Emergency Department Crowding Disparity: a Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study.
- Title
- Emergency Department Crowding Disparity: a Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study.
- Author
- 안기옥
- Keywords
- Emergency Service; Hospital; Crowding; National Health Program
- Issue Date
- 2016-08
- Publisher
- KOREAN ACAD MEDICAL SCIENCES
- Citation
- JOURNAL OF KOREAN MEDICAL SCIENCE, v. 31, no. 8, page. 1331-1336
- Abstract
- In this study, we evaluated national differences in emergency department (ED) crowding to identify factors significantly associated with crowding in institutes and communities across Korea. This was a cross-sectional nationwide observational study using data abstracted from the National Emergency Department Information System (NEDIS). We calculated mean occupancy rates to quantify ED crowding status and divided EDs into three groups according to their occupancy rates (cutoffs: 0.5 and 1.0). Factors potentially related to ED crowding were collected from the NEDIS. We performed a multivariate regression analysis to identify variables significantly associated with ED crowding. A total of 120 EDs were included in the final analysis. Of these, 73 were categorized as ‘low crowded’ (LC, occupancy rate < 0.50), 37 as ‘middle crowded’ (MC, 0.50 ≤ occupancy rate < 1.00), 10 EDs as ‘high crowded’ (HC, 1.00 ≤ occupancy rate). The mean ED occupancy rate varied widely, from 0.06 to 2.33. The median value was 0.39 with interquartile ranges (IQRs) from 0.20 to 0.71. Multivariate analysis revealed that after adjustment, ED crowding was significantly associated with the number of visits, percentage of patients referred, number of nurses, and ED disposition. This nationwide study observed significant variety in ED crowding. Several input, throughput, and output factors were associated with crowding.
- URI
- https://synapse.koreamed.org/DOIx.php?id=10.3346/jkms.2016.31.8.1331https://repository.hanyang.ac.kr/handle/20.500.11754/76302
- ISSN
- 1011-8934; 1598-6357
- DOI
- 10.3346/jkms.2016.31.8.1331
- Appears in Collections:
- COLLEGE OF MEDICINE[S](의과대학) > MEDICINE(의학과) > Articles
- Files in This Item:
- Emergency Department Crowding Disparity A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study.pdfDownload
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