Exploring Gender Disparities in Emergency Department Utilization: A Comprehensive Comparative Analysis of the...

Background The emergency department (ED) serves as the front line for emergency patient care, a unique limbo between the realms of generalist care and specialists and outpatient and inpatient care. As the trend of utilizing emergency healthcare services has escalated in the past 10 years, it becomes interesting to look at the patient characteristics of those who have utilized the ED. This analysis can guide the operation of impartial care for all ED patients to ensure equal access and discourage disparity based on the patient's sex. Methods This cross-sectional analysis seeks to examine differences in the frequency of patient visits to the ED in the United States (US) based on the patient's sex. The study utilizes data from the period 2012 to 2021, which was derived from the Nationwide Emergency Department Sample (NEDS). Results Analyzing both the rates of female and male visits to the ED on a year-by-year basis within the study period, it was observed that a higher proportion of females visit the ED, and, in general, both females and males have visited the ED less frequently in recent years. However, while the female sex has continued to represent the majority of ED patients, the gap between the majority female population and the minority male population has decreased, especially dramatically, in recent years. Additionally, using the compiled data and a linear regression model, predicted values were forecasted to continue this trend, with a general decrease in ED visits and a narrowing of the gap between females and males from 2022 to 2032. Conclusion As discussion and policy surrounding healthcare equity, primarily based on gender, becomes a more relevant topic, it is essential to discuss and analyze data to base new healthcare policy to ensure healthcare equality in all fields of medicine, including the ED and beyond. This study aims to identify and compare the difference in the frequency of ED visits between males and females to improve patient outcomes and further discussion regarding healthcare equity.