Emergency Medical Care of People with Intellectual Disabilities: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Purpose: The paper intends to do a scoping review of people with intellectual disabilities in emergency care where this group seems to face access barriers and discrimination. It analyses the conceptual and methodological framework for studies examining the former. Methods: A scoping review is conducted. The studies’ quality is assessed via a checklist developed by the authors drawing on a compilation of common assessment tools for study quality. Results: Fourteen quantitative studies fulfil the inclusion criteria for further analysis. Summary measures are extracted. Results are synthesized with Andersen’s Behavioral Model of Health Service Use. Studies employ a combination of variables attributable to different aspects of population characteristics and health behavior. Conclusion: Most studies seek to quantify or predict emergency care overuse by people with intellectual disabilities. Future studies should also take patients’ poor health or treatment outcomes and their perspectives into account.