title: Names-based classification of accident and emergency department users.
abstract: This paper studies differential healthcare utilisation by ethnic group. Administrative records of nearly 100,000 users of an Inner London accident and emergency (A&E) facility were analysed using an innovative names-based ethnicity classification. Adult repeated 'light' usage (i.e. with no hospitalisation or follow-up) did not differ according to ethnic group. Users from ethnic minorities had lower GP registration rates than the majority reference group. However, lack of GP registration was not associated with repeated light use of A&E, overall. Therefore, these results challenge common perceptions of differential A&E access rates by ethnicity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Geography and Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK.
authors.forename: Jakob
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Petersen
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Longley
authors.forename: Maurizio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gibin
authors.forename: Pablo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mateos
authors.forename: Philip
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Atkinson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand / Q000145:classification*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008131:London; D008297:Male; D008499:Medical Records; D008875:Middle Aged; D009275:Names; D055815:Young Adult