Sociodemographic characteristics of the patients referred to the ED
| Characteristic | Frequency n (%) | Patient group, n (%) | ||
| NU visits (n=1217) n (%) | USU visits (n=667) n (%) | |||
| Sex | Male | 1039 (55.1) | 675 (55.5) | 364 (54.6) |
| Female | 845 (44.9) | 542 (44.5) | 303 (45.4) | |
| Age group (y) | Younger age group (<49) | 1075 (57.1) | 777 (63.8) | 298 (44.7) |
| Older age group (>49) | 809 (42.9) | 440 (36.2) | 369 (55.3) | |
| Education Level | Non-academic education and degrees | 1043 (55.4) | 658 (54.1) | 385 (57.7) |
| Academic education and degrees | 841 (44.6) | 559 (45.9) | 282 (42.3) | |
| Employment status | Unemployed | 886 (47) | 572 (47) | 314 (47.1) |
| Employed | 484 (25.7) | 342 (28.1) | 142 (21.3) | |
| Retired | 336 (17.8) | 180 (14.8) | 156 (23.4) | |
| Self-employed | 68 (3.6) | 41 (3.4) | 27 (4) | |
| Student | 110 (5.8) | 82 (6.7) | 28 (4.2) | |
| Being pregnant | Yes | 16 (1.9) | 10 (1.8) | 6 (2) |
| No | 829 (98.1) | 532 (98.2) | 297 (98) | |
| Health insurance coverage | Insured | 1829 (97.1) | 1177 (96.7) | 652 (97.8) |
| Uninsured | 55 (2.9) | 40 (3.3) | 15 (2.2) | |
| Visit shift | Morning | 527 (28) | 303 (24.9) | 224 (33.6) |
| Afternoon | 634 (33.7) | 428 (35.2) | 206 (30.9) | |
| Night | 723 (38.4) | 486 (39.9) | 237 (35.5) | |
| Visit day | Weekends | 1356 (72) | 846 (69.5) | 510 (76.5) |
| Other weekdays | 528 (28) | 371 (30.5) | 157 (23.5) | |
| Head of families/dependents | Head of families | 756 (40.1) | 466 (38.3) | 290 (43.5) |
| Dependents | 1128 (59.9) | 751 (61.7) | 377 (56.5) | |
| Type of health insurance organisations | Uninsured | 55 (2.9) | 40 (3.3) | 15 (2.2) |
| Iran Health Insurance Organization | 19 (1) | 7 (0.6) | 12 (1.8) | |
| Armed Forces Medical Services Insurance Organization | 1699 (90.2) | 1105 (90.8) | 594 (89.1) | |
| Social Security Organization | 60 (3.2) | 38 (3.1) | 22 (3.3) | |
| Other | 51 (2.7) | 27 (2.2) | 24 (3.6) | |
| Duration of symptoms before seeking care | One day or less | 961 (51) | 659 (54.1) | 302 (45.3) |
| One week or less | 747 (39.6) | 459 (37.7) | 288 (43.2) | |
| > One week | 176 (9.3) | 99 (8.1) | 77 (11.5) | |
ED, emergency department; NU, non-urgent; USU, urgent and semiurgent.