ED frequent use - Dementia study
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A Mixed-methods Investigation into the Factors which Influence Frequent Use of Emergency Departments by People with Dementia
IRAS ID
326630
Contact name
Lori Amber Bourke
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of West London
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 4 months, 1 days
Research summary
This research aims to investigate why people living with dementia frequently attend emergency departments (ED) and examine the environmental, social, and health related factors that may contribute to their frequent attendance. This will contribute to building evidence for two national priority areas of health research, which are to reduce frequent use of emergency departments and improve the care and support for people living with dementia at home.
The research will use both quantitative and qualitative data collection as well as a systematic review.
A retrospective review of medical records of ED attendances of people living with dementia who are considered frequent users will be carried out. The extracted data from each attendance will include: demographic information (age, ethnicity, gender, partial postcode), reason for ED attendance/presenting problem, outcome of ED attendance (e.g., discharged, admitted to hospital, referred to alternative service), length of stay if admitted to hospital, comorbidities, medical teams who they have been seen by, living situation (e.g., alone, with carer, care home), social situation (e.g. daily activities, do they see friends or are they isolated), dementia diagnosis, and number of ED attendances over the study period.
Next, semi structured interviews will be conducted with people living with dementia and carers of people living with dementia, who have attended an ED 4 or more times within a year (considered frequent use). The interviews will explore experiences leading up to and during admission to an ED in order to further understand the circumstances and perceptions around this and explore what support the participants feel would have been beneficial in their experience and may have assisted in avoiding attendance of the ED.
REC name
London - Queen Square Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
23/LO/0814
Date of REC Opinion
9 Feb 2024
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion