Predictive model of multiple emergency department visits among adults: analysis of the data from the National Survey of Drug Use and Health (NSDUH)

Factors associated with repeat emergency department visits for mental health care in adolescents: A scoping review

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this review was to identify factors associated with multiple visits to emergency department (ED) services for mental health care in adolescents.

METHODS

Electronic databases (MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Embase, CINAHL, Web of Science and ProQuest Dissertations & Thesis Global) were searched for evidence that presented an association between risk factors or correlates of multiple visits to the emergency departmental for mental health care by 10-24 year olds. High impact use was defined as at least one return ED visit for mental health care. Primary studies of any quantitative design were included, with no exclusions based on language or country and all possible risk factors were considered. Data were extracted and synthesised using quantitative methods; frequencies of positive, negative and null associations were summarised for categories of potential risk factors.

RESULTS

Sixty-five studies were included in the review. Most studies were from North America and reported a wide range of measures of high impact ED use, the most common being a binary indicator of multiple ED visits. Sex/gender and age were the most frequently reported risk factors. Measure of previous or concurrent access to mental health care was consistently positively associated with high impact use. Having private health insurance, compared with public or no insurance, was generally negatively associated with high impact use. Proxy measures of socioeconomic position (SEP) showed associations between lower SEP and more high impact use in a small number of studies. No other factors were consistently or uniformly associated with high impact use.

CONCLUSIONS

The review identified a substantial evidence base but due to the variability in study design and measurement of both risk factors and outcomes, no consistent risk factors emerged. More research is needed, particularly outside North America, using robust methods and high quality routinely collected data.

Health mediation does not reduce the readmission rate of frequent users of emergency departments living in precarious conditions: what lessons can be learned from this randomised controlled trial?

BACKGROUND

Severe overcrowding of emergency departments (EDs) affects the quality of healthcare. One factor of overcrowding is precariousness, but it has rarely been considered a key factor in designing interventions to improve ED care. Health mediation (HM) aims to facilitate access to rights, prevention, and care for the most vulnerable persons and to raise awareness among healthcare providers about obstacles in accessing healthcare. The primary aim was to determine whether HM intervention for frequent users of EDs (FUED) living in precarious conditions could reduce the readmission rate at 90 days.

METHODS

Between February 2019 and May 2022, we enrolled and interviewed 726 FUED in four EDs of southeastern France in this randomised controlled trial. The HM intervention started in the ED and lasted 90 days. In addition to the primary endpoint (first readmission at 90 days), secondary endpoints (readmission at 30 and 180 days, number of hospitalisations at 30, 90, 180 days, admissions for the same reasons as the first admission) were also studied. The outcomes were measured in the ED information systems. Statistical methods included an intention-to-treat analysis and a per-protocol analysis. Comparisons were adjusted for gender, age, ED, and health mediator.

RESULTS

46% of patients reported attending the ED because they felt their life was in danger, and 42% had been referred to the ED by the emergency medical dispatch centre or their GP; 40% of patients were considered to be in a serious condition by ED physicians. The proportion of patients who were readmitted at 90 days was high but did not differ between the control and the HM intervention groups (31.7% vs. 36.3%, p = 0.23). There was no significant difference in any of the secondary outcome measures between the control and HM intervention groups. Per-protocol analysis also showed no significant difference for the primary and secondary endpoints.

CONCLUSIONS

This randomised controlled trial did not show that our health mediation intervention was effective in reducing the use of emergency services by FUED living in precarious conditions. Some limitations are discussed: the duration of the intervention (90 days), the long-term effects (> 6 months), the involvement of the ED staff.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

Registered on clinicaltrials.gov as NCT03660215 on 4th September 2018.

Estimates of Major Depressive Disorder and Treatment Among Adolescents by Race and Ethnicity

Importance

The COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to poorer mental health and a greater need for treatment. Nationally representative estimates of major depressive disorder (MDD) and mental health treatment among US adolescents during the pandemic are needed.

Objective

To estimate MDD prevalence among adolescents, evaluate mental health treatment use among adolescents with MDD, and assess differences by race and ethnicity.

Design, Setting, and Participants

This cross-sectional analysis of the nationally representative 2021 National Survey on Drug Use and Health included noninstitutionalized US adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17 years (n = 10 743). Analytic weights were applied to all rates and model estimates to be nationally representative and account for sample design and survey nonresponse. Data were collected from January 14 to December 20, 2021, and analyzed from February 11 to April 3, 2023.

Exposures

Self-reported race and ethnicity.

Main Outcomes and Measures

Dichotomous outcomes of MDD as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fifth Edition), MDD-specific mental health treatment, any type of mental health treatment, telehealth visits, and delays in mental health treatment.

Results

The sample included 10 743 adolescents (51.1% male). Self-reported race and ethnicity included 5.1% Asian, 14.1% Black, 23.3% Latinx, 51.2% White, and 6.3% more than 1 race. Ages were evenly distributed: 34.0% aged 12 to 13 years; 33.3% aged 14 to 15 years; and 32.7% aged 16 to 17 years. Adolescents of more than 1 race or ethnicity had the highest MDD rate (26.5%). Compared with White adolescents, the lowest rates of any MDD treatment overall were found among Latinx adolescents (29.2% [95% CI, 22.2%-36.2%]) and those of more than 1 race or ethnicity (21.1% [95% CI, 11.6%-30.7%]). Similar results were found for treatment by any clinician (Latinx, 25.6% [95% CI, 18.8%-32.4%]; >1 race or ethnicity, 19.1% [95% CI, 9.7%-28.6%]), treatment by a mental health specialist (Latinx, 22.9% [95% CI, 16.9%-28.9%]; >1 race or ethnicity, 16.7% [95% CI, 7.1%-26.3%]), treatment by a nonspecialist clinician (Latinx, 7.3% [95% CI, 3.3%-11.3%]; >1 race or ethnicity, 4.8% [95% CI, 1.9%-7.7%]), and use of any psychotropic medication prescription (Latinx, 11.6% [95% CI, 7.3%-15.9%]; >1 race or ethnicity, 8.3% [95% CI, 2.8%-13.7]). Compared with White adolescents, Black adolescents had lower rates of MDD treatment by any clinician (31.7% [95% CI, 23.7%-39.8%]) and by nonspecialist clinicians (8.4% [95% CI, 3.8%-13.2%]) and experienced lower prescription rates for any psychotropic medication (12.6 [95% CI, 4.6%-20.6%]). Asian (16.0% [95% CI, 5.0%-27.2%]) and Latinx (17.8% [95% CI, 12.6%-23.0%]) adolescents had lower rates of virtual mental health treatment compared with White adolescents. Black (19.1% [95% CI, 14.1%-24.2%]) and Latinx (17.9% [95% CI, 15.0%-21.1%]) adolescents had lower rates of appointments transition to telehealth, while Black adolescents (14.1% [95% CI, 10.7%-17.4%]) experienced delays getting their prescriptions.

Conclusions and Relevance

During the first full calendar year of the pandemic, approximately 1 in 5 adolescents had MDD, and less than half of adolescents who needed treatment had any mental health treatment. Adolescents in racial and ethnic minority groups, particularly Latinx, experienced the lowest treatment rates. Federal policy should target adolescents as a whole, and minority populations in particular, to ensure equitable treatment access. Efforts should consider the social, racial, ethnic, and cultural determinants of health.

Profile and Outcomes of Emergency Department Mental Health Patient Presentations Based on Arrival Mode: A State-Wide Retrospective Cohort Study

INTRODUCTION

People arriving to the emergency department with mental health problems experience varying and sometimes inferior outcomes compared with people without mental health problems, yet little is known about whether or how their arrival mode is associated with these outcomes. This study describes and compares demographics, clinical characteristics, and patient and health service outcomes of adult mental health emergency department patient presentations, based on arrival mode: brought in by ambulance, privately arranged transport, and brought in by police.

METHODS

Using a retrospective observational study design with state-wide administrative data from Queensland, Australia, mental health presentations from January 1, 2012, to December 31, 2017, were analyzed using descriptive and inferential analyses.

RESULTS

Of the 446,815 presentations, 51.8% were brought in by ambulance, 37.2% arrived via privately arranged transport, and 11.0% were brought in by police. Compared with other arrival modes, presentations brought in by ambulance were more likely to be older and female and have more urgent triage categories and a longer length of stay. Presentations arriving by privately arranged transport were more likely than other arrival modes to present during the day, be assigned a less urgent triage category, be seen within their recommended triage time, have a shorter length of stay in the emergency department, have higher rates of discharge, and have waited longer to be seen by a clinician. Presentations brought in by police were more likely than other arrival modes to be younger and male and experience a shorter time to be seen by a clinician.

DISCUSSION

Discrepancies between arrival modes indicates a need for further investigation to support inter- and intra-agency mental health care interventions.

Clusters of substance use and mental health variables with emergency room visits in U.S. adults: The 2020 National Survey on Drug Use and Health

BACKGROUND

This study evaluated the prevalence of emergency room (ER) visits, given numerous substance use and mental health variables in the past year.

METHODS

Data from 5206 emergency room visits out of 27,170 adults were extracted from the 2020 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Oblique principal component cluster analysis was used to classify 39 substance use and mental health variables into disjoint clusters.

RESULTS

In 2020, the overall prevalence of ER visits was 21.9 %. Being female, age above 65 years, with insurance, low income and low education levels, and being African American increased the risk of ER visit. Nine clusters were made out of 39 substance use and mental health variables. Multivariate stepwise logistic regression analysis showed 15 substance use and mental health variables were significantly associated with ER visits including heavy alcohol use past 30 days in cluster 3, nicotine dependence and cigarettes use in cluster 4, major depressive episode, serious psychological distress, and suicidal plans in past year in cluster 5, any psychotherapeutics use in cluster 7, tranquilizers use and lorazepam products use in cluster 8, and any pain reliever, pain reliever misuse, hydrocodone products use, oxycodone products use, tramadol products use, and codeine products use in cluster 9.

CONCLUSIONS

Several substance use and mental health problems, including nicotine dependence, illicit drugs, and serious mental health problems were among the common reasons for ER visits. These findings suggest the effective use of ER as the venue to implement interventions for substance use and mental health.