Characteristics of emergency department visits in Alberta from Apr. 1, 2012, to Mar. 31, 2017
| Characteristic | No. (%) of visits* | |
|---|---|---|
| First Nations patients n = 1 099 424 | Non–First Nations patients n = 10 586 863 | |
| Sex | ||
| Male | 503 173 (45.8) | 5 202 606 (49.1) |
| Female or other | 596 251 (54.2) | 5 384 257 (50.9) |
| Age, yr, median (IQR) | 30 (17–46) | 36 (20–57) |
| Age group, yr | ||
| < 18 | 290 487 (26.4) | 2 327 673 (22.0) |
| 18–54 | 655 507 (59.6) | 5 335 311 (50.4) |
| ≥ 55 | 153 424 (14.0) | 2 923 844 (27.6) |
| Missing | 6 (0.0) | 35 (0.0) |
| Distance travelled to care, km, median (IQR) | 6 (1–24) | 4 (2–8) |
| ≤ 5 | 462 463 (42.1) | 5 509 460 (52.0) |
| > 5 | 592 583 (53.9) | 4 651 775 (43.9) |
| Missing | 44 378 (4.0) | 425 628 (4.0) |
| Neighbourhood income, $, median (IQR) | 42 944 (29 978–53 833) | 51 696 (44 223–62 119) |
| Neighbourhood income category, $ | ||
| < 42 000 | 453 783 (42.7) | 1 948 677 (19.2) |
| ≥ 42 000 | 609 458 (57.3) | 8 225 009 (80.8) |
| Missing | ||
| Comorbidities | ||
| None | 742 772 (67.6) | 7 578 896 (71.6) |
| 1 or more | 356 652 (32.4) | 3 007 967 (28.4) |
| Charlson comorbidities | ||
| HIV/AIDS | 6932 (0.6) | 8581 (0.1) |
| Cancer | 19 383 (1.8) | 355 399 (3.4) |
| Cerebrovascular disease | 17 593 (1.6) | 249 238 (2.4) |
| Chronic pulmonary disease | 173 761 (15.8) | 1 156 560 (10.9) |
| Congestive heart failure | 21 267 (1.9) | 311 103 (2.9) |
| Connective tissue disease or rheumatic disease | 17 879 (1.6) | 122 109 (1.2) |
| Dementia | 4508 (0.4) | 122 856 (1.2) |
| Diabetes with complications | 54 399 (4.9) | 437 239 (4.1) |
| Diabetes without complications | 77 929 (7.1) | 459 274 (4.3) |
| Metastatic carcinoma | 6305 (0.6) | 120 526 (1.1) |
| Mild liver disease | 28 391 (2.6) | 100 008 (0.9) |
| Moderate or severe liver disease | 12 576 (1.1) | 44 834 (0.4) |
| Myocardial infarction | 19 747 (1.8) | 217 676 (2.1) |
| Paraplegia and hemiplegia | 6868 (0.6) | 56 173 (0.5) |
| Peptic ulcer disease | 24 526 (2.2) | 124 812 (1.2) |
| Peripheral vascular disease | 11 309 (1.0) | 148 999 (1.4) |
| Renal disease | 20 643 (1.9) | 209 123 (2.0) |
| Arrival by ambulance | ||
| Yes | 173 464 (15.8) | 1 066 284 (10.1) |
| No | 925 960 (84.2) | 9 520 579 (89.9) |
| Triage | ||
| CTAS 1–2 | 91 439 (8.3) | 1 253 958 (11.8) |
| CTAS 3 | 306 481 (27.9) | 3 649 685 (34.5) |
| CTAS 4–5 | 648 344 (59.0) | 5 335 828 (50.4) |
| Missing | 53 160 (4.8) | 347 392 (3.3) |
| Time | ||
| Day (8:01–16:00) | 488 736 (44.5) | 5 320 816 (50.3) |
| Evening (16:01–0:00) | 479 531 (43.6) | 4 029 075 (38.1) |
| Night (0:01–8:00) | 131 157 (11.9) | 1 236 972 (11.7) |
| Facility type | ||
| Tertiary hospital | 124 221 (11.3) | 1 598 194 (18.3) |
| Regional hospital | 183 055 (16.7) | 1 311 361 (15.0) |
| Large community hospital | 357 147 (32.5) | 2 132 601 (24.4) |
| Medium community hospital | 226 897 (20.6) | 1 437 449 (16.4) |
| Small community hospital | 131 703 (12.0) | 804 591 (9.2) |
| Urgent care centre | 35 962 (3.3) | 946 277 (10.8) |
| Ambulatory care | 40 439 (3.7) | 515 274 (5.9) |
| AHS zone | ||
| North | 509 990 (46.4) | 862 415 (8.7) |
| Edmonton | 174 515 (15.9) | 3 106 590 (31.4) |
| Central | 156 924 (14.3) | 1 639 139 (16.5) |
| Calgary | 143 377 (13.0) | 3 106 590 (31.4) |
| South | 108 277 (9.8) | 862 415 (8.7) |
| Missing | 6341 (0.6) | 327 153 (3.3) |
| Facility or geography combination† | ||
| Large metro | 211 033 (19.2) | 3 439 310 (32.5) |
| Small metro | 43 052 (3.9) | 752 230 (7.1) |
| Regional outside metro | 96 243 (8.8) | 1 311 361 (12.4) |
| Large community | 357 147 (32.5) | 2 132 601 (20.1) |
| Small facilities outside metro | 391 949 (35.7) | 2 951 361 (27.9) |
Note: AHS = Alberta Health Services, CTAS = Canadian Triage Acuity Scale, IQR = interquartile range.
↵* Unless indicated otherwise.
↵† Please see definitions in Appendix 1, Supplement 2, available at www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.231019/tab-related-content.