Journal article
Improving the Use of Early Follow-up Care After Emergency Department Visits: A Randomized Trial
American journal of diseases of children (1960), Vol.145(4), pp.440-444
04/01/1991
DOI: 10.1001/archpedi.1991.02160040098016
PMID: 1849343
Abstract
• OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that the appropriateness of parents' use of early follow-up care after emergency department (ED) visits can be improved by postvisit support from a nurse practitioner. DESIGN: Randomized controlled trial, single blinded. SETTING: Urban university hospital ED linked to hospital's primary care center. PARTICIPANTS: Parents of 190 children younger than 8 years who sought care in the ED for acute illnesses and who were treated as outpatients with primary care center follow-up at the discretion of ED clinicians. INTERVENTION: Parents in the experimental group were called by a nurse practitioner who offered both individualized guidance regarding follow-up and access to a nurse practitioner for further help as needed. The control group received "usual" follow-up advice during ED visits. MEASUREMENTS/MAIN RESULTS: In the week after the ED visits, parents in the experimental group, compared with parents in the control group, were more compliant with instructions regarding follow-up (79% vs 61 %), less apt to miss appointments (15% vs 31%), and less apt to "shop" elsewhere for care (2% vs 9%). Appropriateness of follow-up was assessed in "blinded" fashion using preestablished guidelines. Inappropriate use of follow-up care was significantly reduced among experimental group subjects (10% vs 20%). CONCLUSION: The nurse practitioner's intervention improved parents' use of follow-up care in our sample. Overall care for episodic ED users might be improved by similar interventions.(AJDC. 1991;145:440-444)
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Improving the Use of Early Follow-up Care After Emergency Department Visits: A Randomized Trial
- Creators
- Eliot W Nelson - Yale UniversitySusan Van CleveMartha K SwartzWilliam KessenPaul L McCarthy
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- American journal of diseases of children (1960), Vol.145(4), pp.440-444
- Publisher
- American Medical Association
- DOI
- 10.1001/archpedi.1991.02160040098016
- PMID
- 1849343
- ISSN
- 0002-922X
- eISSN
- 2374-3018
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 04/01/1991
- Academic Unit
- Nursing
- Record Identifier
- 9984647059602771
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