Emergency Department-Initiated Hospice and Palliative Care Consultation Among Older Adults: Protocol for a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Abstract
Background: Emergency departments (EDs) play a critical role in caring for the aging population, particularly those nearing the end of life. Despite advances in integrating palliative care resources in the ED, targeted research on the impact of hospice and palliative care (HPC) consultations for older adults in ED settings remains limited. This systematic review protocol assesses the effects of ED-initiated HPC consultations on health outcomes and the quality of care for older adults.
Objective: The objective of this systematic review is to synthesize the available evidence on the effectiveness of ED-initiated HPC consultations on the provision of advance care planning among older adults (≥60 years). Our review will focus on assessing several secondary outcomes, including mortality, hospital admissions, length of stay, repeat health service use, costs, and satisfaction levels among patients, caregivers, and clinicians.
Methods: Following the PRISMA-P (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Protocols) reporting guidelines, our protocol outlines a comprehensive review of published studies. Systematic searches will be conducted in databases such as Medline, EMBASE, PubMed, Cochrane Trials database, and Web of Science from inception to present. Studies will be selected if they involve randomized, quasi-randomized, or observational designs examining the effectiveness of HPC interventions in the ED for older adults. Title, abstract and full text…
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