{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,14]],"date-time":"2026-08-14T17:30:57Z","timestamp":1786728657815,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":19,"publisher":"Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,1]],"date-time":"2026-01-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1767225600000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-nd\/4.0"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["lww.com","ovid.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,1]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>BACKGROUND:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The utilization of the Emergency Department (ED) for non-urgent care poses a major problem to the healthcare system. The objective of the study was to assess non-urgent visits to ED and determine the factors influencing non-urgent visits to the ED.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>MATERIALS AND METHODS:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A cross-sectional study was conducted at a secondary level hospital in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia from October 2024 to February 2025. Study included 412 Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale (CTAS) IV and V patients. Data was collected by interviewing the patients or their relative using a validated structured questionnaire. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 29; categorical data was presented as frequencies and percentages. Chi-square test or Fisher\u2019s exact test, as appropriate, was used to determine association between non-urgent ED visit and various factors. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to identify predictors of non-urgent ED visits.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>RESULTS:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Majority of the patients were Saudis (85.0%), more than half (55.8%) were female, and more than one-third (38.1%) were aged 20-34 years. Common presenting complaints included abdominal pain (20.9%), cold\/flu symptoms (10.4%), and back\/leg pain (8.7%); Most patients (46.8%) reported symptoms lasting &lt;1 week. At univariate analysis, non-urgent ED visits were significantly associated with age (P = 0.049) and region of residence (P = 0.018). Logistic regression showed weak association between non-urgent ED visit and marital status, employment, type of accommodation, and presence of a chronic disease but these were not statistically significant (P &gt; 0.05). Accessibility (43.4%) and perceived urgency (41.0%) were key drivers for the preference of the ED to primary care.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>CONCLUSION:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The study highlights key factors that influence non-urgent visits, with accessibility and perceived urgency being the primary drivers. Findings highlight the need to improve primary healthcare access and triage awareness to reduce unnecessary ED visits.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.4103\/jfcm.jfcm_232_25","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,20]],"date-time":"2026-01-20T06:00:11Z","timestamp":1768888811000},"page":"28-36","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1097\/lww.0000000000001000","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Factors that contribute to non-urgent utilization of emergency services in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia"],"prefix":"10.4103","volume":"33","author":[{"given":"Sarah A.","family":"Alahmadi","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Emergency Medicine, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Dunya N.","family":"Alfaraj","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Emergency Medicine, King Fahd Hospital of the University, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Fatimah A.","family":"Altayeb","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Medicine, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Renad M.","family":"Alamri","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Medicine, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Fay T.","family":"Abuaisha","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Medicine, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shahad A.","family":"Alshamlan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Medicine, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi 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