Margaret Fry1, Lynn Chenoweth2, Casimir MacGregor3, Glenn Arendts4. 1. Northern Sydney Local Health District, Faculty of Health University of Sydney, Australia. Electronic address: margaret.fry@uts.edu.au. 2. Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing, University of New South Wales, Australia; University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, Australia. Electronic address: lynnette.chenoweth@uts.edu.au. 3. School of Social Science, Monash University, Research and Practice Development, Northern Sydney Local Health District, Australia. Electronic address: casimir.macgregor@monash.edu.au. 4. School of Primary, Aboriginal and Rural Health Care, University of Western Australia, Australia. Electronic address: glenn.arendts@uwa.edu.au.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: On arrival to the emergency department many older persons are accompanied by family/carers. Yet the role of family/carers in the emergency department is unclear. We know very little about how emergency department nurses balance care practices to accommodate family/carers while specifically meeting the needs of cognitively impaired older persons experiencing pain. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this paper was to understand emergency nurses' perceptions of the role of family/carers in caring for the older cognitively impaired person experiencing pain. DESIGN: Emergency nurses were invited to participate in focus group interviews. A semi-structured interview tool was developed from the literature and comprised open-ended questions and three Likert scale items which assisted to focus nurses' thoughts on their perceived role of family/carers in the emergency department. SETTINGS: The study was undertaken across four emergency departments in Sydney, Australia and included two district hospitals and two tertiary referral hospitals. PARTICIPANTS: Emergency nurses were invited to participate in one face to face, focus group interview. Purposive sampling was used and inclusion criteria included at least one year emergency department experience. METHODS: Interview data were analysed and organised thematically. Two expert qualitative researchers independently reviewed transcripts and emerging coding and interpretation. RESULTS: Eighty nurses participated in 16 focus group interviews across four hospitals. Participating nurses included 67 (84%) females and 13 (16%) males with 8.6 years (mean; SD ±8.64) experience in the emergency department. Three key themes relating to family/carers emerged from the analysis. The themes included (i) the role of families and carers in building a clinical picture; (ii) family and carers as a hidden workforce; and (iii) family and carer roles in pain management decision making. CONCLUSIONS: The study has provided insight into the role of family/carers as perceived by emergency nurses. There were many benefits in partnering with family/carers when information gathering on the older cognitively impaired person in pain. Family/carers are sensitive to health behaviour changes of older cognitively impaired people, which can assist nurses to optimise pain management.
BACKGROUND: On arrival to the emergency department many older persons are accompanied by family/carers. Yet the role of family/carers in the emergency department is unclear. We know very little about how emergency department nurses balance care practices to accommodate family/carers while specifically meeting the needs of cognitively impaired older persons experiencing pain. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this paper was to understand emergency nurses' perceptions of the role of family/carers in caring for the older cognitively impaired person experiencing pain. DESIGN: Emergency nurses were invited to participate in focus group interviews. A semi-structured interview tool was developed from the literature and comprised open-ended questions and three Likert scale items which assisted to focus nurses' thoughts on their perceived role of family/carers in the emergency department. SETTINGS: The study was undertaken across four emergency departments in Sydney, Australia and included two district hospitals and two tertiary referral hospitals. PARTICIPANTS: Emergency nurses were invited to participate in one face to face, focus group interview. Purposive sampling was used and inclusion criteria included at least one year emergency department experience. METHODS: Interview data were analysed and organised thematically. Two expert qualitative researchers independently reviewed transcripts and emerging coding and interpretation. RESULTS: Eighty nurses participated in 16 focus group interviews across four hospitals. Participating nurses included 67 (84%) females and 13 (16%) males with 8.6 years (mean; SD ±8.64) experience in the emergency department. Three key themes relating to family/carers emerged from the analysis. The themes included (i) the role of families and carers in building a clinical picture; (ii) family and carers as a hidden workforce; and (iii) family and carer roles in pain management decision making. CONCLUSIONS: The study has provided insight into the role of family/carers as perceived by emergency nurses. There were many benefits in partnering with family/carers when information gathering on the older cognitively impaired person in pain. Family/carers are sensitive to health behaviour changes of older cognitively impaired people, which can assist nurses to optimise pain management.
Authors: Susanna Rance; Debra Westlake; Heather Brant; Ingrid Holme; Ruth Endacott; Jonathan Pinkney; Richard Byng Journal: Glob Qual Nurs Res Date: 2020-06-18
Authors: Valentina Lichtner; Dawn Dowding; Nick Allcock; John Keady; Elizabeth L Sampson; Michelle Briggs; Anne Corbett; Kirstin James; Reena Lasrado; Caroline Swarbrick; S José Closs Journal: BMC Health Serv Res Date: 2016-08-24 Impact factor: 2.655