Urgent Care and Emergency Department Visitors: A Latent Class Analysis

The authors aimed to identify distinct patterns of health care utilization among adults, particularly the interaction between emergency department (ED) and urgent care visits. Using latent class analysis on data from the National Health Interview Survey, they identified four classes of health care users, revealing that urgent care can either complement ED use or be utilized independently by those with fewer barriers to care. The findings highlight the need for targeted health system strategies to improve access and delivery of care based on these utilization patterns.