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. 2014 Jul-Aug;21(4):742-50.
doi: 10.1136/amiajnl-2013-002141. Epub 2013 Nov 22.

Patient engagement in the inpatient setting: a systematic review

Affiliations

Patient engagement in the inpatient setting: a systematic review

Jennifer E Prey et al. J Am Med Inform Assoc. 2014 Jul-Aug.

Abstract

Objective: To systematically review existing literature regarding patient engagement technologies used in the inpatient setting.

Methods: PubMed, Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Digital Library, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Xplore, and Cochrane databases were searched for studies that discussed patient engagement ('self-efficacy', 'patient empowerment', 'patient activation', or 'patient engagement'), (2) involved health information technology ('technology', 'games', 'electronic health record', 'electronic medical record', or 'personal health record'), and (3) took place in the inpatient setting ('inpatient' or 'hospital'). Only English language studies were reviewed.

Results: 17 articles were identified describing the topic of inpatient patient engagement. A few articles identified design requirements for inpatient engagement technology. The remainder described interventions, which we grouped into five categories: entertainment, generic health information delivery, patient-specific information delivery, advanced communication tools, and personalized decision support.

Conclusions: Examination of the current literature shows there are considerable gaps in knowledge regarding patient engagement in the hospital setting and inconsistent use of terminology regarding patient engagement overall. Research on inpatient engagement technologies has been limited, especially concerning the impact on health outcomes and cost-effectiveness.

Keywords: inpatient; patient engagement; systematic review; technology.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) flow diagram of search strategy to identify articles.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Categories of information technology-enabled patient engagement methods.

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