Effectiveness of a Disability Liaison Officer service in a metropolitan emergency department.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

To identify the influence of a Disability Liaison Officer (DLO) service in the ED setting on people with disability (PWD). For this project, PWD included adults with communication disability, intellectual disability or autism spectrum disorder.

Methods

This was a single-centre retrospective cohort study, at an adult major referral ED in Melbourne, Australia. Patients were eligible for inclusion if they were ≥18 years of age, presented to the ED between 1 April 2022 and 30 April 2023, and had a disability alert in their electronic medical record. Eligible patients were divided into two cohorts: (i) patients managed using standard ED care and (ii) patients managed using DLO model. ED length of stay (LOS) was the main outcome measure.

Results

After adjusting f

SUBMITTER: O'Shannessy E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11744425 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature