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Paediatric emergency department utilisation: is it necessary an educational intervention?
Annalisa De Tina1, Rosanna Quattrin2, Laura Montina3
1Paediatric Department, Hospital of Udine, Italy.
Igiene E Sanita Pubblica
|July 11, 2014
Summary
Many paediatric emergency room visits are not urgent and could be handled by primary care. Convenience and proximity drive these non-urgent paediatric visits, highlighting a need for better health information and triage services.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Public Health
- Healthcare Management
Background:
- Increasing paediatric emergency room (ER) visits documented globally over the past decade.
- Non-urgent paediatric cases represent a significant proportion of ER attendances.
- Inappropriate access strains ER resources and diverts attention from critical cases.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify sociodemographic, cultural, subjective, and objective factors contributing to non-urgent paediatric ER access in an Italian region.
- To analyze the characteristics of non-urgent paediatric ER visits.
- To inform strategies for reducing inappropriate paediatric ER utilization.
Main Methods:
- Descriptive survey design.
- Data collection via questionnaires and facility databases.
- Study period: February-March 2009.
- Sampled non-urgent accesses to two paediatric ER services.
Main Results:
- Approximately 50% of paediatric ER accesses were classified as non-urgent.
- 80% of users did not seek prior advice before attending the ER.
- Convenience (over 50% of cases) and proximity to home were primary reasons for ER visits.
- A significant portion of paediatric ER visits could be managed by primary care.
Conclusions:
- Convenience, self-referral, and proximity are key drivers of non-urgent paediatric ER use.
- There is a substantial opportunity for primary care to manage non-urgent paediatric conditions.
- Future strategies should include health education and a call center for triage to prevent inappropriate ER access.
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