JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Older adults have a high visit rate and poor health outcomes in the emergency department (ED) compared to their younger counterparts. Older adults are more likely to need additional resources and hospital admission. The non-specific, atypical, and complex nature of disease presentation challenges current ED triage systems. In addition, older adults may commonly present with seemingly non-acute, or social/functional issues, unlike their younger counterparts. If diagnostic clarity is lacking or safe discharge from the ED is not feasible then older adults may be mislabelled a ‘social admission’ or with ‘failure to cope (or thrive).’

Objective:

This scoping review aims to synthesize the available evidence on patient characteristics, adverse events, and health outcomes for the ‘social admission’ (and other synonymously used terms) in the ED or hospital setting.

Methods:

A literature search will be performed with MEDLINE, Embase, Scopus, PsycINFO, and CINAHL. Relevant reference lists will be screened as appropriate. Data will be managed using EndNote software and the Covidence web application. Original articles will be included if patients ≥ 65 years and are considered ‘social admission’ (or other synonymously used terms) or present to the ED without an acute medical reason or non-specific complaint. Two review team members will review titles and abstracts, and full-text articles. Disagreement will be resolved by consensus or in discussion with a third reviewer. This review does not require research ethics approval.

Results:

As of December 2022, we have completed the title and abstract, and full-text screening, pending any further search strategy updates. We are extracting data from included studies. We will present data in a narrative and descriptive manner. This review will summarize key concepts and organize available data on patient characteristics and health outcomes of the 'social admission' (and other synonymously used terms).

Conclusions:

The 'social admission' population is poorly understood. We hope to better understand patient characteristics, adverse events, and health outcomes related to the 'social admission.' We aim to identify priorities for future research and identify knowledge gaps that may inform stakeholders and policymakers. Clinical Trial: Not applicable.