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The study aims to test whether it is possible to reduce pressure on Emergency Departments by sending a personal feedback letter to people who have recently attended an Emergency Department and whose health issues could likely have been dealt with elsewhere. These attendances clearly have many causes. However, it is likely that some attendances are due to behavioural factors - in other words, the various ways in which users interact with services. This study focuses on one particular behavioural factor: lack of feedback to users making avoidable visits.
The study will take place in collaboration with an NHS hospital trust. Each week during the trial, the hospital trust will identify those Emergency Department attendances in the last seven days which, according to clinical judgement, could have been dealt with elsewhere. Patients will then be randomly selected to receive a letter containing information on alternative healthcare options for non-emergency health concerns. Patient records will be analysed to determine whether the patients who received the letter are less likely to make an avoidable repeat visit to the Emergency Department in the future, compared with patients who received no letter.
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| Label | Type | Description | Intervention Names |
|---|---|---|---|
| Letter | Experimental | Patients receive a letter containing information on alternative healthcare options for non-emergency health concerns. |
|
| No letter | No Intervention | Patients receive no letter (this is the usual care). |
| Name | Type | Description | Arm Group Labels | Other Names |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Letter | Behavioral | Patients receive an information letter following an avoidable visit to the Emergency Department. |
|
| Measure | Description | Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
| Number of avoidable Emergency Department re-attendances (Attendances are classified as avoidable using the 'No Investigation No Significant Treatment' code.) | Attendances are classified as avoidable using the 'No Investigation No Significant Treatment' code. | Measured at 4 months after previous attendance |
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Inclusion Criteria:
Exclusion Criteria:
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| Name | Role | Phone | Extension | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hannah Behrendt, MPhil, BA | Contact | +447588482198 | hannah.behrendt@behaviouralinsights.co.uk |
| Name | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Hannah Behrendt, MPhil, BA | Behavioural Insights Team | Principal Investigator |
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| ID | Term |
|---|---|
| D065822 | College Fraternities and Sororities |
| ID | Term |
|---|---|
| D009938 | Organizations |
| D004472 | Health Care Economics and Organizations |
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