Baseline comparison of study samples receiving standard discharge care and teach-back
| All participants | Older participants | |||||||
| Total (n=648) | Standard discharge (n=343) | Teach-back (n=305) | P value | Total (n=137) | Standard discharge (n=70) | Teach-back (n=67) | P value | |
| Age, median (IQR) | 52 (24–69) | 52 (24–68) | 52 (24–70) | 0.75 | 76 (72–81) | 78 (72–81) | 75 (71–81) | 0.38 |
| Sex, female, n (%) | 328 (50.6) | 182 (53.1) | 146 (47.9) | 0.19 | 74 (54.0) | 38 (54.3) | 36 (53.7) | 0.95 |
| Urgency triage level | 0.07 | 0.50 | ||||||
| High*, (%) | 99 (15.3) | 59 (17.2) | 40 (13.1) | 30 (21.9) | 16 (22.9) | 14 (20.9) | ||
| Low†, (%) | 388 (59.9) | 192 (56.0) | 196 (64.3) | 93 (67.9) | 43 (61.4) | 50 (74.6) | ||
| Missing, n (%) | 161 (24.8) | 92 (26.8) | 69 (22.6) | 14 (10.2) | 11 (15.7) | 3 (4.5) | ||
| CCI, median (IQR) | 1 (1–3) | 1 (0–3) | 1 (1–3) | 0.29 | 4 (3–6) | 5 (4–7) | 4 (3–6) | 0.01 |
| Polypharmacy‡ | NR | NR | NR | 59 (43.1) | 31 (44.3) | 28 (41.8) | 0.77 | |
| ED LOS in minutes, median (IQR) | 137 (85–196) | 143 (91–212) | 131 (81–182) | 0.03 | 171 (116–222) | 178 (120–240) | 160 (113–204) | 0.13 |
| ED discharge during peak time§ | 449 (69.3) | 235 (68.5) | 214 (70.2) | 0.65 | 93 (67.9) | 49 (70.0) | 44 (65.7) | 0.59 |
| Duration of instructions, median minutes (IQR) | NR¶ | NR¶ | NR¶ | 6 (4–9) | 7 (5–10) | 5 (3–9) | 0.22 | |
| Cognitive impairment**, n (%) | NR¶ | NR¶ | NR¶ | 12 (8.8) | 9 (12.9) | 18 (26.9) | 0.04 | |
| Carer present at discharge, n (%) | NR¶ | NR¶ | NR¶ | 106 (77.4) | 54 (77.1) | 52 (77.6) | 0.95 | |
| Post-discharge interview with a carer, n (%) | NA | NA | NA | 9 (6.6) | 4 (5.7) | 5 (7.5) | 0.74 | |
*Categories 'immediate' and 'very urgent' of the Manchester Triage System.
†Categories 'urgent', 'standard' and 'nonurgent' of the Manchester Triage System.
‡Five or more different types of prescribed medication.
§Between noon and 6 pm.
¶This outcome was not reported because individual scores were only collected for older adults (aged ≥70 years) during the observation of their discharge conversation.
**Reported and observed information on cognitive impairment at ED discharge (ie, signs of early-stage dementia, post-stroke symptoms, disorientation, confusion).
CCI, Charlson Comorbidity Index; ED, emergency department; IQR, inter quartile range; LOS, length of stay; NA, not applicable; NR, not reported.