Patient Participation for Frail Older Persons and Their Next of Kin in Hospital Care-A Scoping Review.

This is a scoping review, not a trial. It describes what patients and next of kin reported, so it cannot show that any communication change improves participation or clinical outcomes. No protocol was registered before the review began. Evidence was not weighed, and all included studies were accepted after a global quality assessment. Most included studies were qualitative, and only two explored both patient and next of kin perspectives. All included studies came from Western settings, so expectations about participation may not transfer elsewhere. Lack of consensus on frailty could have caused relevant studies to be missed, and six articles were found by screening reference lists.

Funded by Region Värmland. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.

Do not read this as proof that giving more information improves patient outcomes. It maps what frail older patients and their next of kin said helped or hindered participation, and it includes no tested intervention or outcome.