Determinants of self-rated health in older adults before and 3 months after an emergency department visit: a prospective study

摘要

Objectives Self-rated health (SRH) is an important patient-reported outcome, but little is known about SRH after a visit to the emergency department (ED). We investigated the determinants of decline in SRH during 3 months after an ED visit in older patients.Design This was a multicenter prospective cohort study including acutely presenting older (>70 years) patients in the ED (the Netherlands). Patients were asked to self-rate their health between 0 and 10. The main outcome was a decline in SRH defined as a transition of a SRH of at least 6 to a SRH of less than 6,3 months after the patient's visit to the ED.