Observational studyBMJ open2019
Does deprivation affect the demand for NHS Direct? Observational study of routine data from Wales.
Observational study in BMJ open, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Emergency department staff views of NHS 111 First: qualitative interview study in England.Emergency medicine journal : EMJ · 2023Article
- Exploring variation in ambulance calls and conveyance rates for adults with diabetes mellitus who contact the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service: a retrospective database analysis.British paramedic journal · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo estimate the effect of deprivation on the demand for calls to National Health Service Direct Wales (NHSDW) controlling for confounding factors.
designStudy of routine data on over 400 000 calls to NHSDW using multiple regression to analyse the logarithms of ward-specific call rates across Wales by characteristics of call, patient and ward, notably the Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation.
setting810 electoral wards with average population of 3300, defined by 1998 administrative boundaries. POPULATION: All calls to NHSDW between January 2002 and June 2004.
main outcome measuresWe used ward populations as denominators to calculate the rates of three categories of calls: calls seeking advice, calls seeking information and all calls combined.
resultsConfounding variables explained 31% of variation in advice call rates, but only 14% of variation in information call rates and in all call rates (all significant at 0.1% level). However, deprivation was only a statistically significant predictor of information call rates. The proportion of the ward population categorised as 'white' was a highly significant predictor of all three call rates. For advice calls and combined calls, rates decreased highly significantly with the proportion of those who called the service for themselves. Information call rates were higher on weekdays and highest on Mondays, while advice call rates were highest on Sundays.
conclusionsDeprivation had no consistent effect on demand for the service and the relationship needs further exploration. While our data may have underestimated the 'need' of deprived patients, they yield no evidence that policy-makers should seek to improve demand from those patients. However, we found differences in the way callers use advice and information calls. Previously unexplored variables that help to predict ward-specific call rates include: ethnicity, day of the week and whether patients made the calls themselves.
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