Aalam Ali A, Iftikhar Nofel, Baskaran Naveen, Bhat Adnan
Epidemiology, University of Florida, Gainesville, USA.
Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, USA.
Cureus. 2024 Aug 28;16(8):e68066. doi: 10.7759/cureus.68066. eCollection 2024 Aug.
Background The emergency department (ED) serves as the front line for emergency patient care, a unique limbo between the realms of generalist care and specialists and outpatient and inpatient care. As the trend of utilizing emergency healthcare services has escalated in the past 10 years, it becomes interesting to look at the patient characteristics of those who have utilized the ED. This analysis can guide the operation of impartial care for all ED patients to ensure equal access and discourage disparity based on the patient's sex. Methods This cross-sectional analysis seeks to examine differences in the frequency of patient visits to the ED in the United States (US) based on the patient's sex. The study utilizes data from the period 2012 to 2021, which was derived from the Nationwide Emergency Department Sample (NEDS). Results Analyzing both the rates of female and male visits to the ED on a year-by-year basis within the study period, it was observed that a higher proportion of females visit the ED, and, in general, both females and males have visited the ED less frequently in recent years. However, while the female sex has continued to represent the majority of ED patients, the gap between the majority female population and the minority male population has decreased, especially dramatically, in recent years. Additionally, using the compiled data and a linear regression model, predicted values were forecasted to continue this trend, with a general decrease in ED visits and a narrowing of the gap between females and males from 2022 to 2032. Conclusion As discussion and policy surrounding healthcare equity, primarily based on gender, becomes a more relevant topic, it is essential to discuss and analyze data to base new healthcare policy to ensure healthcare equality in all fields of medicine, including the ED and beyond. This study aims to identify and compare the difference in the frequency of ED visits between males and females to improve patient outcomes and further discussion regarding healthcare equity.
背景 急诊科是急诊患者护理的第一线，处于全科护理与专科护理以及门诊和住院护理领域之间独特的过渡地带。在过去10年中，利用急诊医疗服务的趋势不断升级，研究那些使用急诊科服务的患者特征变得很有意思。这种分析可以指导为所有急诊科患者提供公平护理的运作，以确保平等就医机会，并减少基于患者性别的差异。方法 本横断面分析旨在研究美国基于患者性别的急诊科就诊频率差异。该研究利用了2012年至2021年期间的数据，这些数据来自全国急诊科样本（NEDS）。结果 在研究期间逐年分析男性和女性到急诊科就诊的比率，发现女性到急诊科就诊的比例更高，而且总体而言，近年来男性和女性到急诊科就诊的频率都有所降低。然而，虽然女性仍然是急诊科患者的大多数，但近年来多数女性群体与少数男性群体之间的差距有所缩小，尤其是显著缩小。此外，利用汇总数据和线性回归模型预测，从2022年到2032年，急诊科就诊人数将继续呈下降趋势，男女之间的差距也将缩小。结论 随着围绕医疗公平（主要基于性别）的讨论和政策成为一个更相关的话题，讨论和分析数据以制定新的医疗政策至关重要，以确保在医学的所有领域，包括急诊科及其他领域实现医疗平等。本研究旨在识别和比较男性和女性急诊科就诊频率的差异，以改善患者结局，并进一步讨论医疗公平问题。
