ArticleBMC health services research2017
Qualitative exploration of why people repeatedly attend emergency departments for alcohol-related reasons.
Article in BMC health services research, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Mental Health and Addiction Related Emergency Department Visits: A Systematic Review of Qualitative Studies.Community mental health journal · 2022Pooled it
- Causal mechanisms proposed for the alcohol harm paradox-a systematic review.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2022Pooled it
- Alcohol-Related Frequent Attenders to Emergency Departments: A Scoping Review with Implications for Singapore.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- Trends in nonurgent mental health presentations to emergency departments: insights from the first nationwide study in Germany.BMC psychiatry · 2025Article
- Reasons for High Emergency Department Use Among Patients With Common Mental Disorders or Substance-Related Disorders.Healthcare policy = Politiques de sante · 2024Article
- Barriers and Facilitators to High Emergency Department Use Among Patients with Mental Disorders: A Qualitative Investigation.Community mental health journal · 2024Article
- Article
- Patient-Centered Outcomes of an Emergency Department Social and Medical Resource Intervention.The western journal of emergency medicine · 2022Article
- Mortality Risk Following Nonfatal Injuries With Alcohol Use Disorder Involvement: A One-Year Follow-Up of Emergency Department Patients Using Linked Administrative Data.Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs · 2022Article
- Why Are Some Male Alcohol Misuse Disorder Patients High Utilisers of Emergency Health Services? An Asian Qualitative Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Acute injury mortality and all-cause mortality following emergency department presentation for alcohol use disorder.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2022Article
- How do individuals with alcohol problems use social and healthcare services in Finland? Comparison of service use patterns between two high-need patient groups.Nordisk alkohol- & narkotikatidskrift : NAT · 2021Article
- Article
- Predictors of Frequent Emergency Department Utilization for Mental Health Reasons.The journal of behavioral health services & research · 2021Article
- Mortality among patients with frequent emergency department use for alcohol-related reasons in Ontario: a population-based cohort study.CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne · 2020Article
- Predictors of Emergency Department Use among Individuals with Current or Previous Experience of Homelessness.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2019Article
- Reasons for Emergency Department Use among Patients with Mental Disorders.The Psychiatric quarterly · 2019Article
- Satisfaction with Emergency Departments and Other Mental Health Services among Patients with Mental Disorders.Healthcare policy = Politiques de sante · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundUnderstanding why people repeatedly attend Emergency Departments (EDs) for alcohol-related reasons is an important prerequisite to identifying ways of reducing any unnecessary demands on hospital resources. We use Andersen's Behavioural Model of Health Services Use to explore factors that contributed to repeat ED attendances.
methodsQualitative interviews were conducted with 30 people who repeatedly attended EDs for alcohol-related reasons (≥10 attendances in the past 12 months). We recruited participants from 6 EDs in London, United Kingdom. Data on socio-demographic characteristics, substance use, contact with specialist addiction and other health services, most recent ED attendance, and previous ED attendances were analysed.
resultsParticipants reported long-standing health problems, almost all were unemployed, and many had limited education and unstable housing. Most held positive health beliefs about EDs, despite some negative experiences. They reported limited community resources: poor social support, inaccessible primary care services, dislike or lack of information about specialist addiction services, and difficulties travelling to services. In contrast, EDs offered immediate, sympathetic care and free transport by ambulance. Participants' perceived need for care was high, with physical injury and pain being the main reasons for ED attendance.
conclusionsPush' and 'pull' factors contributed to repeated ED use. 'Push' factors included individual-level problems and wider community service failings. 'Pull' factors included positive experiences of, and beliefs about, ED care. Community services need to better engage and support people with complex drinking problems, whilst ED staff can be more effective in referring patients to community-based services.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.