Ricerc@Sapienza

Objective
Heavy users of the emergency department (ED) are a heterogeneous population. Few studies have captured the social and demographic complexity of patients with the largest burden of ED use. Our objective was to model associations between social and demographic patient characteristics and quantiles of the distributions of ED use, defined as frequent and high‐charge.
Methods

Introduction Previous qualitative researches highlighted that people living in Bastogi - a peripheric area of Rome marked by social deprivation - have difficulties in accessing and relating health services. We explored the healthcare workers’ perception of the relationship with such population. Methods A 42 items questionnaire was addressed to the reference Local Health Unit employees, evaluating: context knowledge; perception of the relationship between users and health services and between users and operators; training needs.

The history of the urbanization process can determine the social identity of specific places and neighbourhoods. Understanding historical processes behind the physical environment of a city is the first step in an action-research in an urban setting. The characterisation of a neighbourhood, especially in a deprived and segregated urban context, requires a multidisciplinary approach that cannot be separated from a dedicated quantitative analysis, integrating various tools and approaches.