Systematic Literature review concerning out of hours admissions close to the end of life
Summary
Out-of-hours hospital admissions for end-of-life care patients are a common cause for concern to patients, families, clinicians and policy makers. It is unclear what issues, or combinations of issues, lead out-of-hours clinicians to initiate hospital care for these patients.
Project aims
This study investigated the circumstances, processes and mechanisms of UK out-of-hours services-initiated end-of-life care hospital admissions.
Project activity
- Eight electronic databases were searched from inception to December 2019 supplemented by hand-searching of BJGP. Key search terms included: out-of-hours services, hospital admission and end-of-life care.
- Two reviewers independently screened and selected papers and undertook quality appraisal using Gough’s Weight of Evidence Framework.
- Data was analysed using narrative synthesis and reported following PRISMA Complex Intervention Guidance.
What we found and what this means
- Searches identified 20,227 unique citations, 25 of which met the inclusion criteria.
- Few studies had a primary focus on the review questions.
- Admissions were instigated primarily to address clinical needs, caregiver and/or patient distress and discontinuity or unavailability of care provision and were arranged by a range of out-of-hours providers.
- Reported frequencies of end-of-life care patients being admitted to hospital varied greatly; most evidence related to cancer patients.
Who was involved?
Principle Investigator
Professor Stephen Barclay (sigb2@medschl.cam.ac.uk), University of Cambridge
Researchers and institutions
- Evie Papavasiliou (ep607@medschl.cam.ac.uk), University of Cambridge
- Sarah Hoare, University of Cambridge
- Mike Kelly, University of Cambridge
- Isla Kuhn, University of Cambridge
Contact us
Stephen Barclay, sigb2@medschl.cam.ac.uk
PEOLC04
