Smith R D, McNamara J J
Department of Pediatrics, Brockton Hospital, Massachusetts.
Pediatr Emerg Care. 1988 Jun;4(2):107-11. doi: 10.1097/00006565-198806000-00005.
To determine the rationale for using a community hospital's emergency department for minor illness care on weekdays, we surveyed 150 parents of children 15 years of age or younger. Fifty (33.3%) participants had no identified source of routine pediatric care, and 31 (20.7%) had pediatric providers not locally available. For participants with local providers, major reasons for use of the emergency department included economic factors, parental knowledge, parent/provider communication, convenience, and insurance coverage. The results of this study demonstrate that the utilization pattern and sociodemographic profile of children seen in our emergency department on weekdays is more characteristic of an inner-city hospital than of a non-metropolitan setting. There are a number of feasible measures which could improve access to routine pediatric care for low socioeconomic families and reduce unnecessary emergency department utilization.
为了确定在工作日利用社区医院急诊科治疗轻症疾病的理由，我们对150名15岁及以下儿童的家长进行了调查。50名（33.3%）参与者没有确定的常规儿科护理来源，31名（20.7%）的儿科医疗服务提供者在当地无法获得。对于有当地医疗服务提供者的参与者来说，使用急诊科的主要原因包括经济因素、家长知识、家长/医疗服务提供者沟通、便利性和保险覆盖范围。本研究结果表明，我们急诊科在工作日接待的儿童的就诊模式和社会人口统计学特征更符合市中心医院而非非大都市地区医院的特点。有一些可行的措施可以改善社会经济地位较低家庭获得常规儿科护理的机会，并减少不必要的急诊科就诊。
