Skip to main content

Table 2 Predictive characteristics of frequent ED use

From: Individual predictors of frequent emergency department use: a scoping review

Predictive factors

Details

References

Demographic

 Male

 

[27, 30, 37]

 Female

 

[11]

 Age

75 years and older

[11, 37]

Between 30 and 59 years old

[30]

Lower age

[41]

 Location

Attendance at a rural ED

[11]

Urban area (Philadelphia County)

[33]

Core area patients (Winnipeg Health Region)

[27]

 Distance to ED

Less than 10 km

[6]

More than 2 km

[37]

Socioeconomic

 Education

No high school diploma

[40]

High school education (or less)

[8, 33]

 Family status

Single parents

[8, 40]

Single

[8]

Divorced

[8]

Being under guardianship

[6]

Number of children living in the house

[33]

 Housing status

Homeless

[30, 42]

 Income

Living in lowest income areas

[27]

Being unemployed or dependant of government welfare

[6]

Receiving government pension

[42]

Family income below the poverty threshold

[4]

Low socioeconomic status

[9]

Low income groups

[40]

Income of less than 10 000$

[8]

 Insurance

Being uninsured

[3, 4, 6]

Medicaid

[3, 4]

Medicare coverage

[4, 23]

Publicly insured

[3, 40]

Medical Assistance

[33]

Medi-Cal sponsored

[30]

 Current healthcare use

Multiple visits to a specialist physician

[9, 27, 41]

Multiple visits to a primary care provider

[5, 8, 27, 40]

Calling a health helpline

[27]

Being hospitalized

[3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 27, 41]

Outpatient visits

[4, 5, 10]

Visiting a clinic

[4, 6, 33]

History of past emergency department use

[3, 27, 39]

Identifying an ED or hospital clinic as primary care site

[8]

Prescription medication use

[3, 9, 33]

 Access to primary healthcare services

Having a primary care provider

[8, 11]

ED as primary source of care

[4, 8]

Having another regular source of care

[10]

Medical

 Mental illness

Substance abuse problems

[10, 27, 30]

Mental disorder

[4, 6, 8, 9, 42]

Physical disease

 Chronic condition

 

[10, 27]

 Exacerbation of chronic conditions

Sickle cell anemia, renal failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

[30]

 Fair/poor physical health

 

[4, 40]

 Other diseases

Pulmonary disease

[3, 8, 10, 37]

Cardiovascular disease

[10]

Gastrointestinal disease

[10]

Cancer

[10]

 Medical scores

Severe rating on MIDAS

[9, 41]

Lower role physical domain

[41]

Higher DRG severity score

[23]