Admission rates in emergency departments in Geneva during tennis broadcasting: a retrospective study

Abstract

BackgroundLiterature provides mixed results regarding the influence of large-scale sporting events on emergency department attendance. To contribute to the research on the subject, we sought to evaluate whether the broadcasting of major tennis tournaments, one of the most popular sports in Switzerland, has an impact on patient admission rates in emergency units in Geneva including 1) type of match 2) the role of a Swiss player, 3) degree of triage, 4) reason of attendance and 5) age of patients.MethodsAdmission rates between periods with tennis matches regarding the semi-finals and finals of 3 major tennis tournaments were compared to equivalent periods without matches from May 2013 to August 2017. Patient admission data was retrieved retrospectively from administrative databases of two Outpatient Emergency Units in Geneva. Patients’ admission rates in periods with and without a tennis match were investigated using a negative binomial regression model with mixed effects.ResultsWe observed a statistically significant decrease (− 10%, 95% CI -17 to − 2, p = 0.015) in admission rates in periods with a tennis match compared to periods without a tennis match, more pronounced during finals (− 15%, 95% CI -26 to − 3, p = 0.017) than during semi-finals (− 7%, − 16 to 2, p = 0.13). In addition, this effect was more pronounced in patients aged between 26 to 64 years of age, a category representing professionnally active people. No modification in the admission rates was detected in the hours preceding and following the matches, nor in type of consultations (traumatology vs non traumatology related admissions).ConclusionAlthough modest, the results support the hypothesis that the broadcasting of large-scale sporting events such as tennis matches decreases admission rates in emergency units. Further research is required to explore for a potential causal relationship.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12873-018-0209-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Major sports events and domestic violence: A systematic review

“…There has been some assumption that contact sport promotes aggression and violence, influencing the behaviour of fans beyond the match itself (Adubato, 2016;Kerr, 2005;White et al, 1992). However, the variety across the studies included in this review suggests that it is not limited to contact-only sports which support studies regarding tennis and Formula 1 (Correia et al, 2018;Piquero et al, 2021). If that is the case, more research is required to determine other factors connecting a major sports event and increased incidence of DV, such as whether it is the culture of the sport and the socio-demographics of those watching.…”

“…Research has so far shown that connections between major sports and assaults or crime more broadly are not necessarily the same across all sports or locations: following the broadcast of tennis in Switzerland admission rates to hospitals decreased (Correia et al, 2018), and no increase in (sex) crimes was seen following the Formula 1 Grand Prix in the United States (Piquero et al, 2021).…”

“…Research has so far shown that connections between major sports and assaults or crime more broadly are not necessarily the same across all sports or locations: following the broadcast of tennis in Switzerland admission rates to hospitals decreased (Correia et al, 2018 ), and no increase in (sex) crimes was seen following the Formula 1 Grand Prix in the United States (Piquero et al, 2021 ). Furthermore, rates of increase in hospital admissions or crime have been shown to potentially differ between countries and between the level of significance of the match or surprising result (Hughes et al, 2018 ; Kalist & Lee, 2016 ).…”

Impact of the Soweto football derby on the trauma emergency department at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital, a tertiary level hospital in South Africa

“…Intoxicated fans may only register the severity of their injuries after sobering up post-match [ 6 , 9 ]. In a retrospective study from Portugal examining Lisbon’s largest football Derby, 20% less patients were treated during the match.…”