The emergency department for routine healthcare: Race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and perceptual factors

Geographic variation in the demand for emergency care: A local population-level analysis

“…Prior studies suggest that patients with low socioeconomic status are often more likely to use EDs for non-urgent conditions, but are more sensitive to barriers to healthcare access such as long travel distances [7,11]. Our study demonstrates that the effect of ED distance is not significant in urban regions.…”

“…Patient choice is a large driver of variation in healthcare use, and nowhere is this Contents lists available at ScienceDirect journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/hjdsi more evident in patterns of emergency department use, 9 where specific patient characteristics have been linked to a higher probability of using the ED for care [10]. Prior patient-level studies have demonstrated several demographic and socioeconomic factors are associated with high ED utilization, such as race, poverty, and insurance status [10][11][12]. However, these studies have not considered that these characteristics may have varying effects in different geographic regions [13].…”

Increased emergency department use by adolescents and young adults with eating disorders

“…[29][30][31] The increased ED use in recipients of public assistance is also consistent with prior research that has similarly demonstrated increased use in patients of lower socioeconomic status. 32,33 This has been hypothesized by some to be due to inadequate access to primary care and other services by the uninsured or underinsured. 33 In contrast to what has been reported in previous studies, this study found that patients who screened positive for risky drinking behavior were no more or less likely to have visited the ED in the year prior to their index visit.…”

“…32,33 This has been hypothesized by some to be due to inadequate access to primary care and other services by the uninsured or underinsured. 33 In contrast to what has been reported in previous studies, this study found that patients who screened positive for risky drinking behavior were no more or less likely to have visited the ED in the year prior to their index visit. This is an unexpected finding given that much of the previous research on resource utilization related to alcohol use has found increased use in risky drinkers.…”

An Analysis of Health Care Disparities and Subsequent Public Policy Initiatives

“…African Americans are more likely than Whites to use the emergency department (ED) as their usual source of care. Having low incomes, lacking insurance, and lacking social supports all serve to increase minorities' lack of access and use of the ED for regular care (Hong, Baumann & Boudreaux, 2007).…”