Table 1 Selection criteria
Category | Inclusion criteria | Exclusion criteria |
|---|---|---|
Population | Patients aged 65 years and older, discharged from the ED to an unassisted living environment. | Patients aged under 65 years; Patients discharged from the ED to an assisted living environment |
Intervention | Telephone follow-up call by health care professional after ED discharge | Any other kind of transitional care; Telephone follow-up not conducted as independent intervention; Telephone follow-up calls by others than health care professionals. |
Control condition | Usual care or patient satisfaction survey telephone call | |
Outcome measures | Any health-related, patient-oriented outcome, including: | Outcomes not health-related or patient-oriented |
Health services utilization, including ED return visits, hospitalization, follow-up visits | ||
Physical health outcomes, including level of activities of daily living, independence | ||
Psychosocial health outcomes, including quality of life, mood, satisfaction | ||
Other patient-oriented outcomes, including treatment adherence, knowledge of disease and symptom management | ||
Setting | Discharged from hospital-based ED | Discharged from hospital ward or primary care setting |
Study type | Case-control or (randomized) controlled clinical trials | Uncontrolled studies |