TABLE 1.

Patient demographics and healthcare‐related characteristics of patients who completed the survey (n = 451).

Parameter	Value
Patient demographics
Age, mean, years	69.5 ± 10.1
Sex, Men, %	67.8
Educational level achieved, %
Primary or no studies	50.8
Secondary, including vocational	28.8
University or further	20.4
Employment status, %
Retired	65.9
Worker	16.3
Sick leave/disability	7.2
Household work	7.0
Unemployed	3.6
Barthel Index of Activities of Daily Living, Barthel ≤80, %	9.0
Barthel Index, mean	92.7 ± 17.4
Affiliated to patients’ association, %	4.6
Searched for information about health care from sources different to healthcare providers (ie Internet, media, etc.), %	48.9
Healthcare‐related characteristics
Follow‐up for health care in a Spanish region different from the patient's main residence, %	4.4
Number of different specialists (including primary care) visited within the past year, mean (SD)	4.0 ± 2.4
0 specialists, %	2.2
1–2 specialists, %	25.5
3–4 specialists, %	40.1
≥5 specialists, %	32.2
Most common specialists visited in the last year, %
Primary care physician	90.9
Cardiologist	46.6
Ophthalmologist	37.5
Traumatologist	22.8
Endocrinologist	22.0
Vascular surgeon	16.9
Pneumologist	16.6
Patient follow‐up usually performed by the same physician, %
Generally, the same physician	66.8
Sometimes different	26.0
Frequently different	7.2
Additional follow‐up by a nurse, %	82.7
Number of visits to the emergency department within the last year, mean	1.4 ± 1.8
Proportion of patients attended in the emergency department within the last year, %	64.2
Support from others (relatives or friends, caregiver) for health care, %	45.2
Hospitalization within the past 3 years, %	56.1
Treatment‐related characteristics
Number of medicines taken daily, mean	6.5 ± 3.2
0–4, %	31.3
5–7, %	33.4
≥ 8, %	35.3
Treated with subcutaneous or intravenous medications, %	23.9