Emergency Department Navigator Interventions and Outcome Measures: A Scoping Review.
Kathleen Parry, Christopher Picard, Rashmi Devkota and 1 others
PMID 40165450WHAT IT FOUND
Scoping review of 10 studies found no consistent definition or outcome measures for ED navigator interventions for older people.
Results on admissions and length of stay were mixed, with no clear evidence of effectiveness.
Key findings
01Ten studies were included, all single-site, with inconsistent intervention components and outcome measures.
02Studies with four or more intervention components reported more positive outcomes, but no study included all six identified components.
03Most studies used nurses as navigators, with one using physiotherapists; training varied widely and was not reported in several studies.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
No quality appraisal was performed, so the strength of evidence in the included studies is unknown. Only English-language peer-reviewed studies were included, risking publication and language bias. The small number of studies (n=10) and their heterogeneity in design and intervention components limit generalizability. Grey literature was excluded, potentially missing relevant implementation data.
Declared interests
No conflicts of interest or funding sources are explicitly stated in the provided text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret this review as evidence that ED navigator interventions work. It maps what has been tried and measured, not what is effective. The mixed results and lack of standardized interventions mean there is no single proven model to implement.