Equity and access: understanding emergency health service use by newly arrived refugees.

Objectives: To determine issues that affect newly resettled refugees in accessing an emergency department (ED).

Design, Setting And Participants: We conducted a descriptive community survey using a semistructured questionnaire. Newly resettled refugees from the Middle East and Africa were interviewed, statistical analysis was performed, and standard content analysis methods were applied to free-text responses.

What do consumers want to know in the emergency department?

Consumers unexpectedly accessing the complex and confusing context of the emergency department (ED) need appropriately communicated information to minimize unrealistic expectations leading to stressed and frustrated behaviour. This pilot project sought consumer opinions to develop an ED informational brochure to improve communication strategies. Thirty-two ED consumers attending a large tertiary hospital completed an anonymous one-page questionnaire comprising 22 topic areas.