ArticleBMJ open2021
Impact of COVID-19 on emergency department attendance in an Australia hospital: a parallel convergent mixed methods study.
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 17 papers.
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Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed.
- Outcomes of a state-wide virtual emergency department in Victoria, Australia: a linked data analysis of emergency department utilisation and hospital use.The Lancet regional health. Western Pacific · 2026Article
- Article
- Priorities for prehabilitation for patients with upper gastrointestinal cancer: a nominal group consensus study.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2025Article
- Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on hospital-based heart failure care in New South Wales, Australia: a linked data cohort study.BMC health services research · 2024Article
- Benefits of emergency department routine blood test performance on patients whose allocated triage category is not time critical: a retrospective study.BMC health services research · 2024Observational
- Acute care pathway assessed through performance indicators during the COVID-19 pandemic in OECD countries (2020-2021): a scoping review.BMC emergency medicine · 2024Article
- Disparities by sex, race, and region in acute myocardial infarction-related outcomes during the early COVID-19 pandemic: the national inpatient sample analysis.American journal of cardiovascular disease · 2024Article
- Using machine learning to mine mental health diagnostic groups from emergency department presentations before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.Discover mental health · 2023Article
- Effective communication of COVID-19 vaccine information to recently-arrived culturally and linguistically diverse communities from the perspective of community engagement and partnership organisations: a qualitative study.BMC health services research · 2023Article
- Frequent hospital presenters' use of health information during COVID-19: results of a cross-sectional survey.BMC health services research · 2023Article
- Novel machine learning model for predicting multiple unplanned hospitalisations.BMJ health & care informatics · 2023Article
- Job Satisfaction of Health Practitioners Providing Outreach Health Services during COVID-19 in Rural New South Wales (NSW) and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), Australia.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Structured evaluation of a virtual emergency department triage model of care: A study protocol.Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA · 2022Article
- Management of acute appendicitis during the COVID-19 pandemic: a retrospective cohort study.BMC surgery · 2022Article
- Staff and patient experience of the implementation and delivery of a virtual health care home monitoring service for COVID-19 in Melbourne, Australia.BMC health services research · 2022Article
- Healthcare Avoidance before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic among Australian Youth: A Longitudinal Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Impact of Clinician-Supported Peer Health Navigation on Hospital Resource Utilisation amongst High Risk Adults: A Pragmatic Propensity-Score Matching Study.International journal of integrated careArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
20 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesThe COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way people are accessing healthcare. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of COVID-19 on emergency department (ED) attendance for frequent attenders and to explore potential reasons for changes in attendance.
designThis convergent parallel mixed methods study comprised two parts.
settingAn interrupted time-series analysis evaluated changes in ED presentation rates; interviews investigated reasons for changes for frequent ED users in a culturally and linguistically diverse setting.
participantsA total of 4868 patients were included in the time series. A subgroup of 200 patients were interviewed, mean age 66 years (range 23-99).
resultsInterrupted time-series analysis from 4868 eligible participants showed an instantaneous decrease in weekly ED presentations by 36% (p<0.001), with reduction between 45% and 67% across emergency triage categories. 32% did not know they could leave home to seek care with differences seen in English versus non-English speakers (p<0.001). 35% reported postponing medical care. There was a high fear about the health system becoming overloaded (mean 4.2 (±2) on 6-point scale). Four key themes emerged influencing health-seeking behaviour: fear and/or avoidance of hospital care; use of telehealth for remote assessment; no fear or avoidance of hospital care; not leaving the house for any reason.
conclusionsThis study demonstrated reduced ED use by a vulnerable population of previously frequent attenders. COVID-19 has resulted in some fear and avoidance of hospitals, but has also offered new opportunity for alternative care through telehealth.
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