ArticleBMJ open2013
A descriptive study of access to services in a random sample of Canadian rural emergency departments.
Article in BMJ open, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers.
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Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed.
- Telemedicine-assisted point-of-care ultrasound to improve the quality of patient care in rural areas.Ultrasonography (Seoul, Korea) · 2026Article
- Rural Emergency 360°: A mixed-methods analysis of barriers and priorities for equitable emergency care in Québec.PloS one · 2026Article
- Disparities in Access to Trauma Care in Canada: A Geospatial Analysis of Census Data.Annals of surgery open : perspectives of surgical history, education, and clinical approaches · 2025Article
- Article
- Blood deserts in a universal health system: Addressing structural inequities in northern Canada.Transfusion · 2025Article
- Proof of Concept of Telemedicine-Assisted Abdominal Ultrasound Examinations to Improve the Quality of Patient Care in Rural Areas.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Article
- Article
- Rural family physician use of point-of-care ultrasonography: experiences of primary care providers in British Columbia, Canada.BMC primary care · 2023Article
- Article
- Article
- Lack of CT scanner in a rural emergency department increases inter-facility transfers: a pilot study.BMC research notes · 2017Article
- Article
- Community Hospitals in Selected High Income Countries: A Scoping Review of Approaches and Models.International journal of integrated care · 2016Article
- Article
- Portrait of rural emergency departments in Québec and utilization of the provincial emergency department management Guide: cross sectional survey.BMC health services research · 2015Article
- A majority of rural emergency departments in the province of Quebec use point-of-care ultrasound: a cross-sectional survey.BMC emergency medicine · 2015Article
- Differences in access to services in rural emergency departments of Quebec and Ontario.PloS one · 2015Article
- Article
- Why do family physicians stay in rural practice? National survey of Canadian primary care clinicians who have stayed or left.Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadienArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo examine 24/7 access to services and consultants in a sample of Canadian rural emergency departments (EDs).
designCross-sectional study-mixed methods (structured interview, survey and government data bases) with random sampling of hospitals.
settingCanadian rural EDs (rural small town (RST) definition-Statistics Canada).
participants28% (95/336) of Canadian rural EDs providing 24/7 physician coverage located in hospitals with acute care hospitalisation beds.
main outcome measuresGeneral characteristics of the rural EDs, information about 24/7 access to consultants, equipment and services, and the proportion of rural hospitals more than 300 km from levels 1 and 2 trauma centres.
resultsOf the 336 rural EDs identified, 122 (36%) were randomly selected and contacted. Overall, 95 EDs participated in the study (participation rate, 78%). Hospitals had, on an average, 23 acute care beds, 7 ED stretchers and 13 500 annual ED visits. The proportion of rural hospitals with local access to the following 24/7 services was paediatrician, 5%; obstetrician, 10%; psychiatrist, 11%; internist, 12%; intensive care unit, 17%; CT scanner, 20%; surgeon, 26%; ultrasound, 28%; basic X-ray, 97% and laboratory services, 99%. Forty-four per cent and 54% of the RST EDs were more than 300 km from a level 1 and level 2 trauma centre, respectively.
conclusionsThis is the first study describing the services available in Canadian rural EDs. Apart from basic laboratory and X-ray services, most rural EDs have limited access to consultants, advanced imaging and critical care services. A detailed study is needed to evaluate the impact of these limited services on patient outcomes, costs and interfacility transport demands.
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