Does your spouse keeps the doctor away? An international comparison.

There are many reasons why people visit their general practitioner and the frequency with which they do so. Reasons include subjective health considerations, treatment and investigation, and reassurance. However researchers have revealed that the process of seeking medical aid is a multidimensional phenomenon. Whereas their influence is minor to the role played by elements like symptoms severity, social and demographic variables interact with the frequency with which people consult their doctor. A crucial role in this process is played by the patient's family status. Making use of the longitudinal character of the CHER panel we can distinguish points of transition, like those with respect to marital status, in the life of respondents. This paper analyses whether these transitions have an impact on the number of annual consultations. Furthermore, the cross-national character of CHER support the comparison of different European countries which represent different welfare regimes. That is why we will also look if the different trends can be found in the nations available in CHER and how our results compare to those of previous research.