Minority Elderly and Emergency Department Use: Analysis of Community Focus Groups

Objectives: Elderly use emergency services at higher rates and minority elderly disproportionately contribute to this trend. Purpose:identify factors contributing to Emergency Department [ED] use by minority elderly.Methods: Six focus groups were conducted among 76 minority senior citizens at community centers in predominately African American or Latino communities. English-translation transcripts of the Latino sessions were provided. Participants were asked: where they currently go for medical care; what factors may prompt them to use the ED as opposed to a clinic /doctor's office; the decision process when deciding to go to the ED; and their perception of ED resources available. Results: Most of the participants had a primary care physician or were regular visitors to primary care clinics. A significant number had home health care visits. Very few participants used the ED instead of a primary care physician. Most of the senior citizens preferred not to go the emergency room if they could avoid it. The exception were the few who had no insurance, no access to medical care from any other facility, or those that became ill at a time when their regular physician or a clinic appointment was not available.Conclusion: Contrary to published statistics, these minority elderly participants appear to utilize the services of a primary care physician, and only use the ED for perceived emergencies. There were only a few participants who used the ED for all their primary medical care. More studies are needed to identify additional contributing factors for increased use among minority elderly.