ABSTRACT
There are many studies within geography and other social sciences in which models have been used to describe, determine and predict utilisation of health services. Such utilisation patterns represent historic growth of attachment rather than the planning ideal of nearest centre patronage and illustrate that health care planners should take existing spatial attendance into account when programming new facilities. The reasons for the difficulty of investigating the demand for and use of health services are in part definitional but in part caused by the very unclear nature of health and health care. Two of the most important variables associated with differential rates of use of medical services are age and sex. Social class has consistently been identified as a variable which influences the demand for and rates of health services. Spatial variations in attendance patterns are important in the planning of health care delivery.
