Table 1 Characteristics of included reviews
From: Effects of task-shifting from primary care physicians to nurses: an overview of systematic reviews
Review First author Title Journal | Sponsor | Inclusion and exclusion criteria | Search information (databases, period) | Number of relevant studies included | OQAQ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Martinez-Gonzalez [39] Effects of Physician Nurse Substitution on Clinical Parameters: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Plos One | Health Services Research Fund (Bangerter foundation) and Swiss Association of Family Physicians (Hausärzte Schweiz) | Design: RCTs Language: English Population: patients of all ages seeking first contact or undergoing care for all conditions including mental health and addiction Intervention: comparison between nurses and doctors (GP, paediatricians, geriatricians) Setting: primary care Outcome: clinical parameters | MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane database, CINAHL Period: all available data up to Aug 2012 | 11 RCTs | 7 |
Martinez-Gonzalez [37] Substitution of physicians by nurses in primary care: a systematic review and meta-analysis BMC Health Serv Res | Health Services Research Fund (Bangerter foundation) Swiss Association of Family Physicians (Hausärzte Schweiz) | Design: RCTs Language: English Population: patients of all ages seeking care for all conditions including mental health and addiction restricted to primary care Intervention: comparison between nurses and doctors (GP, paediatricians, geriatricians) Setting: primary care Outcome: clinical effectiveness and costs | MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane database, CINAHL Period: all available data up to Aug 2012 | 24 RCTs | 7 |
Martinez-Gonzalez [24] The effect of physician–nurse substitution in primary care in chronic diseases: a systematic review Swiss Med Wkly | Health Services Research Fund (Bangerter foundation) Swiss Association of Family Physicians (Hausärzte Schweiz) | Design: RCTs Language: English Population: populations of all ages and all conditions including mental health and addiction restricted to primary care Intervention: comparison between nurses and doctors (GP, paediatricians, geriatricians) Setting: primary care Outcome: process of care outcomes | MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane database, CINAHL Period: all available data up to Aug 2012 | 14 RCTs | 7 |
Martinez-Gonzalez [38] Task-shifting from physicians to nurses in primary care and its impact on resource utilisation: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials Med Care Res Rev | Health Services Research Fund (Bangerter foundation) Swiss Association of Family Physicians (Hausärzte Schweiz) | Design: RCTs Language: English Population: patients of all ages and medical conditions Intervention: comparison between nurses and doctors (GP, paediatricians, geriatricians) Setting: primary care Outcome: population’s use of health care resources including clinicians’ resources | MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane database, CINAHL Period: all available dates up to August 2012, updated in February 2014 | 18 RCTs | 7 |
Martinez-Gonzalez [40] The impact of physician–nurse task-shifting in primary care on the course of disease: a systematic review Hum Resour Health | Health Services Research Fund (Bangerter foundation) Swiss Association of Family Physicians (Hausärzte Schweiz) | Design: RCTs Language: English Population: patients of all ages and medical conditions Intervention: comparison between nurses and doctors (GP, paediatricians, geriatricians) Setting: primary care Outcome: outcome measures related to the course of the diseases including symptoms, severity and complications | MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane database, CINAHL Period: all available data up to August 2012, updated in February 2014 | 11 RCTs | 7 |
Laurant [23] Nurses as substitutes for doctors in primary care (Review) Cochrane Db Syst Rev | Centre for Quality of Care Research (WOK), University of Nijmegen, Netherlands National Primary Care Research and Development Centre (NPCRDC), University of Manchester, UK Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sports, Netherlands Department of Health, UK | Design: randomised trials Language: English or Dutch Population: patients seeking first contact and/or ongoing care for patients with all types of health problems, excluding mental health problems Intervention: nurses (nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, advanced practice nurses, practice nurses, health visitors, …) working as substitutes for doctors (GP, FD, paediatricians, general internists, geriatricians) Setting: Primary Health Care Services Outcome: patient outcomes, process of care outcomes, utilisation outcomes, costs | MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, Social Science and Citation Indexes, British Nursing Index, HMIC, EPOC Register CENTRAL, ICTRP, Clinical Trials.gov trial registries Grey literature Report, Open Grey, reference search Period: Update search up to Feb. /March 2017 in CENTRAL, MEDLINE and CINAHL; reference search in 2015 | 18 RCTs | 7 |