‘They don’t know my body’: health consumer recognition and escalation of acute deterioration – a systematic review (20 October 2026)

Summary

Health consumer escalation of acute deterioration response systems are now widely available to help facilitate early recognition and response to acute deterioration in hospitals. Yet, a systematic synthesis of the literature on the signs and symptoms that health consumers consider representative of acute deterioration and the reasons for escalation has not been conducted.

The aim of this study was to identify the signs and symptoms that health consumers recognise as indicative of acute deterioration, and to describe the reasons that health consumers activate acute deterioration response systems in hospitals.

The study found that health consumers can identify a variety of physiological, cognitive, behavioural and functional changes indicative of acute deterioration. Health consumers activate acute deterioration response systems for four reasons: (1) reassurance, (2) reassessment, (3) re-establishing control and (4) recognition and respect.

The authors concluded that health consumers’ ability to recognise acute deterioration varies, from clear, specific signs and symptoms to a non-specific sense that something is wrong. Health consumers activate acute deterioration response systems for multiple reasons.