Effects of a single-entry intake system on access to outpatient visits to specialist physicians and allied health professionals: a systematic review

Abstract Background There is a compelling rationale that effective communication between hospital allied health professionals and primary care practitioners could improve quality and continuity of patient care. It is not known which methods of communication are used, nor how effectively they facilitate the transition of care when a patient is discharged home from hospital. Our systematic review aims to investigate the methods and effectiveness of communication between hospital allied health professionals and primary care practitioners. Method Systematic review of quantitative and qualitative studies with narrative synthesis. Medline, CINAHL, EMBASE, PsycInfo and Proquest Nursing and Allied Health Sources were searched from January 2003 until January 2020 for studies that examined hospital allied health professionals communicating with primary care practitioners. Risk of bias in the different study designs were appraised using recognised tools and a content analysis conducted of the methodologies used. Results From the located 12,281 papers (duplicates removed), 24 studies met the inclusion criteria with hospital allied health professionals communicating in some form with primary care practitioners. There was, however, limited literature investigating the methods and/or the effectiveness of communication between hospital allied health professionals and primary care practitioners.Conclusion There is currently no 'gold standard' method or measure of communication between hospital allied health professionals and primary care practitioners. There is an urgent need to develop and evaluate multidisciplinary communication with enhanced health information technologies to improve collaboration across healthcare settings and facilitate continuity of integrated people-centred care.Registration: www.crd.york.uk PROSPERO CRD42019120410

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Interventions used by allied health professionals in sexual rehabilitation after stroke: A systematic review

Topics in Stroke Rehabilitation ◽

10.1080/10749357.2020.1845014 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-16

Author(s):

Louis-Pierre Auger ◽

Myrian Grondin ◽

Mélanie Aubertin ◽

Audrey Marois ◽

Johanne Filiatrault ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Health Professionals ◽

Allied Health ◽

Allied Health Professionals ◽

Sexual Rehabilitation

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A systematic review of evidence about extended roles for allied health professionals

Journal of Health Services Research & Policy ◽

10.1258/135581906778476544 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

pp. 240-247 ◽

Cited By ~ 79

Author(s):

Kathryn McPherson ◽

Paula Kersten ◽

Steve George ◽

Val Lattimer ◽

Alice Breton ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Health Professionals ◽

Allied Health ◽

Allied Health Professionals

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LO15: Paramedic and allied health professional interventions at long-term care facilities to reduce emergency department visits: systematic review

CJEM ◽

10.1017/cem.2020.71 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 22 (S1) ◽

pp. S12-S12

Author(s):

S. Leduc ◽

Z. Cantor ◽

P. Kelly ◽

V. Thiruganasambandamoorthy ◽

G. Wells ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Emergency Department ◽

Adverse Events ◽

Health Professionals ◽

Allied Health ◽

Long Term Care ◽

Allied Health Professionals ◽

Term Care ◽

Ed Visits

Introduction: Emergency department (ED) crowding, long waits for care, and paramedic offload delay are of increasing concern. Older adults living in long-term care (LTC) are more likely to utilize the ED and are vulnerable to adverse events. We sought to identify existing programs that seek to avoid ED visits from LTC facilities where allied health professionals are the primary providers of the intervention and, to evaluate their efficacy and safety. Methods: We completed this systematic review based on a protocol we published apriori and following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) statement. We systematically searched Medline, CINAHL and EMBASE with terms relating to long-term care, emergency services, hospitalization and allied health personnel. Two investigators independently selected studies and extracted data using a piloted standardized form and evaluated the risk of bias of included studies. We report a narrative synthesis grouped by intervention categories. Results: We reviewed 11,176 abstracts and included 22 studies. Most studies were observational and few assessed patient safety. We found five categories of interventions including: 1) use of advanced practice nursing; 2) a program called Interventions to Reduce Acute Care Transfers (INTERACT); 3) end-of-life care; 4) condition specific interventions; and 5) use of extended care paramedics. Of the 13 studies that reported ED visits, all (100%) reported a decrease, and of the 16/17 that reported hospitalization, 94.1% reported a decrease. Patient adverse events such as functional status and relapse were seldom reported (6/22) as were measures of emergency system function such as crowding/inability of paramedics to transfer care to the ED (1/22). Only 4/22 studies evaluated patient mortality and 3/4 found a non-statistically significant worsening. When measured, studies reported decreased hospital length of stay, more time spent with patients by allied health professionals and cost savings. Conclusion: We found five types of programs/interventions which all demonstrated a decrease in ED visits or hospitalization. Many identified programs focused on improved primary care for patients. Interventions addressing acute care issues such as those provided by community paramedics, patient preferences, and quality of life indicators all deserve more study.

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Delegation by Allied Health Professionals to Allied Health Assistants: a mixed methods systematic review

Physiotherapy ◽

10.1016/j.physio.2020.10.002 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

P. Sarigiovannis ◽

S. Jowett ◽

B. Saunders ◽

N. Corp ◽

A. Bishop

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Mixed Methods ◽

Health Professionals ◽

Allied Health ◽

Allied Health Professionals

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Research culture in allied health: a systematic review

Australian Journal of Primary Health ◽

10.1071/py15122 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 22 (4) ◽

pp. 294 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Donna Borkowski ◽

Carol McKinstry ◽

Matthew Cotchett ◽

Cylie Williams ◽

Terry Haines

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Health Professionals ◽

Health Research ◽

Allied Health ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Research Culture ◽

Positive Research ◽

Research Skills ◽

Allied Health Professionals ◽

The Impact

Research evidence is required to guide optimal allied health practice and inform policymakers in primary health care. Factors that influence a positive research culture are not fully understood, and nor is the impact of a positive research culture on allied health professionals. The aim of this systematic review was to identify factors that affect allied health research culture and capacity. An extensive search of 11 databases was conducted in June 2015. Studies were included if they were published in English, had full-text availability and reported research findings relating to allied health professions. Study quality was evaluated using the McMaster Critical Review Forms. Fifteen studies were eligible for inclusion. A meta-analysis was not performed because of heterogeneity between studies. Allied health professionals perceive that their individual research skills are lower in comparison to their teams and organisation. Motivators for conducting research for allied health professionals include developing skills, increasing job satisfaction and career advancement. Barriers include a lack of time, limited research skills and other work roles taking priority. Multilayered strategies, such as collaborations with external partners and developing research leadership positions, aimed at addressing barriers and enablers, are important to enhance allied health research culture and capacity.

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Psychometric properties of leadership scales for health professionals: a systematic review

Implementation Science ◽

10.1186/s13012-021-01141-z ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Melissa A. Carlson ◽

Sarah Morris ◽

Fiona Day ◽

Ann Dadich ◽

Annika Ryan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Systematic Reviews ◽

Health Professionals ◽

Allied Health ◽

Psychometric Testing ◽

Test Reliability ◽

Original Research ◽

Science Literature ◽

Leadership Traits ◽

Allied Health Professionals

Abstract Background The important role of leaders in the translation of health research is acknowledged in the implementation science literature. However, the accurate measurement of leadership traits and behaviours in health professionals has not been directly addressed. This review aimed to identify whether scales which measure leadership traits and behaviours have been found to be reliable and valid for use with health professionals. Methods A systematic review was conducted. MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Cochrane, CINAHL, Scopus, ABI/INFORMIT and Business Source Ultimate were searched to identify publications which reported original research testing the reliability, validity or acceptability of a leadership-related scale with health professionals. Results Of 2814 records, a total of 39 studies met the inclusion criteria, from which 33 scales were identified as having undergone some form of psychometric testing with health professionals. The most commonly used was the Implementation Leadership Scale (n = 5) and the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (n = 3). Of the 33 scales, the majority of scales were validated in English speaking countries including the USA (n = 15) and Canada (n = 4), but also with some translations and use in Europe and Asia, predominantly with samples of nurses (n = 27) or allied health professionals (n = 10). Only two validation studies included physicians. Content validity and internal consistency were evident for most scales (n = 30 and 29, respectively). Only 20 of the 33 scales were found to satisfy the acceptable thresholds for good construct validity. Very limited testing occurred in relation to test-re-test reliability, responsiveness, acceptability, cross-cultural revalidation, convergent validity, discriminant validity and criterion validity. Conclusions Seven scales may be sufficiently sound to be used with professionals, primarily with nurses. There is an absence of validation of leadership scales with regard to physicians. Given that physicians, along with nurses and allied health professionals have a leadership role in driving the implementation of evidence-based healthcare, this constitutes a clear gap in the psychometric testing of leadership scales for use in healthcare implementation research and practice. Trial registration This review follows the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) (see Additional File 1) (PLoS Medicine. 6:e1000097, 2009) and the associated protocol has been registered with the PROSPERO International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (Registration Number CRD42019121544).

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