Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36637881›Full record

ArticleJMIR nursing2023

The Use and Structure of Emergency Nurses' Triage Narrative Data: Scoping Review.

Christopher Picard, Manal Kleib, Colleen Norris, Hannah M O'Rourke, Carmel Montgomery, Matthew Douma

Abstract readScoping Review
In one paragraph

Article in JMIR nursing, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Christopher PicardFaculty of Nursing, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9377-3106
Manal KleibFaculty of Nursing, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4680-6750
Colleen NorrisFaculty of Nursing, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6793-9333
Hannah M O'RourkeFaculty of Nursing, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0041-3708
Carmel MontgomeryFaculty of Nursing, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0527-7538
Matthew DoumaSchool of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Systems, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8737-6478

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundEmergency departments use triage to ensure that patients with the highest level of acuity receive care quickly and safely. Triage is typically a nursing process that is documented as structured and unstructured (free text) data. Free-text triage narratives have been studied for specific conditions but never reviewed in a comprehensive manner.

objectiveThe objective of this paper was to identify and map the academic literature that examines triage narratives. The paper described the types of research conducted, identified gaps in the research, and determined where additional review may be warranted.

methodsWe conducted a scoping review of unstructured triage narratives. We mapped the literature, described the use of triage narrative data, examined the information available on the form and structure of narratives, highlighted similarities among publications, and identified opportunities for future research.

resultsWe screened 18,074 studies published between 1990 and 2022 in CINAHL, MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane, and ProQuest Central. We identified 0.53% (96/18,074) of studies that directly examined the use of triage nurses' narratives. More than 12 million visits were made to 2438 emergency departments included in the review. In total, 82% (79/96) of these studies were conducted in the United States (43/96, 45%), Australia (31/96, 32%), or Canada (5/96, 5%). Triage narratives were used for research and case identification, as input variables for predictive modeling, and for quality improvement. Overall, 31% (30/96) of the studies offered a description of the triage narrative, including a list of the keywords used (27/96, 28%) or more fulsome descriptions (such as word counts, character counts, abbreviation, etc; 7/96, 7%). We found limited use of reporting guidelines (8/96, 8%).

conclusionsThe breadth of the identified studies suggests that there is widespread routine collection and research use of triage narrative data. Despite the use of triage narratives as a source of data in studies, the narratives and nurses who generate them are poorly described in the literature, and data reporting is inconsistent. Additional research is needed to describe the structure of triage narratives, determine the best use of triage narratives, and improve the consistent use of triage-specific data reporting guidelines. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): RR2-10.1136/bmjopen-2021-055132.

Indexed as

artificial intelligencemachine learningnarrativenursingreviewtriage

Identifiers

PMID36637881
PMCPMC9883744

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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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.