Targeted Letters to Reduce Avoidable Emergency Department Attendances

Not Applicable

• Conditions: Avoidable Emergency Department Attendances
• Interventions: Behavioral: Letter

• Registration Number: NCT02334189
• Lead Sponsor: The Behavioural Insights Team

Brief Summary

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.

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Status Verified: 2015-01
• Study Start: 2015-01
• Study First Submitted: 2015-01-06
• Study First Submitted QC: 2015-01-07
• Last Update Submitted: 2015-01-07
• Study First Posted: 2015-01-08
• Last Update Posted: 2015-01-08
• Primary Completion: 2015-11
• Study Completion: 2015-11

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: UNKNOWN
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 25000

Inclusion Criteria

• Adults who attended a participating Emergency Department during the trial period and whose attendance was codes as 'No Investigation No Significant Treatment'

Exclusion Criteria

• Children under the age of 18
• All departments and hospitals other than participating Emergency Departments.

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Letter	Letter	Patients receive a letter containing information on alternative healthcare options for non-emergency health concerns.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Number of avoidable Emergency Department re-attendances (Attendances are classified as avoidable using the 'No Investigation No Significant Treatment' code.)	Measured at 4 months after previous attendance	Attendances are classified as avoidable using the 'No Investigation No Significant Treatment' code.