Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Search research articles

Related Experiment Videos

Defining pathways.

Leentje De Bleser¹, Roeland Depreitere, Katrijn De Waele

¹Center for Health Services and Nursing Research, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.

Journal of Nursing Management

|September 29, 2006

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

The Economic Burden of Unsafe Care: A Systematic Review With Narrative Synthesis on the Economic Cost of Unsafe Care in Hospitals Worldwide.

Journal of patient safety·2026

Same author

Psychometric evaluation of the four-factor Korean version of the Care process self-evaluation tool.

Journal of interprofessional care·2026

Same author

Development of an Evidence-based Quality Indicator Set for Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Belgium.

Journal of clinical gastroenterology·2026

Same author

Patient safety incidents in the psychiatric inpatient setting: determinants, consequences, and strategies. A systematic review.

Frontiers in psychiatry·2026

Same author

Making Nursing Activities Visible in Outpatient Care: A Nationwide Descriptive Study of Nurse-Led Clinics in Italy (ENLIGHT-AMB).

Public health nursing (Boston, Mass.)·2025

Same author

Multi-stakeholder validation of an evidence-based core set of quality indicators for IBD in Belgium.

BMC health services research·2025

Same journal

Development of a Quality Assessment Index System for Palliative Care Services in Chinese Nursing Homes: A Modified Delphi and Analytic Hierarchy Process Study.

Journal of nursing management·2026

Same journal

Clarifying Nurse-Physician Dual Leadership in Acute Hospital Settings: A Walker and Avant Concept Analysis.

Journal of nursing management·2026

Same journal

Translation, Cultural Adaptation and Validation of a Korean Version of the Digital Professionalism Self-Assessment Instrument for Nurses.

Journal of nursing management·2026

Same journal

Clinical Nurses' Expectations and Experiences of Self-Directed Online Training in Evidence-Based Practice: A Qualitative Study - #EvidencerProject.

Journal of nursing management·2026

Same journal

Mobile Phone Addiction, Perceived Stress, and Morningness-Eveningness Preference in Nursing Students: A Computer-Simulated Network Analysis.

Journal of nursing management·2026

Same journal

Change Fatigue and Attitudes Toward AI in County-Level Nurses: The Mediating Role of AI Literacy.

Journal of nursing management·2026

See all related articles

Clinical pathways lack a universal definition, leading to confusion in healthcare. This study analyzed 84 definitions to identify key characteristics and establish a clearer understanding of patient care management tools.

Area of Science:

Healthcare Management
Clinical Informatics
Patient Care Coordination

Background:

Clinical pathways are internationally recognized healthcare management tools.
Significant variations exist in the development, purpose, and terminology of clinical pathways globally, particularly between the UK and USA.
The lack of a single, widely accepted definition creates confusion in the healthcare sector.

Purpose of the Study:

To survey existing definitions of clinical pathways.
To identify and derive the key characteristics of clinical pathways.
To address the definitional ambiguity surrounding clinical pathways.

Main Methods:

A literature review was conducted using PubMed, searching for terms like 'critical pathway' and 'clinical pathway' from January 2000 to December 2003.

Related Experiment Videos

Eligible articles were identified based on their use of the Medical Subject Headings definition of the concept.

The concept analysis method was employed to assess and rephrase the definitions found.

Main Results:

Out of 263 eligible articles, 82 provided a definition for clinical pathways.
A total of 84 distinct definitions were identified.
Definitions were systematically rephrased, categorizing features into nouns, characteristics, aims, and outcomes.

Conclusions:

A clinical pathway is defined as a patient-care management method for specific patient groups over defined periods.
It integrates Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM), best practices, and patient expectations to guide multidisciplinary teams.
The primary aims are to enhance care quality, reduce risks, improve patient satisfaction, and optimize resource efficiency.