Observational studyBMJ open2020
Preventable emergency admissions of older adults: an observational mixed-method study of rates, associative factors and underlying causes in two Dutch hospitals.
Observational study in BMJ open, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT05456906 (Avoidable Hospitalizations/ Emergency Department Visits- Meta-synthesis of Qualitative Research), which is not on this map. Cited by 20 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled 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.
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.
Avoidable Hospitalizations/ Emergency Department Visits- Meta-synthesis of Qualitative Research
Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Pooled it
- What affects unplanned hospital admissions in older adults according to primary healthcare professionals? A focus group study.The European journal of general practice · 2026Article
- Article
- The prevalence and factors of adverse health outcomes in Chinese older emergency patients: a cohort study.BMC geriatrics · 2025Article
- Variation in emergency department visits among residents of Swedish nursing homes between 2019 and 2020, a population-based cohort study.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- Recognition of Serious Infections in the Elderly Visiting the Emergency Department: The Development of a Diagnostic Prediction Model (ROSIE).Geriatrics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Nonspecific stress biomarkers for mortality prediction in older emergency department patients presenting with falls: a prospective multicenter observational study.Internal and emergency medicine · 2025Observational
- Article
- The Views and Experiences of Integrated Care System Commissioners About the Adoption and Implementation of Virtual Wards in England: Qualitative Exploration Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Article
- Exploring client violence during home visits: a qualitative study of perceptions and experiences of Israeli nurses.Israel journal of health policy research · 2024Article
- Predicting mortality in geriatric patients with fever in the emergency departments: a prospective validation study.BMC geriatrics · 2024Article
- Patient, caregiver and professional views on preventable emergency admissions of older patients, a multi-method study in three Dutch hospitals.BMC geriatrics · 2024Article
- The Association of Frailty and Neighborhood Disadvantage with Emergency Department Visits and Hospitalizations in Older Adults.Journal of general internal medicine · 2024Observational
- Preventable hospitalizations through ED: does the number of hospital beds matter under the global budget in a single-payer system in Taiwan?Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Decreasing hospitalizations through geriatric hotlines: a prospective French multicenter study of people aged 75 and above.BMC geriatrics · 2023Observational
- A causal loop diagram of older persons' emergency department visits and interactions of its contributing factors: a group model building approach.European geriatric medicine · 2023Article
- Article
- Reasons for acute referrals to hospital from general practitioners and out-of-hours doctors in Norway: a registry-based observational study.BMC health services research · 2022Observational
- Article
- Barriers to Discharge in Geriatric Long Staying Inpatient and Emergency Department Admissions: A Descriptive Study.Geriatrics (Basel, Switzerland) · 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
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveOlder adults are hospitalised from the emergency department (ED) without potentially needing hospital care. Knowledge about rates, associative factors and causes of these preventable emergency admissions (PEAs) is limited. This study aimed to determine the rates, associative factors and causes for PEAs of older adults.
designA mixed-method observational study.
settingThe EDs of two Dutch hospitals.
participants492 patients aged >70 years and hospitalised from the ED. MEASUREMENTS: Quantitative data were retrospectively extracted from the electronical medical record over a 1-month period. Admissions were classified (non)preventable based on a standardised approach. Univariate and multivariate multilevel logistic regression analyses were performed to identify possible associations between PEAs and demographic, clinical and care process factors. Qualitative data were prospectively collected by email and telephone interviews and analysed thematically to explore hospital physician's perceived causes for the identified PEAs.
resultsOf the 492 included cases, 86 (17.5%) were classified as PEA. Patients with a higher age (adjusted OR 1.04, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.08; p=0.04), a low urgency classification (adjusted OR 1.89, 95% CI 1.14 to 3.15; p=0.01), and attending the ED in the weekend (adjusted OR 2.02, 95% CI 1.22 to 3.37; p<0.01) were associated with an increased likelihood of a PEA. 49 physicians were interviewed by telephone and email. Perceived causes for PEAs were related to patient's attitudes (eg, postponement of medical care at home), provider's attitudes (eg, deciding for admission after family pressure), health system deficiencies (eg, limited access to community services during out-of-hours and delayed access to inpatient diagnostic resources) and poor communication between primary care and hospital professionals about patient treatment preferences.
conclusionsOur findings contribute to existing evidence that many emergency admissions of older adults are preventable, thereby indicating a possible source of unnecessary expensive, and potentially harmful, hospital care.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.