Prolonged length of stay and its associated factors at adult emergency department in amhara region comprehensive specialized hospitals, northwest Ethiopia

Asnake Gashaw Belayneh; Yemataw Zewdu Temachu; Mengistu Abebe Messelu; Mignote Hailu Gebrie

doi:10.1186/s12873-023-00804-y

Prolonged length of stay and its associated factors at adult emergency department in amhara region comprehensive specialized hospitals, northwest Ethiopia

BMC Emerg Med. 2023 Mar 29;23(1):34. doi: 10.1186/s12873-023-00804-y.

Authors

Asnake Gashaw Belayneh¹, Yemataw Zewdu Temachu², Mengistu Abebe Messelu³, Mignote Hailu Gebrie⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Emergency and Critical Care Nursing, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Bahir Dar University, Bahir Da, Ethiopia. asnakegashaw27@gmail.com.
² Department of Emergency and Critical Care Nursing, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia.
³ Department of Nursing, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Debre Markos University, Debre Markos, Ethiopia.
⁴ School of Nursing, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia.

Abstract

Background: Prolonged length of stay at the emergency department interferes with the main goal of emergency care and results in adverse patient outcomes like nosocomial infection, dissatisfaction, morbidity, and mortality. Despite this, little is known about the length of stay and the factors that influence it in Ethiopia's emergency department.

Methods: An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted on 495 patients admitted at Amhara region comprehensive specialized hospitals emergency department from May 14 to June 15/2022. A systematic random sampling was employed to select study participants. A pretested structured interview-based questionnaire was used to collect data by using Kobo toolbox software. SPSS version 25 was used for data analysis. Bi-variable logistic regression analysis was carried out to select variables with P-value < 0.25. The significance of association was interpreted using an Adjusted Odds Ratio with a 95% confidence interval. Variables with P-value < 0.05 in the multivariable logistic regression analysis were inferred to be significantly associated with length of stay.

Result: Out of 512 enrolled participants, 495 were participated with a response rate of 96.7%. The prevalence of prolonged length of stay in the adult emergency department was 46.5% (95%CI: 42.1, 51.1). Lack of insurance (AOR: 2.11; 95% CI: 1.22, 3.65), non-communicative presentation (AOR: 1.98; 95% CI: 1.07, 3.68), delayed consultation (AOR: 9.5; 95% CI: 5.00, 18.03), overcrowding (AOR: 4.98; 95% CI: 2.13, 11.68), and shift change experience (AOR: 3.67; 95% CI: 1.30, 10.37) were significantly associated with prolonged length of stay.

Conclusion: The result of this study is found to be high based on Ethiopian target emergency department patient length of stay. Lack of insurance, presentation without communication, delayed consultation, overcrowding, and shift change experience were significant factors for prolonged emergency department length of stay. Therefore, interventions like expansion of organizational setup are needed to decrease the length of stay to an acceptable level.

Keywords: Emergency department; Length of stay; Northwest Ethiopia.

MeSH terms

Adult
Cross-Sectional Studies
Emergency Service, Hospital*
Ethiopia / epidemiology
Hospitals*
Humans
Length of Stay