Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29237654›Full record

ArticleBMJ open2017

Investigating the effect of sociodemographic factors on 30-day hospital readmission among medical patients in Toronto, Canada: a prospective cohort study.

Robert W Smith, Kerry Kuluski, Andrew P Costa, Samir K Sinha, Richard H Glazier, Alan Forster, Lianne Jeffs

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Risk of Hospital Readmission among People with CKD: A Population-Based Cohort Study.Clinical journal of the American Society of Nephrology : CJASN · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Robert W SmithNuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3499-2816
Kerry KuluskiInstitute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Andrew P CostaDepartment of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada.
Samir K SinhaInstitute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Richard H GlazierDalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Alan ForsterDepartment of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada.
Lianne JeffsInstitute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo examine the influence of patient-level sociodemographic factors on the incidence of hospital readmission within 30 days among medical patients in a large Canadian metropolitan city.

designProspective cohort study. SETTING AND

participantsPatients admitted to the General Internal Medicine service of an urban teaching hospital in Toronto, Canada participated in a survey of sociodemographic information. Patients were not surveyed if deemed medically unstable, receiving care in medical/surgical step-down beds or were isolated for infection control. Included in the final analysis was a diverse cohort of 1427 adult, non-palliative, patients who were discharged home. MEASURES: Thirteen patient-level sociodemographic variables were examined in relation to time to unplanned all-cause readmission within 30 days. Illness level was accounted for by the following covariates: self-perceived health status, previous hospital utilisation, primary diagnosis case mix group, Charlson Comorbidity Index score and inpatient length of stay.

resultsApproximately, 14.4% (n=205) of patients experienced readmission within 30 days. Sociodemographic factors were not significantly associated with time to readmission in unadjusted and adjusted analyses. Indicators of illness level, namely, previous hospitalisations, were the strongest risk factors for readmission within this cohort. One previous admission (adjusted HR 1.78; 95% CI 1.22 to 2.59, P<0.01) and at least four previous emergency department visits (adjusted HR 2.33; 95% CI 1.46 to 4.43, P<0.01) were associated with increased hazard of readmission within 30 days.

conclusionsPatient-level sociodemographic factors did not influence the incidence of unplanned all-cause readmission within 30 days. Further research is needed to understand the generalisability of our findings and investigate whether contextual factors, such as access to universal health insurance coverage, attenuate the effects of sociodemographic factors.

Indexed as

AdolescentAdultAgedAged, 80 and overFemaleHospitals, TeachingHospitals, UrbanHumansKaplan-Meier EstimateMaleMiddle AgedOntarioPatient ReadmissionProportional Hazards ModelsProspective StudiesSocioeconomic Factorsgeneral medicine (see internal medicine)public healthquality In health caresocial medicine

Identifiers

PMID29237654
PMCPMC5728294

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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.