Health service brokerage to improve primary care access for populations experiencing vulnerability or disadvantage: a systematic review and realist synthesis

Table 1 Characteristics of the studies identified

Study characteristic		No of studies
Design	Randomised controlled trial	2
	Program evaluation	5
	Retrospective non-randomised cohort study	1
	Pre−/post-test intervention (no control)	1
	Quasi-experimental controlled community evaluation trial (pre- and post-test)	1
	Mixed methods	1
Primary care setting	Community-based primary care clinic/provider	3
	Hospital-based primary care clinic/provider	4
	Public health clinics/agencies	2
	Community health centres (safety net clinics/providers)	4
Intervention	Linking to primary care for screening for a condition	4
Intervention	Linking to primary care for general management	7
Vulnerability^a	Older age	1
	Socioeconomic disadvantage	6
	Culturally and linguistically diverse group	7
	Indigenous (Aboriginal, first nations)	2
	Geographic disadvantage (rural)	2
	Disability/mental health issues	0
	Prison/prison leavers	2
	Healthcare-related disadvantage	10

^a some studies targeted multiple vulnerabilities and participants could fit into multiple groups

ISSN: 1472-6963