Risk Factors Associated with Preventable Hospitalisation among Rural Community-Dwelling Patients: A Systematic Review

Andrew Ridge (), Gregory M. Peterson and Rosie Nash
Additional contact information
Andrew Ridge: School of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, College of Health and Medicine, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS 7000, Australia
Gregory M. Peterson: School of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, College of Health and Medicine, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS 7000, Australia
Rosie Nash: School of Medicine, College of Health and Medicine, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS 7000, Australia

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 24, 1-15

Abstract: Potentially preventable hospitalisations (PPHs) are common and increase the burden on already stretched healthcare services. Increasingly, psychosocial factors have been recognised as contributing to PPHs and these may be mitigated through greater attention to social capital. This systematic review investigates the factors associated with PPHs within rural populations. The review was designed, conducted, and reported according to PRISMA guidelines and registered with Prospero (ID: CRD42020152194). Four databases were systematically searched, and all potentially relevant papers were screened at the title/abstract level, followed by full-text review by at least two reviewers. Papers published between 2000–2022 were included. Quality assessment was conducted using Newcastle–Ottawa Scale and CASP Qualitative checklist. Of the thirteen papers included, eight were quantitative/descriptive and five were qualitative studies. All were from either Australia or the USA. Access to primary healthcare was frequently identified as a determinant of PPH. Socioeconomic, psychosocial, and geographical factors were commonly identified in the qualitative studies. This systematic review highlights the inherent attributes of rural populations that predispose them to PPHs. Equal importance should be given to supply/system factors that restrict access and patient-level factors that influence the ability and capacity of rural communities to receive appropriate primary healthcare.

Keywords: rural; primary care; preventable hospitalisation; risk factors; determinants; access; socioeconomic (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/24/16487/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/24/16487/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:24:p:16487-:d:997713

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().