Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39531453›Full record

ArticlePloS one2024

Clinical care ratios for, and tasks undertaken by, allied health professionals: A scoping review of the literature.

Arabella Brown, Elias El-Achkar, Francesca Fragnito, Sandra Gosnell, Jocelyn Kelly, Daniel Kucharski, Alice Priestly, Saravana Kumar

Abstract readScoping Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2024. 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

8 authors.

Arabella BrownIIMPACT in Health, UniSA Allied Health and Human Performance, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia.
Elias El-AchkarIIMPACT in Health, UniSA Allied Health and Human Performance, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia.
Francesca FragnitoIIMPACT in Health, UniSA Allied Health and Human Performance, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia.
Sandra GosnellIIMPACT in Health, UniSA Allied Health and Human Performance, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia.
Jocelyn KellyIIMPACT in Health, UniSA Allied Health and Human Performance, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia.
Daniel KucharskiIIMPACT in Health, UniSA Allied Health and Human Performance, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia.
Alice PriestlyIIMPACT in Health, UniSA Allied Health and Human Performance, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia.
Saravana KumarIIMPACT in Health, UniSA Allied Health and Human Performance, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-4003-4411

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundWith the increasing demand on the global health system and the presence of persistent healthcare disparities, it becomes imperative to utilize the full potential of the healthcare workforce, including allied health professionals (AHPs). To date, no review has mapped the literature on clinical care ratios (CCRs) for AHPs. This information is vital in guiding future work-force planning to address healthcare issues such as understaffed and at capacity hospitals. This scoping review mapped available evidence to offer a comprehensive insight into current AHP CCRs, enabling evidence-based decision-making that ensures optimal care and enhanced system efficiency.

methodsThe scoping review was undertaken using the 'Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews' (PRISMA-ScR). The search was conducted using Ovid (MEDLINE, Embase, Emcare, PsycINFO), CINAHL, the Cochrane Library, Scopus, PEDro, OTseeker and grey literature. Two reviewers independently screened records, following which data extraction was completed for the included studies. Descriptive synthesis was used to summarize the data.

resultsOf the 7670 records identified, 18 studies were included in this review. Whilst there was variability between AHPs on direct clinical time spent with patients, considerable amount of time was also spent on activities beyond direct clinical care. To offset this, literature highlights opportunities for allied health assistants and students to undertake tasks which would free-up AHPs to undertake more direct and higher-level tasks. However, limitations of findings (variability in measurement, lack of coverage of some professions) limits generalisability.

conclusionWhile the literature highlights considerable variability in CCRs among different AHP disciplines, it does appear nearly a nearly a third of time spent by AHPs are on tasks that are beyond direct clinical care. Future research could explore new workforce models which would free-up AHPs to undertake more direct and higher-level tasks.

Indexed as

Allied Health PersonnelDelivery of Health CareHumansWorkload

Identifiers

PMID39531453
PMCPMC11556700

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.