Examining Patient Safety and Barriers for Older Adults and People With Disabilities in Health Care: A Scoping Review

It is recognized that older adults and people with disabilities are more vulnerable and face significant obstacles in their health care. The panorama of patient safety incidents, the barriers these populations encounter in their health care, and the contexts in which they occur need clarification. This study aimed to identify, in the scientific literature, the types of patient safety incidents, the barriers that are most reported in the health care process for older adults and people with disabilities, and the environments where they are most reported.

A scoping literature review was carried out using Scopus and PubMed. Search word categories were patient safety terms, barrier terms, and population terms.

Twenty-seven articles focused on safety incidents, 16 reported barriers, and 7 reported on both. Medication incidents were the most common incidents reported in both populations. However, reported barriers differed between populations.

These populations face various factors that can affect their health care processes. The information available on patient safety and barriers for older adults and people with disabilities must be deepened and expanded.