Patient experience of emergency department triage: An integrative review

Abstract

Background: Emergency department (ED) triage is often patients' first contact with a health service and a critical point for patient experience. This review aimed to understand patient experience of ED triage and the waiting room.

Methods: A systematic six-stage approach guided the integrative review. Medline, CINAHL, EmCare, Scopus, ProQuest, Cochrane Library, and JBI database were systematically searched for primary research published between 2000-2022 that reported patient experience of ED triage and/or waiting room. Quality was assessed using established critical appraisal tools. Data were analysed for descriptive statistics and themes using the constant comparison method.

Results: Twenty-nine articles were included. Studies were mostly observational (n = 17), conducted at a single site (n = 23), and involved low-moderate acuity patients (n = 13). Nine interventions were identified. Five themes emerged: 'the who, what and how of triage', 'the patient as a person', 'to know or not to know', 'the waiting game', and 'to leave or not to leave'.

Conclusion: Wait times, initiation of assessment and treatment, information provision and interactions with triage staff appeared to have the most impact on patient experience, though patients' desires for each varied. A person-centred approach to triage is recommended.

Keywords: Emergency departments; Patient preference; Patient-centred care; Review; Triage; Waiting rooms.