Association between the elderly frequent attender to the emergency department and 30-day mortality: A retrospective study over 10 years / 世界急诊医学杂志（英文）

BACKGROUND:To determine if elderly frequent attenders are associated with increased 30-day mortality, assess resource utilization by the elderly frequent attenders and identify associated characteristics that contribute to mortality. METHODS:Retrospective observational study of electronic clinical records of all emergency department (ED) visits over a 10-year period to an urban tertiary general hospital in Singapore. Patients aged 65 years and older, with 3 or more visits within a calendar year were identified. Outcomes measured include 30-day mortality, admission rate, admission diagnosis and duration spent at ED. Chi-square-tests were used to assess categorical factors and Student t-test was used to assess continuous variables on their association with being a frequent attender. Univariate and multivariate logistic regressions were conducted on all significant independent factors on to the outcome variable (30-day mortality), to determine factor independent odds ratios of being a frequent attender. RESULTS:1.381 million attendance records were analyzed. Elderly patients accounted for 25.5％ of all attendances, of which 31.3％ are frequent attenders. Their 30-day mortality rate increased from 4.0％ in the first visit, to 8.8％ in the third visit, peaking at 10.2％ in the sixth visit. Factors associated with mortality include patients with neoplasms, ambulance utilization, male gender and having attended the ED the previous year. CONCLUSION:Elderly attenders have a higher 30-day mortality risk compared to the overall ED population, with mortality risk more marked for frequent attenders. This study illustrates the importance and need for interventions to address frequent ED visits by the elderly, especially in an aging society.

Variations of the social: some reflections on public health, social research and the health-society relation / Variaciones de lo social: algunas reflexiones sobre salud pública, investigación social y la relación salud-sociedad

The idea of a social dimension of health is widely accepted as unavoidable and relevant for public health. This article proposes a reflection around the notion of the social examining some of the manifold ways in which it might be inherited by researchers, professionals, administrative staff and material settings involved in the practices of public health care. It will be argued that this inheritance has deep consequences for efforts of care inasmuch these different versions of the social characterise, circumscribe and reframe the health-society relation, modifying the scope under which public health issues are tackled or dismissed. To ground this seemingly abstract discussion I will work considering a specific public health problem: the case of frequent attenders in public health. Drawing on two approaches from the Sociology of Health (i.e. illness-behaviour and the user-professional relation) and the field of Science and Technology Studies, I will show how these ways of framing the study of frequent attenders assume and simultaneously promote three different versions of the social. The article aims to explore how social research in these traditions participate in the achievement and promotion of specific health-society relations, in which certain notions of the social operate helping or limiting research and care efforts by creating richer or poorer possibilities for posing, examining and facing the problems of public health.

La idea de una dimensión social de la salud ha sido ampliamente aceptada como inevitable y relevante para la salud pública. Este artículo propone una reflexión en torno a la noción de lo social examinando algunas de las muchas formas en que ésta puede ser heredada por los investigadores, profesionales, personal administrativo y contextos materiales involucrados en las prácticas sanitarias. Se propondrá que esta herencia tiene consecuencias importantes para los esfuerzos de atención en la medida en que distintas versiones de lo social caracterizan, circunscriben y replantean la relación salud-sociedad, modificando el alcance bajo el cual se enfrentan o descartan los problemas de salud pública. Para situar esta discusión, aparentemente abstracta, se trabajará a partir de un problema específico de salud pública: el caso de los pacientes policonsultantes. Tomando elementos de dos aproximaciones de la Sociología de la Salud (el comportamiento de enfermedad y la relación usuario-profesional) y del campo de los Estudios de Ciencia, Tecnología y Sociedad, mostraré cómo estas maneras de dar forma al estudio de los policonsultantes asumen y simultáneamente promueven tres versiones distintas de lo social. El artículo busca explorar cómo la investigación social situada en estas tradiciones participa en el logro y promoción de relaciones específicas entre salud y sociedad, en las cuales ciertas nociones de lo social operan ayudando o limitando los esfuerzos de cuidado e investigación, creado posibilidades más ricas o pobres para plantear, examinar y enfrentar los problemas de la salud pública.

Abordaje del paciente hiperfrecuentador de servicios en atención primaria: un acercamiento desde la teoría / Addressing frequent attender in primary health care: an approach from theory / Abordagem do paciente hiperfrecuentador aos serviços na atenção primária: uma aproximação desde a teoria

Este artículo hace una revisión de la literatura sobre la hiperfrecuentación de servicios de salud, con el objetivo de analizar la magnitud del problema para para el paciente, las familias y elsistema de salud, así como sus posibles factores asociados. Se realizó una búsqueda en revistas nacionales e internacionales para proponer una definición que permita estandarizar criterios para su detección, así como analizar posibles factores que puedan generar o perpetuar dicha conducta en el contexto nacional, con base en el modelo teórico de Aday y Andersen. También se sugieren algunas estrategias de intervención en servicios de baja complejidad. Se propone el uso de percentiles en la definición de los casos y a los trastornos mentales comunes como posibles contribuyentes de este comportamiento en salud. Con este artículo se espera contribuir a la generación de conocimiento del uso de servicios cuando las barreras de acceso han sido superadas...

This article is a literature review on frequent-attenders in health services. The current study objective was to analyze the problem for patients, families and health system and its potential related factors. A search in national and international journals was conducted to find a definition criteria for detection and to analyze the factors that may generate or perpetuate such behavior in the national context, based on the theoretical model of Aday and Andersen. It also suggests some intervention strategies in low-complexity services. We propose the use of percentiles for case definition and common mental disorders as potential contributors to this health behavior.This article hopes to contribute to understanding the use of services when access barriers are overcome...

O artigo faz revisão da literatura acerca da hiperfrequentação dos serviços de saúde, a fim de analisar a magnitude do problema para pacientes, familiares e do sistema de saúde e seus fatoresassociados possíveis. Procurou-se em revistas nacionais e internacionais visando propor uma definição que permitisse critérios padronizados para detecção, mesmo analisar possíveis fatores que puderem causar ou perpetuar esse tipo de comportamento no contexto nacional, com baseno modelo teórico de Aday e Andersen. Sugere, também, algumas estrategias de intervenção nos serviços de baixa complexidade. Propoe-se o uso de percentis nas definições dos casos etranstornos mentais comuns como potenciais contribuintes para este comportamento de saúde. Este artigo pretende contribuir para a geração de conhecimento sobre o uso de serviços onde as barreiras de acesso são superadas...