What influences decisions to transfer older care-home residents to the emergency department? A synthesis of qualitative reviews.

ABSTRACT:

Background

care home residents aged over 65 have disproportionate rates of emergency department (ED) attendance and hospitalisation. Around 40% attendances may be avoidable, and hospitalisation is associated with harms. We synthesised the evidence available in qualitative systematic reviews of different stakeholders' experiences of decisions to transfer residents to the ED.

Methods

six electronic databases, references and citations of included reviews and relevant policy documents were searched. Reviews of qualitative studies exploring factors that influenced care home staff, medical practitioners, residents' family or residents' experiences and factors influencing decisions to transfer residents to the ED were included. Thematic analysis was used to synthesise findings.

SUBMITTER: Marincowitz C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9681131 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature