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. 2025 Jan 29;25(1):174.
doi: 10.1186/s12913-025-12318-3.

Factors involved in the development of hospital-acquired conditions in older patients in acute care settings: a scoping review

Mélanie Verdon  1   2   3 , Thomas Agoritsas  4   5   6 , Cécile Jaques  7   8 , Sophie Pouzols  9   10 , Cédric Mabire  9   7
Affiliations

Factors involved in the development of hospital-acquired conditions in older patients in acute care settings: a scoping review

Mélanie Verdon et al. BMC Health Serv Res. .

Abstract

Background: Older patients hospitalized in acute care settings are at significant risk of presenting hospital-acquired conditions. Healthcare professionals should consider many factors involved in the development of such conditions, including factors related to the patients, as well as those related to the processes of care and the structure of hospitals. The aim of this study was to describe and identify the factors involved in the development of hospital-acquired conditions in older patients in acute care settings.

Methods: A scoping review was performed based on a structured search in eight databases in September 2022. Data were extracted with an extraction tool and classified into categories. Mapping and a narrative summary were used to synthetize data.

Results: A total of 237 articles were included in the scoping review. Functional decline and delirium were the most frequent hospital-acquired conditions studied. Among all categories, factors related to the patients provided most of the data, whereas factors related to the processes of care and the structure of hospitals were less frequently explored. In most articles, one or two categories of factors were retrieved; fewer articles examined factors among three categories. Personal factors, medications, and the human and work environment were the most frequent subcategories of factors retrieved, whereas social factors, hydration and nutrition, and organizational factors were less common.

Conclusions: The development of hospital-acquired conditions in older patients in acute care settings involves many factors related to the patients, as well as to the processes of care and the structure of hospitals. Prevention of hospital-acquired conditions must involve to consider the complexities of older patients and of acute care hospitals. Not considering all categories of factors might affect the implementation of new practices of care and interventions.

Keywords: Acute care settings; Health services delivery; Hospital-acquired conditions; Older patients; Scoping review.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: All methods were carried out in accordance with relevant guidelines and regulations. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flowchart of the study selection process according to the PRISMA statement
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Overview of data extraction in each category of factors (values correspond to the number of articles in which the factors were found)
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Mapping of factors (values correspond to the number of articles in which the factors were found on a total of 237 articles)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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