Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35858855›Full record

ArticleBMC pediatrics2022

Geographic inequalities in paediatric emergency department visits in Ontario and Alberta: a multilevel analysis of 2.5 million visits.

Piotr Wilk, Alana Maltby, Tammy Lau, Anna C Gunz, Alvaro Osornio-Vargas, Shelby S Yamamoto, Shehzad Ali, Éric Lavigne

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC pediatrics, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
1.0field-weighted citation impact, top 24% 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

1 citing paper in PubMed, 4 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
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 4 institutions in 1 country.

Piotr WilkDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Western University, London, ON, Canada. pwilk3@uwo.ca.
Alana MaltbyDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Western University, London, ON, Canada.
Tammy LauDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Western University, London, ON, Canada.
Anna C GunzDepartment of Paediatrics, Western University, London, ON, Canada.
Alvaro Osornio-VargasDepartment of Paediatrics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
Shelby S YamamotoSchool of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
Shehzad AliDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Western University, London, ON, Canada.
Éric LavigneAir Health Science Division, Health Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Western University · CAUniversity of Alberta · CAChildren’s Health Research Institute · CAHealth Canada · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundResearch on intra- and inter-regional variations in emergency department (ED) visits among children can provide a better understanding of the patterns of ED utilization and further insight into how contextual features of the urban environment may be associated with these health events. Our objectives were to assess intra-urban and inter-urban variation in paediatric emergency department (PED) visits in census metropolitan areas (CMAs) in Ontario and Alberta, Canada and explore if contextual factors related to material and social deprivation, proximity to healthcare facilities, and supply of family physicians explain this variation.

methodsA retrospective, population-based analysis of data on PED visits recorded between April 1, 2015 and March 31, 2017 was conducted. Random intercept multilevel regression models were constructed to quantify the intra- (between forward sortation areas [FSAs]) and inter- (between CMAs) variations in the rates of PED visits.

resultsIn total, 2,537,442 PED visits were included in the study. The overall crude FSA-level rate of PED visits was 415.4 per 1,000 children population. Across CMAs, the crude rate of PED visits was highest in Thunder Bay, Ontario (771.6) and lowest in Windsor, Ontario (237.2). There was evidence of substantial intra- and inter-urban variation in the rates of PED visits. More socially deprived FSAs, FSAs with decreased proximity to healthcare facilities, and CMAs with a higher rate of family physicians per 1,000 children population had higher rates of PED visits.

conclusionsThe variation in rates of PED visits across CMAs and FSAs cannot be fully accounted for by age and sex distributions, material and social deprivation, proximity to healthcare facilities, or supply of family physicians. There is a need to explore additional contextual factors to better understand why some metropolitan areas have higher rates of PED visits.

Indexed as

Emergency Service, HospitalAlbertaChildHumansMultilevel AnalysisOntarioRetrospective StudiesChildrenEmergency departmentGeographic variationInequalitiesUrban

Identifiers

PMID35858855
PMCPMC9297543
OpenAlexW4285891417

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.