Childhood disadvantage and emergency admission rates for common presentations in London: An exploratory analysis

Aim: To determine whether emergency hospital admission rates (EAR) for common paediatric conditions in Greater London are associated with measures of child well-being and deprivation. Design: Retrospective analysis of hospital episode statistics and secondary analysis of the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) 2007 and Local Index of Child Well-Being (CWI) 2009. Setting: 31 Greater London primary care trusts (PCTs). Outcome measures: EAR in PCTs for breathing difficulty, feverish illness and/or diarrhoea. Results: 24 481 children under 15 years of age were discharged following emergency admission for breathing difficulty, feverish illness and/or diarrhoea during 2007/2008. The EAR for breathing difficulty was associated with the IMD (Spearman's rho 0.59, p