The influence of a major sporting event upon emergency department attendances; A retrospective cross-national European study.

Major sporting events may influence attendance levels at hospital emergency departments (ED). Previous research has focussed on the impact of single games, or wins/losses for specific teams/countries, limiting wider generalisations. Here we explore the impact of the Euro 2016 football championships...

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Main Authors: Helen E Hughes, Felipe J Colón-González, Anne Fouillet, Alex J Elliot, Céline Caserio-Schonemann, Thomas C Hughes, Naomh Gallagher, Roger A Morbey, Gillian E Smith, Daniel Rh Thomas, Iain R Lake
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2018-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0198665
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author Helen E Hughes
Felipe J Colón-González
Anne Fouillet
Alex J Elliot
Céline Caserio-Schonemann
Thomas C Hughes
Naomh Gallagher
Roger A Morbey
Gillian E Smith
Daniel Rh Thomas
Iain R Lake
author_facet Helen E Hughes
Felipe J Colón-González
Anne Fouillet
Alex J Elliot
Céline Caserio-Schonemann
Thomas C Hughes
Naomh Gallagher
Roger A Morbey
Gillian E Smith
Daniel Rh Thomas
Iain R Lake
author_sort Helen E Hughes
collection DOAJ
description Major sporting events may influence attendance levels at hospital emergency departments (ED). Previous research has focussed on the impact of single games, or wins/losses for specific teams/countries, limiting wider generalisations. Here we explore the impact of the Euro 2016 football championships on ED attendances across four participating nations (England, France, Northern Ireland, Wales), using a single methodology. Match days were found to have no significant impact upon daily ED attendances levels. Focussing upon hourly attendances, ED attendances across all countries in the four hour pre-match period were statistically significantly lower than would be expected (OR 0.97, 95% CI 0.94-0.99) and further reduced during matches (OR 0.94, 95% CI 0.91-0.97). In the 4 hour post-match period there was no significant increase in attendances (OR 1.01, 95% CI 0.99-1.04). However, these impacts were highly variable between individual matches: for example in the 4 hour period following the final, involving France, the number of ED attendances in France increased significantly (OR 1.27, 95% CI 1.13-1.42). Overall our results indicate relatively small impacts of major sporting events upon ED attendances. The heterogeneity observed makes it difficult for health providers to predict how major sporting events may affect ED attendances but supports the future development of compatible systems in different countries to support cross-border public health surveillance.
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spelling doaj-art-731d2fd9d0554eb79895bcb1bbef45442025-08-20T02:45:23ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032018-01-01136e019866510.1371/journal.pone.0198665The influence of a major sporting event upon emergency department attendances; A retrospective cross-national European study.Helen E HughesFelipe J Colón-GonzálezAnne FouilletAlex J ElliotCéline Caserio-SchonemannThomas C HughesNaomh GallagherRoger A MorbeyGillian E SmithDaniel Rh ThomasIain R LakeMajor sporting events may influence attendance levels at hospital emergency departments (ED). Previous research has focussed on the impact of single games, or wins/losses for specific teams/countries, limiting wider generalisations. Here we explore the impact of the Euro 2016 football championships on ED attendances across four participating nations (England, France, Northern Ireland, Wales), using a single methodology. Match days were found to have no significant impact upon daily ED attendances levels. Focussing upon hourly attendances, ED attendances across all countries in the four hour pre-match period were statistically significantly lower than would be expected (OR 0.97, 95% CI 0.94-0.99) and further reduced during matches (OR 0.94, 95% CI 0.91-0.97). In the 4 hour post-match period there was no significant increase in attendances (OR 1.01, 95% CI 0.99-1.04). However, these impacts were highly variable between individual matches: for example in the 4 hour period following the final, involving France, the number of ED attendances in France increased significantly (OR 1.27, 95% CI 1.13-1.42). Overall our results indicate relatively small impacts of major sporting events upon ED attendances. The heterogeneity observed makes it difficult for health providers to predict how major sporting events may affect ED attendances but supports the future development of compatible systems in different countries to support cross-border public health surveillance.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0198665
spellingShingle Helen E Hughes
Felipe J Colón-González
Anne Fouillet
Alex J Elliot
Céline Caserio-Schonemann
Thomas C Hughes
Naomh Gallagher
Roger A Morbey
Gillian E Smith
Daniel Rh Thomas
Iain R Lake
The influence of a major sporting event upon emergency department attendances; A retrospective cross-national European study.
PLoS ONE
title The influence of a major sporting event upon emergency department attendances; A retrospective cross-national European study.
title_full The influence of a major sporting event upon emergency department attendances; A retrospective cross-national European study.
title_fullStr The influence of a major sporting event upon emergency department attendances; A retrospective cross-national European study.
title_full_unstemmed The influence of a major sporting event upon emergency department attendances; A retrospective cross-national European study.
title_short The influence of a major sporting event upon emergency department attendances; A retrospective cross-national European study.
title_sort influence of a major sporting event upon emergency department attendances a retrospective cross national european study
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0198665
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