Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Health service utilisation associated with chronic breathlessness : Random population sample

Currow, David C. ; Chang, Sungwon ; Ekström, Magnus LU orcid ; Hutchinson, Ann ; Luckett, Tim ; Kochovska, Slavica ; Hay, Phillipa ; Touyz, Stephen ; Dal Grande, Eleonora and Johnson, Miriam J. (2021) In ERJ open research 7(4).
Abstract

Background Most health service utilisation studies are of people with specific diagnoses or demographic characteristics, and rarely of specific chronic symptoms. The aim of this study was to establish whether population-level health service utilisation increases in people with chronic breathlessness. Methods A cross-sectional analysis was carried out of the South Australian Health Omnibus Survey 2017, a multi-stage, clustered area, systematic sampling survey of adults where questions are administered faceto-face in respondents’ homes. Self-report of health service utilisation in the previous 3 months (medical consultations, emergency department, hospital admission), chronic breathlessness (severity, duration, modified Medical Research... (More)

Background Most health service utilisation studies are of people with specific diagnoses or demographic characteristics, and rarely of specific chronic symptoms. The aim of this study was to establish whether population-level health service utilisation increases in people with chronic breathlessness. Methods A cross-sectional analysis was carried out of the South Australian Health Omnibus Survey 2017, a multi-stage, clustered area, systematic sampling survey of adults where questions are administered faceto-face in respondents’ homes. Self-report of health service utilisation in the previous 3 months (medical consultations, emergency department, hospital admission), chronic breathlessness (severity, duration, modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) breathlessness scale) and demographic data were used to predict self-reported health service utilisation. Results A total of 2898 people were included (49.0% male; median age 48.0 years (IQR 32.0-63.0); 64.1% educated beyond school; 55.4% in work; 73.5% had outpatient contact; 6.3% had a hospital admission in the previous 3 months). Chronic breathlessness (mMRC ≥1) was reported by 8.8% of respondents. In bivariable analyses, people with greater contact with health services were older, and a higher proportion were overweight/obese and had more severe chronic breathlessness. In multivariable analyses, chronic breathlessness and older age were positively associated with outpatient care and inpatient care, and people with chronic breathlessness were hospitalised for longer (incidence rate ratio 2.5; 95% CI 1.4-4.5). Conclusion There is a significant association between worse chronic breathlessness and increased health service utilisation. There is a need for greater understanding of factors that initiate contact with health services.

(Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
ERJ open research
volume
7
issue
4
article number
00415-2021
publisher
European Respiratory Society
external identifiers
  • pmid:34651042
  • scopus:85118259996
ISSN
2312-0541
DOI
10.1183/23120541.00415-2021
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
Publisher Copyright: © The authors 2021.
id
b5b26ab2-1d4c-4884-bf87-99e644c408c8
date added to LUP
2021-11-23 14:51:59
date last changed
2024-06-29 22:26:07
@article{b5b26ab2-1d4c-4884-bf87-99e644c408c8,
  abstract     = {{<p>Background Most health service utilisation studies are of people with specific diagnoses or demographic characteristics, and rarely of specific chronic symptoms. The aim of this study was to establish whether population-level health service utilisation increases in people with chronic breathlessness. Methods A cross-sectional analysis was carried out of the South Australian Health Omnibus Survey 2017, a multi-stage, clustered area, systematic sampling survey of adults where questions are administered faceto-face in respondents’ homes. Self-report of health service utilisation in the previous 3 months (medical consultations, emergency department, hospital admission), chronic breathlessness (severity, duration, modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) breathlessness scale) and demographic data were used to predict self-reported health service utilisation. Results A total of 2898 people were included (49.0% male; median age 48.0 years (IQR 32.0-63.0); 64.1% educated beyond school; 55.4% in work; 73.5% had outpatient contact; 6.3% had a hospital admission in the previous 3 months). Chronic breathlessness (mMRC ≥1) was reported by 8.8% of respondents. In bivariable analyses, people with greater contact with health services were older, and a higher proportion were overweight/obese and had more severe chronic breathlessness. In multivariable analyses, chronic breathlessness and older age were positively associated with outpatient care and inpatient care, and people with chronic breathlessness were hospitalised for longer (incidence rate ratio 2.5; 95% CI 1.4-4.5). Conclusion There is a significant association between worse chronic breathlessness and increased health service utilisation. There is a need for greater understanding of factors that initiate contact with health services.</p>}},
  author       = {{Currow, David C. and Chang, Sungwon and Ekström, Magnus and Hutchinson, Ann and Luckett, Tim and Kochovska, Slavica and Hay, Phillipa and Touyz, Stephen and Dal Grande, Eleonora and Johnson, Miriam J.}},
  issn         = {{2312-0541}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{10}},
  number       = {{4}},
  publisher    = {{European Respiratory Society}},
  series       = {{ERJ open research}},
  title        = {{Health service utilisation associated with chronic breathlessness : Random population sample}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1183/23120541.00415-2021}},
  doi          = {{10.1183/23120541.00415-2021}},
  volume       = {{7}},
  year         = {{2021}},
}