Language
English
Publication Date
11-1-2024
Journal
Journal of the American Geriatrics Society
DOI
10.1111/jgs.19052
PMID
38994587
PMCID
PMC11560720
PubMedCentral® Posted Date
11-1-2025
PubMedCentral® Full Text Version
Author MSS
Abstract
Introduction: The intersection of ageism and racism is underexplored in geriatric emergency medicine (GEM) research.
Methods: We performed a scoping review of research published between January 2016 and December 2021. We included original emergency department-based research focused on falls, delirium/dementia, medication safety, and elder abuse. We excluded manuscripts that did not include (1) original research data pertaining to the four core topics, (2) older adults, (3) subjects from the United States, and (4) for which full text publication could not be obtained. The primary objective was to qualitatively describe reporting about older adults' social identities in GEM research. Secondary objectives were to describe (1) the extent of inclusion of minoritized older adults in GEM research, (2) GEM research about health equity, and (3) feasible approaches to improve the status quo of GEM research reporting.
Results: After duplicates were removed, 3277 citations remained and 883 full-text articles were reviewed, of which 222 met inclusion criteria. Four findings emerged. First, race and ethnicity reporting was inconsistent. Second, research rarely provided a rationale for an age threshold used to define geriatric patients. Third, GEM research more commonly reported sex than gender. Fourth, research commonly excluded older adults with cognitive impairment and speakers of non-English primary languages.
Conclusion: Meaningful assessment of GEM research inclusivity is limited by inconsistent reporting of sociodemographic characteristics, specifically race and ethnicity. Reporting of sociodemographic characteristics should be standardized across different study designs. Strategies are needed to include in GEM research older adults with cognitive impairment and non-English primary languages.
Keywords
Humans, Aged, Emergency Medicine, Geriatrics, Health Equity, United States, Ageism, Male, Cultural Diversity, Female, Biomedical Research, Diversity, equity, inclusion, geriatrics, research, emergency medicine
Published Open-Access
yes
Recommended Citation
Chary, Anita N; Suh, Michelle; Ordoñez, Edgardo; et al., "A Scoping Review of Geriatric Emergency Medicine Research Transparency in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Reporting" (2024). Faculty and Staff Publications. 4469.
https://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/baylor_docs/4469