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Systematic review of trends in emergency department attendances : an Australian perspective
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Lowthian, Judy A., Curtis, Andrea J., Cameron, Peter, Stoelwinder, Johannes U., Cooke, Matthew and McNeil, John (2011) Systematic review of trends in emergency department attendances : an Australian perspective. Emergency Medicine Journal, Vol.28 (No.5). pp. 373-377. doi:10.1136/emj.2010.099226 ISSN 1472-0213 .
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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/emj.2010.099226
Abstract
Emergency departments (EDs) in many developed countries are experiencing increasing pressure due to rising numbers of patient presentations and emergency admissions. Reported increases range up to 7% annually. Together with limited inpatient bed capacity, this contributes to prolonged lengths of stay in the ED; disrupting timely access to urgent care, posing a threat to patient safety. The aim of this review is to summarise the findings of studies that have investigated the extent of and the reasons for increasing emergency presentations. To do this, a systematic review and synthesis of published and unpublished reports describing trends and underlying drivers associated with the increase in ED presentations in developed countries was conducted. Most published studies provided evidence of increasing ED attendances within developed countries. A series of inter-related factors have been proposed to explain the increase in emergency demand. These include changes in demography and in the organisation and delivery of healthcare services, as well as improved health awareness and community expectations arising from health promotion campaigns. The factors associated with increasing ED presentations are complex and inter-related and include rising community expectations regarding access to emergency care in acute hospitals. A systematic investigation of the demographic, socioeconomic and health-related factors highlighted by this review is recommended. This would facilitate untangling the dynamics of the increase in emergency demand.
Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||
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Subjects: | R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine | ||||
Divisions: | Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Medicine > Warwick Medical School > Health Sciences Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Medicine > Warwick Medical School |
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Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Hospitals -- Emergency services, Hospitals -- Admission and discharge | ||||
Journal or Publication Title: | Emergency Medicine Journal | ||||
Publisher: | BMJ | ||||
ISSN: | 1472-0213 | ||||
Official Date: | 20 May 2011 | ||||
Dates: |
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Volume: | Vol.28 | ||||
Number: | No.5 | ||||
Page Range: | pp. 373-377 | ||||
DOI: | 10.1136/emj.2010.099226 | ||||
Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||
Publication Status: | Published | ||||
Access rights to Published version: | Restricted or Subscription Access | ||||
Funder: | National Health and Medical Research Council (Australia) (NHMRC) |
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