Objective:

To describe the family and social characteristics of patients hospitalized in the Instituto Nacional de Salud del Niño San Borja from April to December 2018.

Materials and methods:

A descriptive, observational and analytical research. Probability sampling was used in a study population of 4,383 patients. The sample consisted of 573 patients, with a 96 % confidence level and a 4 % margin of error. A data collection sheet included in the medical record was used as instrument. The data was processed using the IBM SPSS Statistics statistical software.

Results:

Forty-seven point one two percent (47.12 %) of the patients came from Lima Metropolitan Area, 2.97 % from the Constitutional Province of Callao, and 49.91 % from inland, including Lima Province. Seventy-three point six five percent (73.65 %) of the patients lived in poverty, 24.26 % lived in extreme poverty, and only 2.09 % were not considered poor. Forty point four nine percent (40.49 %) of the patients lived in unsuitable housing conditions. Most study subjects were holders of the Comprehensive Health Insurance (SIS) (94.24 %). Regarding the mothers’ and fathers’ educational level, 1.92 % and 0.52 % received no education, and 7.68 % and 4.19 % did not finish primary school, respectively. Forty-three point one one percent (43.11 %) of the mothers and 39.3 % of the fathers finished the regular basic education (EBR). Nine point seven seven percent (9.77 %) of the fathers and only 6.63 % of the mothers had higher technical education.

Conclusions:

The study enabled us to take a close look to the patients’ socioeconomic conditions, which definitely affect their health. It showed that most patients live in poverty and extreme poverty. A significant percentage of the patients come from the different departments of Peru. This situation reflects the centralism prevailing in the specialized pediatric centers and demonstrates the importance of the intercultural approach in health. The type of insurance is related to the patients’ economic status. It was confirmed that most of them hold the SIS and live in poverty or extreme poverty. The patients' low economic status is related to dwellings which do not comply with minimum housing standards. This fact is a risk factor for patients with chronic diseases or who got a transplant (bone marrow and solid organs). Finally, fathers evidenced a higher education level than mothers, which could suggest a gender gap.

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