Reported purpose(s) of the ES within reviewed studies
| Purpose of the ES(s) | Studies % (n) |
| Examine the current state of programmes, services or policies | 82 (79) |
| Identify and/or assess patient/community/organisation needs, strengths, challenges, barriers and service gaps | 58 (56) |
| Identify and/or assess tools for patient care, or inform development of tools/ education materials/patient decision aids | 23 (22) |
| Understand the use or experience of a phenomenon or service | 22 (21) |
| Inform programme planning, design and/or improvement | 20 (19) |
| Inform recommendations for policy and practice | 20 (19) |
| Identify best practices or innovative practices | 15 (14) |
| Inform/guide quality improvement and/or patient safety initiatives | 14 (13) |
| Inform aspects of practice or policy development or change | 10 (10) |
| Assess or inform models of care | 10 (10) |
| Assess or inform clinical practice guidelines | 9 (9) |
| Inform the development of planning or evaluation frameworks | 8 (8) |
| Inform improvements in the transition of care | 6 (6) |
| Inform future research or research programme | 6 (6) |
| Inform standardisation of services, processes, structure/organisation and delivery | 3 (3) |
| Understand factors influencing health behaviours | 2 (2) |
| Assess or inform other types of guidelines and standards such as for use of technology | 1 (1) |
Percentages do not add to 100 because there may be more than one purpose for an environmental scan.
ES, environmental scan.