Disposition disparities in an urban tertiary emergency department

To explore disparities between Māori and non-Māori patients with respect to triage acuity and disposition based on presenting complaint.

This was a retrospective review of 5788 (n = 594 Māori, n = 5194 non-Māori) ED visits in February 2021, extracted from the hospital data warehouse.

Māori were triaged similarly to non-Māori but were less likely to be admitted compared to non-Māori: relative risk 0.87 (0.78, 0.97), P = 0.008.

Māori were less likely to be admitted for similar presenting complaints, despite similar triage acuity. Further research is required to determine the reasons for this apparent inequity.