Assessing the Impact of External and Internal Factors on Emergency Department Overcrowding.

ABSTRACT: Objectives: This study analyzes factors influencing Emergency Department (ED) overcrowding by examining the impacts of operational, environmental, and external variables, including weather conditions and football games. Materials and Methods: This retrospective observational study analyzed emergency department (ED) tracking and hospital census data from a southeastern U.S. academic medical center covering 2019-2023. These data were merged with corresponding weather, football event, and federal holiday data. The dependent variable was the hourly waiting count in the ED, our operational measure of overcrowding. Seven regression models were developed to assess different predictors across various timestamps. Results: Weather conditions were significantly correlated with in

SUBMITTER: Ahmed A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12562336 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature