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A Novel Approach for the Administration of Medications and Fluids in Emergency Scenarios and Settings
Published on: November 9, 2016
Medical complexity in emergency and urgent care settings: a scoping review protocol
Sumedh Bele1, Cassandra Chisolm2, Conne Lategan2
1Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK sumedh.bele@ndorms.ox.ac.uk.
BMJ Open
|January 20, 2025
Summary
Medical complexity, encompassing non-medical factors, lacks a standard definition. This review defines medical complexity and its attributes for better urgent and emergency care.
Area of Science:
- Healthcare Research
- Clinical Practice
- Patient Care
Background:
- Medical complexity integrates non-medical factors (personal, social) impacting patients with multiple chronic conditions.
- Patients with complex needs often require emergency or urgent care due to primary care limitations.
- A standardized definition for medical complexity in adult patients is currently lacking.
Purpose of the Study:
- To understand how medical complexity is defined in existing literature.
- To identify the defining attributes of medical complexity.
- To examine the application of medical complexity in clinical care research and propose a comprehensive definition.
Main Methods:
- Scoping review protocol based on Arksey and O'Malley (2005) and Levac et al.
- Concept analysis using Walker and Avant's method (2005).
- Systematic searches of multiple databases (MEDLINE, CINAHL Plus, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Cochrane) and grey literature.
Main Results:
- Two independent reviewers screened titles, abstracts, and full texts.
- Data extraction from relevant studies was performed.
- The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) checklist guided reporting.
Conclusions:
- This scoping review will consolidate evidence on medical complexity.
- The findings aim to inform a standardized definition of medical complexity.
- Results will highlight key components for defining medical complexity in emergency and urgent care settings.
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