ArticleBMJ open2021
Use of environmental scans in health services delivery research: a scoping review.
Article in BMJ open, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 62 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
62 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- mHealth Apps for Dementia, Alzheimer Disease, and Other Neurocognitive Disorders: Systematic Search and Environmental Scan.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2024Pooled it
- Racism in Inuit experiences in healthcare: findings from an environmental scan.International journal of circumpolar health · 2026Review
- Person-Centered Care Planning for People With Multiple Chronic Conditions: An Environmental Scan of Models and Approaches.Learning health systems · 2026Article
- Dementia care in the United Arab Emirates: an environmental scan of services, policy, workforce, and caregiving contexts.BMC health services research · 2026Article
- How Has the Rise of Direct-To-Consumer Genetic Testing Impacted Genetic Counselling Practice? A Scoping Review.Clinical genetics · 2026Article
- Laryngectomy Education and Training Resources: An Environmental Scan of Resources.Journal of cancer education : the official journal of the American Association for Cancer Education · 2026Review
- Resident-focused trauma-informed medical education policies: an environmental scan of Canadian medical schools and partner organizations.Canadian medical education journal · 2026Article
- A national atlas to improve the study of Canadians living with long COVID (post-COVID-19 condition).Canadian journal of public health = Revue canadienne de sante publique · 2026Article
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- Mapping the Surveillance Data Infrastructure in the U.S. for SARS-CoV-2, Influenza, and Respiratory Syncytial Virus.Current epidemiology reports · 2026Review
- Patient- and caregiver-reported outcome and experience measures for evaluating serious illness communication: An environmental scan.Palliative care and social practice · 2026Review
- Reducing health and cancer disparities: an environmental scan of three promising health care access interventions in Alberta, Canada.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- Article
- Strengthening care for adults with palliative care needs in high-income rural communities: a global policy environmental scan.BMC palliative care · 2025Article
- An environmental scan and qualitative inquiry of cancer patient navigation services in North Carolina.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2025Article
- The legality of weight discrimination in Canada: an environmental scan of case law and the limits of Canadian legislation.International journal for equity in health · 2025Review
- Consumer and community involvement in paediatric intensive care research across Australia and New Zealand: a protocol for a mixed-methods environmental scan.Research involvement and engagement · 2025Review
- Caregiver Peer Support for Families of Autistic Children in France.Child: care, health and development · 2025Article
- Advancing environmentally sustainable learning health systems: Perspectives from a Canadian health center.Learning health systems · 2025Article
2 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo examine the extent and nature of evidence on the use of the environmental scan (ES) in the health services delivery literature.
designScoping review.
methodsThis scoping review followed the five-stage scoping review methodology outlined by Khalil
resultsNinety-six studies were included in the scoping review. Researchers conducted ESs for many purposes, the most common being to examine the current state of programmes, services or policies. Recommendations were informed by ESs in 20% of studies. Most common data collection methods were literature review (71%), key informant or semistructured interviews (46%) and surveys (35%). Over half (53%) of the studies used a combination of passive (looking at information eg, literature, policies, guidelines) and active (looking for information eg, surveys, interviews) approaches to data collection. Person sources of data (eg, healthcare stakeholders, community representatives) and non-person sources of data (eg, documents, electronic databases, the web) were drawn on to a similar extent. The thematic analysis of the definitions/descriptions yielded several themes including instrument of discovery, knowledge synthesis, forward-looking and decision making. Research gaps identified included absence of a standard definition, inconsistencies in terminology and lack of guiding frameworks in the health services delivery context.
conclusionESs were conducted to gather evidence and to help inform decision making on a range of policy and health services delivery issues across the continuum of care. Consistency in terminology, a consensus definition and more guidance on ES design may help provide structure for researchers and other stakeholders, and ultimately advance ES as a methodological approach. A working definition of ES in a health services delivery context is presented.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.