Enhancing accessibility through nurse-led clinics in primary care: An integrative review of models of care.
Yajai Sitthimongkol, Manassawee Srimoragot, Weha Kasemsuk and 4 others
PMID 41367593WHAT IT FOUND
Nurse-led primary care clinics reported better access and outcomes across models, but most evidence was observational, so they cannot prove a single model works.
Key findings
01The review identified six nurse-led clinic models in primary care: innovative cognitive care, integrated multidisciplinary care, community-driven underserved population care, reproductive and women's health innovation, palliative care, and behavioral health integration.
02Reported outcomes included 74% treatment adherence and 96% cure after treatment for hepatitis C in holistic team-based care.
03Behavioral health integration in nurse-led clinics was reported to increase treatment uptake by 25% among patients with hypertension and anxiety and reduce emergency department visits by 20%.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The review included only English-language studies, so non-English work may be missing. Most included studies were conducted in developed countries, limiting transferability to low-resource settings. Most included studies were observational, so the review cannot establish that nurse-led clinics caused the reported improvements. Reported outcomes often combined nurse-led care with other components, such as telehealth, multidisciplinary teams, and community engagement, so the contribution of any single component cannot be separated. The included studies varied widely in design, population, clinic setting, and outcome, and the text does not report a total participant count across studies. Many studies did not specify the educational level or qualifications of the nurses delivering care.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that nurse-led clinics alone caused the reported improvements. Most included studies were observational, and many outcomes combined nursing with telehealth, multidisciplinary teams, and community engagement, so the effect of nurses alone cannot be isolated.