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Review
. 2019 Oct 14;20(6):931-938.
doi: 10.5811/westjem.2019.7.43073.

Risk Factors Associated with Emergency Department Recidivism in the Older Adult

Sophia Sheikh  1
Affiliations
Review

Risk Factors Associated with Emergency Department Recidivism in the Older Adult

Sophia Sheikh. West J Emerg Med. .

Abstract

Our objective was to review risk factors predictive of older adult recidivism in the emergency department. Certain risk factors and themes commonly occurred in the literature. These recurring factors included increasing age, male gender, certain diagnoses (abdominal pain, traumatic injuries, and respiratory complaints), psychosocial factors (depression, anxiety, poor social support, and limited health literacy), and poor general health (cognitive health and physical functioning). Many of the identified risk factors are not easily modifiable posing a significant challenge in the quest to develop and implement effective intervention strategies.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: By the WestJEM article submission agreement, all authors are required to disclose all affiliations, funding sources and financial or management relationships that could be perceived as potential sources of bias. No author has professional or financial relationships with any companies that are relevant to this study. The work was supported by a Florida Medical Malpractice Joint Underwriters Association Dr. Alvin E. Smith Safety of Healthcare Services Grant and by a grant from the NIH/NIA-funded Jacksonville Aging Studies Center (JAX-ASCENT; R33AG05654).

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