Preventable Emergency Department Utilization Among Patients With Foster Care History Compared to Patients Without Foster Care History
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DOI
https://doi.org/10.1177/10775595241300971
Description
Emergency department (ED) utilization for preventable reasons by patients with foster care history is unexplored. Medical records of ED encounters from primary care patients were pulled from a southwestern children's hospital system. Necessity of ED encounter was categorized using the New York University- ED Algorithm into emergent, intermediate, or non-emergent. Associations were explored at the encounter- and patient-level. Partial proportional logistic models generated odds of preventable (i.e., intermediate or nonemergent) ED utilization among encounters, and Poisson models determined incidence of preventable ED use at the patient level. Findings suggested that when a patient with history in foster care used the ED, the odds that it was preventable were lower than if the child did not have such experience. Further, patients with foster care history were less likely to use the ED for concerns that did not need immediate attention but were more likely to use the ED for intermediate reasons.
Publication Date
11-2025
Publisher
Child Maltreatment
Keywords
emergency department utilization; foster care; foster children; health care utilization; pediatric emergency department.
Recommended Citation
Malthaner, Lauren; McLeigh, Jill; Knell, Gregory; Jetelina, Katelyn; Atem, Folefac; and Messiah, Sarah, "Preventable Emergency Department Utilization Among Patients With Foster Care History Compared to Patients Without Foster Care History" (2025). Health Status and Healthcare Utilization. 1.
https://scholarlycollection.childrens.com/rjfcce-research-healthstatus/1
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
