179122 Emergency department use among men

Monday, October 27, 2008

Koren Goodman, MSEd, PhD Stud , College of Health Sciences, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA
Margaret Lemaster, MS , Gene W. Hirschfeld School of Dental Hygiene, Old Dominion University-College of Health Sciences, Norfolk, VA
John Hudson, RN, PhD , College of Health Sciences, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA
Nakia Howard, MS Candidate , Gene W. Hirschfeld School of Dental Hygiene, Old Dominion University-College of Health Sciences, Norfolk, VA
Grace Kogi, MS Candidate , Gene W. Hirschfeld School of Dental Hygiene, Old Dominion University-College of Health Sciences, Norfolk, VA
Stacey B. Plichta, ScD , College of Health Sciences, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA
Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine characteristics of men seeking medical care in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia emergency departments.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study based on a random sample phone survey was conducted between January 1 and July 14, 2006 collecting various data pertaining to ED use, demographic information, primary care utilization and self-perceived health. Mann Whitney U tests were run to determine associations between emergency department use and demographic, primary source of care, and health status.

Results: There were 514 men in the study and 52.7% were between the age of 40-65 (mean age was 47.28). Overall, 9.7% of men had two or more visits to the Ed in the past year. Those with self-reported poor mental health days were more likely to have multiple visits (26% vs. 7.2%). Other factors related to increase multiple health visits were age and marital status. Several factors are associated with the utilization of the emergency department by men and may be important factors in strategies to reduce emergency department overuse.

Learning Objectives:
Upon completion, the individual will be able to: (1) Assess the relationships of predisposing, enabling, and need based factors as they relate to the number of ED visits among men over a 6-month period. (2) Identify those modifiable factors and develop an intervention targeting fewer ED visits in the next stage post-test. (3) Analyze type of ED visits so that an appropriate ongoing intervention can be established such as improved access to primary care.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am currently a full-time doctoral student.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

See more of: Experiences in Access to Care, Medicine, and Insurance: Poster Session II
See more of: APHA-Student Assembly