Research priority setting in emergency care: A scoping review

Julia Crilly; Ya-Ling Huang; Michelle Krahe; Daniel Wilhelms; Ulf Ekelund; Erika Hörlin; Jessica Hayes; Gerben Keijzers

doi:10.1002/emp2.12852

Research priority setting in emergency care: A scoping review

J Am Coll Emerg Physicians Open. 2022 Dec 12;3(6):e12852. doi: 10.1002/emp2.12852. eCollection 2022 Dec.

Authors

Julia Crilly^{1

2

3}, Ya-Ling Huang^{1

2

4}, Michelle Krahe⁵, Daniel Wilhelms^{6

7}, Ulf Ekelund⁸, Erika Hörlin^{6

7}, Jessica Hayes^{1

2}, Gerben Keijzers^{1

9

10}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Emergency Medicine Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service Queensland Gold Coast Australia.
² School of Nursing and Midwifery Griffith University Gold Coast Queensland Australia.
³ Menzies Health Institute Queensland Griffith University Gold Coast Queensland Australia.
⁴ Faculty of Health (Nursing) Southern Cross University Queensland Gold Coast Australia.
⁵ Office of the Pro Vice Chancellor (Indigenous) Griffith University Meadowbrook Queensland Australia.
⁶ Department of Emergency Medicine Local Health Care Services Central Östergötland Linköping Sweden.
⁷ Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences Linköping University Sweden.
⁸ Department of Clinical Sciences Faculty of Medicine Lund University Lund Sweden.
⁹ Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine Bond University Gold Coast Queensland Australia.
¹⁰ School of Medicine Griffith University Gold Coast Queensland Australia.

Abstract

Objective: Priority areas for emergency care research are emerging and becoming ever more important. The objectives of this scoping review were to (1) provide a comprehensive overview of published emergency care priority-setting studies by collating and comparing priority-setting methodology and (2) describe the resulting research priorities identified.

Methods: The Joanna Briggs Institute methodological framework was used. Inclusion criteria were peer-review articles available in English, published between January 1, 2008 and March 31, 2019 and used 2 or more search terms. Five databases (Scopus, AustHealth, EMBASE, CINAHL, and Ovid MEDLINE) were searched. REporting guideline for PRIority SEtting of health research (REPRISE) criteria were used to assess the quality of evidence of included articles.

Results: Forty-five studies were included. Fourteen themes for emergency care research were considered within 3 overarching research domains: emergency populations (pediatrics, geriatrics), emergency care workforce and processes (nursing, shared decision making, general workforce, and process), and emergency care clinical areas (imaging, falls, pain management, trauma care, substance misuse, infectious diseases, mental health, cardiology, general clinical care). Variation in the reporting of research priority areas was evident. Priority areas to drive the global agenda for emergency care research are limited given the country and professional group-specific context of existing studies.

Conclusion: This comprehensive summary of generated research priorities across emergency care provides insight into current and future research agendas. With the nature of emergency care being inherently broad, future priorities may warrant population (eg, children, geriatrics) or subspecialty (eg, trauma, toxicology, mental health) focus and be derived using a rigorous framework and patient engagement.

Keywords: emergency department; prehospital; priority areas; research; scoping review.

Publication types

Review