Measuring patient experience in the emergency department: A scoping review

Abstract

Introduction: Measuring patients' experience in the emergency department can be an avenue through which the patients are able to evaluate their own care experience, and this may provide guidance for healthcare professionals in addressing quality improvement. This scoping review aimed to identify and examine existing tools that measure patients' experience in the emergency department.

Methods: A scoping review was carried out to synthesize evidence from a range of studies in order to describe the characteristics of each study and their sample, and to describe the tools used to measure patients' experience in the emergency department.

Results: Out of the 308 articles retrieved, results of the first and second level screening yielded 10 articles for inclusion using 9 different experience tools/questionnaire in the emergency department.

Conclusion: Measuring patients' experience in the emergency department is a global concern, however research conducted in low-to-middle-income countries is very limited and such research in Africa appears to be absent. Getting consumers of care to evaluate their experience may help healthcare professionals to identify discrepancies in care and plan possible strategies to address them.

Keywords: Emergency department; Experience; Patient; Questionnaire; Scoping review; Tools.