olivat 37 - 180 kg/s. Laskelmien lähtökohtana käytettiin kunkin soodakattilan ulospuhallusveden määriä, jotka selvitettiin tehdasvierailujen yhteydessä. Ulospuhallusveden epäpuhtauksien ja jälkiannostelukemikaalien pitoisuudet arvioitiin kattilaveden perusteella. Aikaisempien kokemusten perusteella arvioitiin, että ulospuhallusvesi johdettaisiin lisäveden valmistukseen ennen suolanpoistosarjoja. loninvaihtohartsien kuormituskokeiden ja kirjallisuustutkimusten perusteella oli selkeästi nähtävissä, että etenkin anionihartsin kapasiteetti heikkeni nopeasti lämpötilan ollessa yli 60 °C. Kationihartsin suolanpoistolle kriittinen lämpötilaraja on 100 °C.Lisäksi yli 60 °C:ssa anionihartsi ei pysty poistamaan silikaattia lauhteesta. Seuraavaksi on esitelty lauhteenpuhdistuslaitoksen optimikytkentävaihtoehdot sekä vanhoille että uusille laitoksille. Vanhalle laitokselle, jossa lauhteet on puhdistettu aikaisemmin mekaanisella suotimella ja lisäveden puhdistuksessa on käytetty sekavaihdinta, paras kytkentävaihto on erilliset sekavaihtimet lauhteelle ja lisävedelle. Uudelle ja vanhalle laitokselle, jossa lauhteet on puhdistettu aikaisemmin mekaanisella suotimella ja lisäveden puhdistuksessa ei ole käytetty sekavaihdinta, paras kytkentävaihto on yhteiset sekavaihtimet lauhteelle ja lisävedelle. Lauhteen puhdistuksessa käytetyt sekavaihtimen toimintalämpötila on 45 °C molemmissa kytkentävaihtoehdoissa. Kertakäyttöhartsien käyttö osoittautui suuressa mittakaavassa kannattamattomaksi. Tämä asia tarvinnee kuitenkin jatkotutkimuksia. Ulospuhallusveden talteenotolla saadaan energiasäästöä 6-53 k¤/a riippuenlaitoksesta. Etenkin soodakattilalaitoksissa, joissa soodakattila ja vedenkäsittelylaitos sijaitsevat lähellä toisiaan, kannattaa ulospuhallusvesi johtaa lisäveden valmistukseen. Jos edellä mainittujen laitosten etäisyydet kasvavat, saattavat ulospuhallusjärjestelmän investointi-kustannukset nousta kohtuuttoman suureksi. Tämä työ osoitti myös, että ulospuhallusveden epäpuhtauksilla ei ole merkittävää vaikutusta kemiallisesti puhdistetun veden laatuun ennen suolanpoistolaitosta ja ioninvaihtohartsien vanhenemiseen.

Puurakenteisten hallien elementti- ja runkoasennustoiminnan kehittäminen

Työn tarkoituksena oli kehittää puurakenteisten elementtihallien asennustoimintaa. Tämä tehtiin selvittämällä nykyisestä toiminnasta yleisimpiä ongelmakohtia ja niiden syitä. Teoriaosuudessa käsiteltiin massaräätälöintiä ja modulaarisuutta sekä tuotannonja tuotteiden kehittämistä yleisemmin. Tässä yhteydessä käsiteltiin muun muassaasiakastarvekartoitusta, kehityskohteiden valintaa ja ongelmanratkaisua. Esiintyviä ongelmia selvitettiin haastattelemalla toimitusprosessin avainhenkilöitä sekä suunnittelu-, myynti-, ja projektinjohtopuolelta että varsinaisen asennustyön suorittajien joukosta. Lisäksi tietoa hankittiin työmaakäynneillä ja keskustelemalla asentajien kanssa työkohteissa. Asennustyön suurimmaksi ongelmaksi osoittautuivat erilaiset tiedonkulun ongelmat, toimitetuissa asennustarvikkeissa olevat puutteet ja palautejärjestelmän puute. Kehitystoimenpiteiksi ehdotettiin ennakkotyön lisäämistä, muutoksia toimimattomiin käytäntöihin sekä yksinkertaisen palautejärjestelmän käyttöönottoa.

Team Effectiveness in Patient Health Management: An Overview of Reviews

Background: The desire to improve the quality of health care for an aging population with multiple chronic diseases is fostering a rapid growth in inter-professional team care, supported by health professionals, governments, businesses and public institutions. However, the weight of evidence measuring the impact of team care on patient and health system outcomes has not, heretofore, been clear. To address this deficiency, we evaluated published evidence for the clinical effectiveness of team care within a chronic disease management context in a systematic overview. Methods: A search strategy was built for Medline using medical subject headings and other relevant keywords. After testing for perform- ance, the search strategy was adapted to other databases (Cinhal, Cochrane, Embase, PsychInfo) using their specific descriptors. The searches were limited to reviews published between 1996 and 2011, in English and French languages. The results were analyzed by the number of studies favouring team intervention, based on the direction of effect and statistical significance for all reported outcomes. Results: Sixteen systematic and 7 narrative reviews were included. Diseases most frequently targeted were depression, followed by heart failure, diabetes and mental disorders. Effective- ness outcome measures most commonly used were clinical endpoints, resource utilization (e.g., emergency room visits, hospital admissions), costs, quality of life and medication adherence. Briefly, while improved clinical and resource utilization endpoints were commonly reported as positive outcomes, mixed directional results were often found among costs, medication adherence, mortality and patient satisfaction outcomes. Conclusions: We conclude that, although suggestive of some specific benefits, the overall weight of evidence for team care efficacy remains equivocal. Further studies that examine the causal interactions between multidisciplinary team care and clinical and economic outcomes of disease management are needed to more accurately assess its net program efficacy and population effectiveness.

Tarjoustoiminnankehittäminen projektiliiketoiminnassa - tiedonhallinta ja työkalut

Työn tavoitteena on tehdä pohjatutkimus tarjoustoiminnan kehittämiseksi Larox Oyj:ssä. Työssä hahmotetaan haastatteluiden avulla tämänhetkiset ongelma-alueet tarjoustoiminnassa ja tiedonhallinnassa. Nykyisin suurimpina kehityshaasteina ovat rutiinityön manuaalinen hallinta, tiedon hankala saatavuus ja selkeiden yhteisten pelisääntöjen puuttuminen tarjoustoiminnassa. Näihin haasteisiin pyritään löytämään ratkaisuvaihtoehtoja. Työ sisältää teoriaosan, jossa käydään läpi projektin ominaispiirteitä, tarjoustoiminnan osuutta projektiliiketoiminnassa, elinkaarenaikaisen tiedonhallinnan keinoja sekä massaräätälöinnin toimintaperiaatteita. Tarjoustoimintaa pyritään kehittämään käsitellyn teorian, benchmark-vierailuilta saatujen ideoiden sekä haastatteluissa tulleiden toiveiden pohjalta. Tuloksena saadaan kehitysideat pitkäjänteiseen kehitystyöhön sekä nopeasti toteutettaviin toimenpiteisiin. Keskeinen kehitysidea on tarjouskonfiguraattorin kehitystyön aloittaminen. Sen avulla pyritään vähentämään tarjousinsinöörien työtaakkaa. Silloin tarjousinsinööreille jää aikaa toteuttaa osaamistaan haastavampien ja suurempien tarjouksien tekemisessä. Tuloksena on saatu neliportainen kehityspolku, jota kulkemalla päästään kohti hahmotettua tavoitetilaa. Työn tuloksia käytetään hyväksi aloitettaessa konfiguraattorin kehitys Laroxilla sekä kehitettäessä koko tarjoustoimintaa ja elinkaarenaikaista tiedonhallintaa yrityksessä.

Usability of Virtual Museums and the Diffusion of Cultural Heritage

Les prioritats per als museus canvien. La missió de la nova museologia és convertir els museus en llocs per a gaudir i aprendre, cosa que fa que hagin de dur a terme una gestió financera molt semblant a la d'una empresa social que competeixi en el sector del lleure. Amb el pas del temps, els museus han d'establir i aplicar els criteris necessaris per a la supervivència, aplanant el terreny perquè altres institucions públiques siguin més obertes en els seus esforços per comunicar i difondre el seu patrimoni. Ja podem començar a parlar d'algunes conclusions comunament acceptades sobre el comportament dels visitants, que són necessàries per a planificar exposicions futures que vegin l'aprenentatge com un procés constructiu, les col·leccions com a objectes amb significat i les mateixes exposicions com a mitjans de comunicació que haurien de transformar la manera de pensar de l'espectador i que estan al servei del mateix missatge. Sembla que internet representa un mitjà efectiu per a assolir aquests objectius, ja que és capaç (a) d'adaptar-se als interessos i les característiques intel·lectuals d'un públic divers; (b) de redescobrir els significats dels objectes i adquirir un reconeixement sociocultural del seu valor per mitjà del seu potencial interactiu, i (c) de fer ús d'elements atractius i estimulants perquè tothom en gaudeixi. Per a aquest propòsit, és bàsic fer-nos les preguntes següents: quins criteris ha de seguir un museu virtual per a optimar la difusió del seu patrimoni?; quins elements estimulen els usuaris a quedar-se en una pàgina web i fer visites virtuals que els siguin satisfactòries?; quin paper té la usabilitat de l'aplicació en tot això?

Comparing potentially avoidable hospitalization rates related to ambulatory care sensitive conditions in Switzerland: the need to refine the definition of health conditions and to adjust for population health status.

BACKGROUND: Regional rates of hospitalization for ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSC) are used to compare the availability and quality of ambulatory care but the risk adjustment for population health status is often minimal. The objectives of the study was to examine the impact of more extensive risk adjustment on regional comparisons and to investigate the relationship between various area-level factors and the properly adjusted rates. METHODS: Our study is an observational study based on routine data of 2 million anonymous insured in 26 Swiss cantons followed over one or two years. A binomial negative regression was modeled with increasingly detailed information on health status (age and gender only, inpatient diagnoses, outpatient conditions inferred from dispensed drugs and frequency of physician visits). Hospitalizations for ACSC were identified from principal diagnoses detecting 19 conditions, with an updated list of ICD-10 diagnostic codes. Co-morbidities and surgical procedures were used as exclusion criteria to improve the specificity of the detection of potentially avoidable hospitalizations. The impact of the adjustment approaches was measured by changes in the standardized ratios calculated with and without other data besides age and gender. RESULTS: 25% of cases identified by inpatient main diagnoses were removed by applying exclusion criteria. Cantonal ACSC hospitalizations rates varied from to 1.4 to 8.9 per 1,000 insured, per year. Morbidity inferred from diagnoses and drugs dramatically increased the predictive performance, the greatest effect found for conditions linked to an ACSC. More visits were associated with fewer PAH although very high users were at greater risk and subjects who had not consulted at negligible risk. By maximizing health status adjustment, two thirds of the cantons changed their adjusted ratio by more than 10 percent. Cantonal variations remained substantial but unexplained by supply or demand. CONCLUSION: Additional adjustment for health status is required when using ACSC to monitor ambulatory care. Drug-inferred morbidities are a promising approach.

Adaptive changes in a radial maze task: Efficient selection of baited arms with reduced foraging in senescent hooded rats

Qualitative differences in strategy selection during foraging in a partially baited maze were assessed in young and old rats. The baited and non-baited arms were at a fixed position in space and marked by a specific olfactory cue. The senescent rats did more re-entries during the first four-trial block but were more rapid than the young rats in selecting the reinforced arms during the first visits. Dissociation between the olfactory spatial cue reference by rotating the maze revealed that only few old subjects relied on olfactory cues to select the baited arms and the remainder relied mainly on the visuo-spatial cues.

Cost-effectiveness of a new combined immunosuppressive and anti-infectious regimen in kidney transplantation.

OBJECTIVES: The aims of this study were to assess the 1-year cost-effectiveness of a new combined immunosuppressive and anti-infectious regimen in kidney transplantation to prevent both rejection and infectious complications. METHODS: Patients (pts) transplanted from January 2000 to March 2003 (Group A) and treated with a conventional protocol were compared with pts submitted to a combined regimen including universal cytomegalovirus (CMV) prophylaxis between April 2003 and July 2005 (Group B). Costs were computed from the hospital accounting system for hospital stays, and official tariffs for outpatient visits. Patients with incomplete costs data were excluded from analysis. RESULTS: Fifty-three patients were analyzed in Group A, and 60 in Group B. Baseline characteristics including CMV serostatus were not significantly different between the two groups. Over 12 months after transplantation, acute rejections decreased from 41.5 percent in Group A to 6.7 percent in Group B (p &lt; .001), and CMV infections from 47 percent to 15 percent (p &lt; .001). Overall, readmissions decreased from 68 percent to 55 percent (p = .160), and average hospital days from 28 +/- 19 to 20 +/- 11 days (p &lt; .007). The average number of outpatient visits decreased from 49 +/- 10 to 39 +/- 8 (p &lt; .001). Average 1-year immunosuppressive and CMV prophylaxis costs (per patient) increased from CHF20,402 +/- 7,273 to 27,375 +/- 6,063 (p &lt; .001), graft rejection costs decreased from CHF4,595 +/- 10,182 to 650 +/- 3,167 (p = .005), CMV treatment costs from CHF2,270 +/- 6,161 to 101 +/- 326 (p = .008), and outpatient visits costs from CHF8,466 +/- 1'721 to 6,749 +/- 1,159 (p &lt; .001). Altogether, 1-year treatment costs decreased from CHF39'957 +/- 16,573 to 36,204 +/- 6,901 (p = .115). CONCLUSIONS: The new combined regimen administered in Group B was significantly more effective, and its additional costs were more than offset by savings associated with complications avoidance.

Emergency hospital services utilization in Lleida (Spain): a cross-sectional study of immigrant and Spanish-born populations

Background: The use of emergency hospital services (EHS) has increased steadily in Spain in the last decade while the number of immigrants has increased dramatically. Studies show that immigrants use EHS differently than native-born individuals, and this work investigates demographics, diagnoses and utilization rates of EHS in Lleida (Spain). Methods: Cross-sectional study of all the 96,916 EHS visits by patients 15 to 64 years old, attended during the years 2004 and 2005 in a public teaching hospital. Demographic data, diagnoses of the EHS visits, frequency of hospital admissions, mortality and diagnoses at hospital discharge were obtained. Utilization rates were estimated by group of origin. Poisson regression was used to estimate the rate ratios of being visited in the EHS with respect to the Spanish-born population. Results: Immigrants from low-income countries use EHS services more than the Spanish-born population. Differences in utilization patterns are particularly marked for Maghrebi men and women and sub-Saharan women. Immigrant males are at lower risk of being admitted to the hospital, as compared with Spanish-born males. On the other hand, immigrant women are at higher risk of being admitted. After excluding the visits with gynecologic and obstetric diagnoses, women from sub-Saharan Africa and the Maghreb are still at a higher risk of being admitted than their Spanish-born counterparts. Conclusion: In Lleida (Spain), immigrants use more EHS than the Spanish born population. Future research should indicate whether the same pattern is found in other areas of Spain and whether EHS use is attributable to health needs, barriers to access to the primary care services or similarities in the way immigrants access health care in their countries of origin.

Comparison of the consumption of antidepressants in the immigrant and native populations in a Spanish health region: an observational study

BACKGROUND: Health professionals and organizations in developed countries adapt slowly to the increase of ethnically diverse populations attending health care centres. Several studies report that attention to immigrant mental health comes up with barriers in access, diagnosis and therapeutics, threatening equity. This study analyzes differences in exposure to antidepressant drugs between the immigrant and the native population of a Spanish health region. METHODS: Cross-sectional study of the dispensation of antidepressant drugs to the population aged 15 years or older attending the public primary health centres of a health region, 232,717 autochthonous and 33,361 immigrants, during 2008. Data were obtained from computerized medical records and pharmaceutical records of medications dispensed in pharmacies. Age, sex, country of origin, visits, date of entry in the regional health system, generic drugs and active ingredients were considered. Statistical analysis expressed the percentage of persons exposed to antidepressants stratified by age, gender, and country of origin and prevalence ratios of antidepressant exposition were calculated. RESULTS: Antidepressants were dispensed to 11% of native population and 2.6% of immigrants. Depending on age, native women were prescribed antidepressants between 1.9 and 2.7 times more than immigrant women, and native men 2.5 and 3.1 times more than their immigrant counterparts. Among immigrant females, the highest rate was found in the Latin Americans (6.6%) and the lowest in the sub-Saharans (1.4%). Among males, the highest use was also found in the Latin Americans (1.6%) and the lowest in the sub-Saharans (0.7%). The percentage of immigrants prescribed antidepressants increased significantly in relation to the number of years registered with the local health system. Significant differences were found for the new antidepressants, prescribed 8% more in the native population than in immigrants, both in men and in women. CONCLUSIONS: All the immigrants, regardless of the country of origin, had lower antidepressant consumption than the native population of the same age and sex. Latin American women presented the highest levels of consumption, and the sub-Saharan men the lowest. The prescription profiles also differed, since immigrants consumed more generics and fewer recently commercialized active ingredients.