Patient involvement in patient safety measures: the impact of demographic and socioeconomic factors – a scoping review

In the field of healthcare, the paramount concern is the safety of patients. Demographic and socioeconomic factors that can influence patient safety are often overlooked in the context of clinical protocols, which receive considerable attention. The objective of this review was to examine the relationship between demographic and socioeconomic variables and their impact on patient involvement in safety measures.

This scoping review followed the PRISMA-ScR guidelines. The literature search was conducted in the APA PsycInfo, Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, PSYNDEX, PubMed, and Web of Science Core Collection databases from 1970 to 2023. The titles and abstracts of the identified studies were first screened, followed by a review of relevant full texts to extract information on demographic and socioeconomic factors, patient involvement, and patient safety.

A total of 17 articles were selected and subjected to analysis from the initial 278 studies. The findings of this study indicate that the patient involvement and safety in healthcare are substantially influenced by demographic and socioeconomic factors. It was observed that there were differences in patient communication, perception of medical errors, and willingness to actively participate in healthcare.

As healthcare providers and policymakers strive to enhance patient safety and care quality, it is crucial to acknowledge and consider the various factors that have been studied. In the future, it will be important to prioritize personalized and culturally sensitive approaches to ensure equitable access to safe and effective medical treatment for all individuals, regardless of their demographic or social background.