The experiences of patients not conveyed after evaluation by emergency medical services in Southwest Finland – A qualitative survey study

IF 2.1 4区医学 Q2 EMERGENCY MEDICINE

Australasian Emergency Care Pub Date : 2024-05-23 DOI:10.1016/j.auec.2024.05.001

Anne Kuoppala , Eetu Skaffari , Timo Iirola , Hilla Nordquist

{"title":"The experiences of patients not conveyed after evaluation by emergency medical services in Southwest Finland – A qualitative survey study","authors":"Anne Kuoppala , Eetu Skaffari , Timo Iirola , Hilla Nordquist","doi":"10.1016/j.auec.2024.05.001","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>The amount of non-critical Emergency Medical Services missions has been increasing. After examination and treatment, paramedics can decide, based on guidelines, not to convey the patient to a healthcare facility. This study aimed to investigate patients’ experiences in non-conveyance situations in Southwest Finland. Our research questions were: 1) Which patient concerns were not addressed? 2) What key actions improved patient comfort? and 3) What possible enhancements could make the patient experience more positive?</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>This was a qualitative survey study. In March 2023, all the patients who met the inclusion criteria (N = 1017) received a survey via mail. The data from three open-ended questions were analyzed using inductive content analysis.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>The response rate was 22.2 % (n = 226). The unaddressed patient concerns were related to inadequate immediate care and guidance and non-clinical factors causing concern. Key actions for improved patient comfort were related to immediate treatment and guidance, as well as non-clinical factors that impact the patient experience. More thorough treatment processes and more attentive encounters would have enhanced the patient experience.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>Predominantly, patients reported having received excellent services. Utilizing paramedics’ soft skills and keeping the patient as the central focus is key to improving the non-conveyance process and experience.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55979,"journal":{"name":"Australasian Emergency Care","volume":"27 4","pages":"Pages 237-243"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1000,"publicationDate":"2024-05-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Australasian Emergency Care","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2588994X2400037X","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"EMERGENCY MEDICINE","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background

The amount of non-critical Emergency Medical Services missions has been increasing. After examination and treatment, paramedics can decide, based on guidelines, not to convey the patient to a healthcare facility. This study aimed to investigate patients’ experiences in non-conveyance situations in Southwest Finland. Our research questions were: 1) Which patient concerns were not addressed? 2) What key actions improved patient comfort? and 3) What possible enhancements could make the patient experience more positive?

Methods

This was a qualitative survey study. In March 2023, all the patients who met the inclusion criteria (N = 1017) received a survey via mail. The data from three open-ended questions were analyzed using inductive content analysis.

Results

The response rate was 22.2 % (n = 226). The unaddressed patient concerns were related to inadequate immediate care and guidance and non-clinical factors causing concern. Key actions for improved patient comfort were related to immediate treatment and guidance, as well as non-clinical factors that impact the patient experience. More thorough treatment processes and more attentive encounters would have enhanced the patient experience.

Conclusions

Predominantly, patients reported having received excellent services. Utilizing paramedics’ soft skills and keeping the patient as the central focus is key to improving the non-conveyance process and experience.

查看原文本刊更多论文

芬兰西南部急救医疗服务评估后未转送病人的经历 - 一项定性调查研究。

背景：非危急情况下的紧急医疗服务任务越来越多。在检查和治疗后，辅助医务人员可根据指南决定不将病人转送至医疗机构。本研究旨在调查芬兰西南部病人在非转送情况下的经历。我们的研究问题是1) 哪些病人关心的问题没有得到解决？2）哪些关键措施可以改善患者的舒适度？这是一项定性调查研究。2023 年 3 月，所有符合纳入标准的患者（N = 1017）都收到了一份邮寄调查问卷。采用归纳内容分析法对三个开放式问题的数据进行了分析：答复率为 22.2%（n = 226）。未解决的患者关切问题与即时护理和指导不足以及引起关切的非临床因素有关。改善患者舒适度的关键措施与即时治疗和指导以及影响患者体验的非临床因素有关。更彻底的治疗过程和更周到的服务将改善患者的就医体验：大多数患者都表示得到了优质服务。利用辅助医务人员的软技能并始终以患者为中心是改善非转运过程和体验的关键。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Australasian Emergency Care Nursing-Emergency Nursing

CiteScore

3.30

自引率

5.60%

发文量

审稿时长

37 days

期刊介绍： Australasian Emergency Care is an international peer-reviewed journal dedicated to supporting emergency nurses, physicians, paramedics and other professionals in advancing the science and practice of emergency care, wherever it is delivered. As the official journal of the College of Emergency Nursing Australasia (CENA), Australasian Emergency Care is a conduit for clinical, applied, and theoretical research and knowledge that advances the science and practice of emergency care in original, innovative and challenging ways. The journal serves as a leading voice for the emergency care community, reflecting its inter-professional diversity, and the importance of collaboration and shared decision-making to achieve quality patient outcomes. It is strongly focussed on advancing the patient experience and quality of care across the emergency care continuum, spanning the pre-hospital, hospital and post-hospital settings within Australasia and beyond.