ArticleCMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne2023
Changes in emergency department use in British Columbia, Canada, during the first 3 years of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Article in CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers.
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19 citing papers in PubMed.
- Wastewater surveillance as an early warning indicator for norovirus: Validating wastewater signals against clinical indicators in British Columbia, Canada, 2021-2025.Canada communicable disease report = Releve des maladies transmissibles au Canada · 2026Article
- Trends in Psychiatric Presentations Among Children and Adolescents in Alberta: A Pre-/Post-Pandemic Analysis (2017-2022).Child: care, health and development · 2026Article
- Trends and inequities in primary and emergency care use among older adults in British Columbia: an analysis across age, sex, income, and rurality (2018-2023).International journal for equity in health · 2026Article
- Impact of legalization on cannabis exposure calls to the British Columbia Poison Control Centre.Canadian journal of public health = Revue canadienne de sante publique · 2026Article
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- Measuring the Association Between the COVID-19 Pandemic and Cancer Incidence by Sex Using a Quasi-Experimental Study Design.JCO clinical cancer informatics · 2025Article
- Observational
- Effect of COVID-19 and other determinants on the reduction of non-urgent emergency department access in North-East Italy: does supply affect demand?Research in health services & regions · 2025Article
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- Impact of COVID-19 on emergency department visits for individuals with psychotic disorders in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada: A longitudinal study.PLOS global public health · 2025Article
- Strategies to reduce 28-day mortality in adult patients with bacteremia in the emergency department.BMC infectious diseases · 2024Article
- Turbulence in the system: Higher rates of left-without-being-seen emergency department visits and associations with increased risks of adverse patient outcomes since 2020.Journal of the American College of Emergency Physicians open · 2024Article
- Synergistic patient factors are driving recent increased pediatric urgent care demand.PLOS digital health · 2024Article
- Cohort profile: the British Columbia COVID-19 Cohort (BCC19C)-a dynamic, linked population-based cohort.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Article
- Critical evaluation of novel health system interventions is essential.CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne · 2023Article
- Article
- Without more acute care beds, hospitals are on their own to grapple with emergency department crises.CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne · 2023Article
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7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPrevious studies have shown reductions in the volume of emergency department visits early in the COVID-19 pandemic, but few have evaluated the pandemic's impact over time or stratified analyses by reason for visits. We aimed to quantify such changes in British Columbia, Canada, cumulatively and during prominent nadirs, and by reason for visit, age and acuity.
methodsWe included data from the National Ambulatory Care Reporting System for 30 emergency departments across BC from January 2016 to December 2022. We fitted generalized additive models, accounting for seasonal and annual trends, to the monthly number of visits to estimate changes throughout the pandemic, compared with the expected number of visits in the absence of the pandemic. We determined absolute and relative differences at various times during the study period, and cumulatively since the start of the pandemic until the overall volume of emergency department visits returned to expected levels.
resultsOver the first 16 months of the pandemic, the volume of emergency department visits was reduced by about 322 300 visits, or 15% (95% confidence interval 12%-18%), compared with the expected volume. A sharp drop in pediatric visits accounted for nearly one-third of the reduction. The timing of the return to baseline volume of visits differed by subgroup. The largest and most sustained decreases were in respiratory-related emergency department visits, visits among children, visits among oldest adults and non-urgent visits. Later in the pandemic, we observed increased volumes of highest-urgency visits, visits among children and visits related to ear, nose and throat.
interpretationWe have extended evidence that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated mitigation strategies on emergency department visits in Canada was substantial. Both our findings and methods are relevant in public health surveillance and capacity planning for emergency departments in pandemic and nonpandemic times.
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