The combined influence of distance and neighbourhood deprivation on Emergency Department attendance in a large English population: a retrospective database study

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2013Keyword
AdolescentAdult
Emergency service
England
Female
Health Services Accessibility/statistics & numerical data
Humans
Male
Residence characteristics
Retrospective studies
Socioeconomic factors
Young adult
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(c) 2013 Rudge et al. This is an Open Access article distributed under the Creative Commons CC-BY license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/)Peer-Reviewed
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The frequency of visits to Emergency Departments (ED) varies greatly between populations. This may reflect variation in patient behaviour, need, accessibility, and service configuration as well as the complex interactions between these factors. This study investigates the relationship between distance, socio-economic deprivation, and proximity to an alternative care setting (a Minor Injuries Unit (MIU)), with particular attention to the interaction between distance and deprivation. It is set in a population of approximately 5.4 million living in central England, which is highly heterogeneous in terms of ethnicity, socio-economics, and distance to hospital. The study data set captured 1,413,363 ED visits made by residents of the region to National Health Service (NHS) hospitals during the financial year 2007/8. Our units of analysis were small units of census geography having an average population of 1,545. Separate regression models were made for children and adults. For each additional kilometre of distance from a hospital, predicted child attendances fell by 2.2% (1.7%-2.6% p<0.001) and predicted adult attendances fell by 1.5% (1.2% -1.8%, p<0.001). Compared to the least deprived quintile, attendances in the most deprived quintile more than doubled for children (incident rate ratio (IRR) = 2.19, (1.90-2.54, p<0.001)) and adults (IRR 2.26, (2.01-2.55, p<0.001)). Proximity of an MIU was significant and both adult and child attendances were greater in populations who lived further away from them, suggesting that MIUs may reduce ED demand. The interaction between distance and deprivation was significant. Attendance in deprived neighbourhoods reduces with distance to a greater degree than in less deprived ones for both adults and children. In conclusion, ED use is related to both deprivation and distance, but the effect of distance is modified by deprivation.Version
Published versionCitation
Rudge GM, Mohammed MA, Fillingham SC et al (2013) The combined influence of distance and neighbourhood deprivation on emergency department attendance in a large English population: a restrospective study. PLoS ONE. 8(7): e67943.Link to Version of Record
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0067943Type
Articleae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0067943