Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34921075›Full record

ArticleBMJ open2021

Patterns of healthcare utilisation in children and young people: a retrospective cohort study using routinely collected healthcare data in Northwest London.

Thomas Beaney, Jonathan Clarke, Thomas Woodcock, Rachel McCarthy, Kavitha Saravanakumar, Mauricio Barahona, Mitch Blair, Dougal S Hargreaves

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open, 2021. 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
2.4field-weighted citation impact, top 8% of its field
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, 12 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Observational
  3. Article
  4. Observational
  5. Observational
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

8 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Thomas BeaneyDepartment of Primary Care and Public Health, Imperial College London, London, UK thomas.beaney@imperial.ac.uk.ORCID 0000-0001-9709-7264
Jonathan ClarkeCentre for Mathematics of Precision Healthcare, Imperial College London, London, UK.ORCID 0000-0003-1495-7746
Thomas WoodcockDepartment of Primary Care and Public Health, Imperial College London, London, UK.
Rachel McCarthyNorth West London Collaboration of Clinical Commissioning Groups, London, UK.
Kavitha SaravanakumarNorth West London Collaboration of Clinical Commissioning Groups, London, UK.
Mauricio BarahonaCentre for Mathematics of Precision Healthcare, Imperial College London, London, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-1089-5675
Mitch BlairDepartment of Primary Care and Public Health, Imperial College London, London, UK.
Dougal S HargreavesDepartment of Primary Care and Public Health, Imperial College London, London, UK.
National Institute for Health Research · GBImperial College Healthcare NHS Trust · GBNorth West London Pathology · GB

Funding

Wellcome Trust
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesWith a growing role for health services in managing population health, there is a need for early identification of populations with high need. Segmentation approaches partition the population based on demographics, long-term conditions (LTCs) or healthcare utilisation but have mostly been applied to adults. Our study uses segmentation methods to distinguish patterns of healthcare utilisation in children and young people (CYP) and to explore predictors of segment membership.

designA retrospective cohort study.

settingRoutinely collected primary and secondary healthcare data in Northwest London from the Discover database.

participants378 309 CYP aged 0-15 years registered to a general practice in Northwest London with 1 full year of follow-up. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Assignment of each participant to a segment defined by seven healthcare variables representing primary and secondary care attendances, and description of utilisation patterns by segment. Predictors of segment membership described by age, sex, ethnicity, deprivation and LTCs.

resultsParticipants were grouped into six segments based on healthcare utilisation. Three segments predominantly used primary care, two moderate utilisation segments differed in use of emergency or elective care, and a high utilisation segment, representing 16 632 (4.4%) children accounted for the highest mean presentations across all service types. The two smallest segments, representing 13.3% of the population, accounted for 62.5% of total costs. Younger age, residence in areas of higher deprivation and the presence of one or more LTCs were associated with membership of higher utilisation segments, but 75.0% of those in the highest utilisation segment had no LTC.

conclusionsThis article identifies six segments of healthcare utilisation in CYP and predictors of segment membership. Demographics and LTCs may not explain utilisation patterns as strongly as in adults, which may limit the use of routine data in predicting utilisation and suggest children have less well-defined trajectories of service use than adults.

Indexed as

Delivery of Health CarePatient Acceptance of Health CareAdolescentAdultChildChild, PreschoolHumansInfantInfant, NewbornLondonRetrospective StudiesSecondary Health Carehealth informaticshealth services administration & managementpaediatricspublic healthstatistics & research methods

Identifiers

PMID34921075
PMCPMC8685945
OpenAlexW4200543992

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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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.