• Bronwyn Newman, Colleen Cheek, Lieke Richardson, Donna Gillies, Karen Hutchinson, Elizabeth Austin, Margaret Murphy, Luke Testa, Christina Rojas, Louise Raggett, Amanda Dominello, Kylie Smith, and Robyn Clay-Williams.
• Centre for Healthcare Resilience and Implementation Science, Australian Institute of Health Innovation, Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Science, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
• Emerg Med Australas. 2024 Dec 1; 36 (6): 823833823-833.

AbstractEquitable access means that timely, sensitive and respectful treatment is offered to all people. Adults with disability access ED care more frequently than the general population. However, in Australia and internationally, people with disability experience poorer healthcare access and outcomes than the general population. There is acknowledgement that ED environments and processes of care could be better designed to promote equitable access, so as not to further disadvantage, disable and create vulnerability. This systematic review aimed to locate and describe evaluated strategies implemented to improve care for people with disability (aged 18-65 years) in the ED. Four databases were searched from inception to June 2024. 1936 peer-reviewed papers were reviewed by pairs of independent reviewers. Four studies met our inclusion criteria, demonstrating the limited peer-reviewed literature reporting on evaluated strategies to improve ED care for adults aged 18-65 years. Three studies focused on the needs of people with intellectual disability, and one created a specific treatment pathway for people experiencing status epilepticus. No studies evaluated across patient experience, patient outcomes, system performance and staff experience, with limited evaluation of patient outcomes and system performance measures. We have referenced helpful resources published elsewhere and drawn from our previous reviews of ED care to provide guidance for the development and evaluation of targeted initiatives.© 2024 The Author(s). Emergency Medicine Australasia published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Australasian College for Emergency Medicine.

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