Faculty mentor/PI email address
brennaam@rowan.edu
Is your research Teaching and Learning based?
1
Keywords
Primary care, emergency departments, social vulnerability index, social determinants of health, New Jersey, physician shortage
Date of Presentation
5-6-2026 12:00 AM
Poster Abstract
Background: Primary care (PC) is essential to proactive, comprehensive, and preventative care that can improve patient outcomes. One-third of emergency department (ED) visits are for non-emergency care that can be appropriately treated by a PC provider. In New Jersey, more than $400 million is spent annually on avoidable ED visits. Decreasing the total PC treatable ED visits per year will improve the quality of care and decrease costs. New Jersey’s PC spending, based on total health spending, is one of the lowest in the country. Demographic and socioeconomic factors in the Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) examine potentially preventable ED visits, while Southern New Jersey has not been directly examined.
Hypothesis: Demographic and socioeconomic factors have a substantially negative impact on the utilization of EDs for PC services in Southern New Jersey.
Methods: A search was conducted in January 2026 across PubMed, CDC, and NJDOH. Specific search strings included keywords related to patients, PC, and EDs.
Results: People living in socially vulnerable communities are significantly more likely to visit the ED for PC treatable events. Several Southern New Jersey counties are considered to have high levels of vulnerability based on SVI. Higher SVI scores and living in socially vulnerable areas are associated with an increased likelihood of PC treatable ED visits.
Conclusion: The results of this review indicate that Southern New Jersey counties are at higher risk of utilizing EDs for PC services. Acknowledging social determinants of health, partnering with communities, and conducting future research are necessary to address this issue.
Disciplines
Emergency Medicine | Health Services Research | Medicine and Health Sciences | Population Health | Rural Health
Assessing the Utilization of Emergency Departments for Primary Care Services in Southern New Jersey
Background: Primary care (PC) is essential to proactive, comprehensive, and preventative care that can improve patient outcomes. One-third of emergency department (ED) visits are for non-emergency care that can be appropriately treated by a PC provider. In New Jersey, more than $400 million is spent annually on avoidable ED visits. Decreasing the total PC treatable ED visits per year will improve the quality of care and decrease costs. New Jersey’s PC spending, based on total health spending, is one of the lowest in the country. Demographic and socioeconomic factors in the Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) examine potentially preventable ED visits, while Southern New Jersey has not been directly examined.
Hypothesis: Demographic and socioeconomic factors have a substantially negative impact on the utilization of EDs for PC services in Southern New Jersey.
Methods: A search was conducted in January 2026 across PubMed, CDC, and NJDOH. Specific search strings included keywords related to patients, PC, and EDs.
Results: People living in socially vulnerable communities are significantly more likely to visit the ED for PC treatable events. Several Southern New Jersey counties are considered to have high levels of vulnerability based on SVI. Higher SVI scores and living in socially vulnerable areas are associated with an increased likelihood of PC treatable ED visits.
Conclusion: The results of this review indicate that Southern New Jersey counties are at higher risk of utilizing EDs for PC services. Acknowledging social determinants of health, partnering with communities, and conducting future research are necessary to address this issue.