Andreas Rantala , Anders Sterner , Catharina Frank , Elsa Heinrich , Bodil Holmberg
{"title":"Older patients’ perceptions of the Swedish ambulance service: A qualitative exploratory study","authors":"Andreas Rantala , Anders Sterner , Catharina Frank , Elsa Heinrich , Bodil Holmberg","doi":"10.1016/j.auec.2023.01.005","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.auec.2023.01.005","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><p>As worldwide life expectancy increases, the Swedish Ambulance Service is likely to be affected by the demographic shift towards a larger proportion of older persons. An older population tends to increase the demand for ambulances, indicating a need to illuminate older patients’ perspective. Thus, the aim of this study was to explore older patients’ perceptions of the Swedish Ambulance Service.</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>This interview study employed a descriptive qualitative design with a phenomenographic approach in accordance with Dahlgren and Fallsberg.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>Three main descriptive categories emerged to describe the underlying conceptions in the interviews; <em>A double-edged encounter, Trust is created by perceived competence</em>, and <em>Safety through accessibility in vulnerable situations.</em></p></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><p>Older patients described trust in ambulance clinicians as a prerequisite for feeling safe enough to share their feelings and allow a bodily examination. However, they also criticized the care provided because they questioned the need for certain actions.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55979,"journal":{"name":"Australasian Emergency Care","volume":"26 3","pages":"Pages 249-253"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10237204","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Brendan V. Schultz , Kerrianne Watt , Stephen Rashford , James Wylie , Emma Bosley
{"title":"Epidemiology of open limb fractures attended by ambulance clinicians in the out-of-hospital setting: A retrospective analysis","authors":"Brendan V. Schultz , Kerrianne Watt , Stephen Rashford , James Wylie , Emma Bosley","doi":"10.1016/j.auec.2023.01.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.auec.2023.01.001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><p>Open limb fractures<span> are a time-critical orthopaedic emergency that present to jurisdictional ambulance services. This study describes the demographic characteristics and epidemiological profile of these patients</span></p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>We undertook a retrospective analysis of all patients that presented to Queensland Ambulance Service with an open limb fracture (fracture to the humerus, radius/ulna, tibia/fibula or femur) over a two-year period (January 2018 – December 2019).</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p><span>Overall, 1020 patients were included. Patients were mainly male (65.9%) and middle-aged (age 41 years, IQR 22–59). Fractures predominately occurred in the lower extremities (64.9%) with transport crashes the primary mechanism of injury (47.8%). The location of the fracture varied depending on the cause of injury, with femur fractures associated with motorcycle crashes, and fractures to the radius/ulna attributed to falls of greater than one metre (</span><em>p</em><span><span> = 0.001). The median prehospital episode of care was 83 min (IQR 62–144) with aeromedical air ambulance involvement and the attendance of a critical care </span>paramedic or emergency physician, both independent factors that increased this time interval.</span></p></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><p>Open limb fractures are a relatively infrequent injury presentation encountered by ambulance clinicians. The characteristics of these patients is consistent with previously described national and international out-of-hospital trauma cohorts</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55979,"journal":{"name":"Australasian Emergency Care","volume":"26 3","pages":"Pages 216-220"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10233188","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Kristie J. Harper , Melinda Williamson , Deborah Edwards , Jenna Haak , Annette Barton , Susan Slatyer
{"title":"Older women's view on frailty and an Emergency Department evidence-based Frailty Intervention Team (FIT) program: An evaluation using the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, Maintenance RE-AIM framework","authors":"Kristie J. Harper , Melinda Williamson , Deborah Edwards , Jenna Haak , Annette Barton , Susan Slatyer","doi":"10.1016/j.auec.2023.02.003","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.auec.2023.02.003","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><p><span>Older women have higher levels of frailty resulting in disability and reduced </span>quality of life<span>. Presentation to an Emergency Department (ED) is an opportunity to address frailty and provide tailored interventions to promote function. An ED allied health team integrated frailty assessment and interventions into care through a ‘Frailty Intervention Team’ (FIT) program.</span></p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>A prospective study informed by the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, Maintenance (RE-AIM) framework to evaluate the FIT program tailored to female older adults. The purpose of this project was to evaluate the FIT program over a three-month period and use the findings to further develop the intervention.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>Over three-months, 192 older females (<u>></u>70 years) were identified with mild frailty and discharged directly home. Ninety percent were offered the FIT program with 83.3 % accepting all recommended frailty management strategies. Ninety percent of patients were satisfied with the FIT program, however staff and patient barriers to provision of frailty services were identified.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>The FIT program was largely adopted by staff and accepted by older female patients with mild frailty in the ED. However, program effectiveness was limited by gaps in communication about frailty in the ED and implementation of frailty management strategies after discharge.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55979,"journal":{"name":"Australasian Emergency Care","volume":"26 3","pages":"Pages 264-270"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10233212","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Implementation of a pragmatic emergency department patients’ own medications (POM) procedure to improve medication safety: An interrupted time series","authors":"Simone E. Taylor , Emily Joules , Andrew Harding","doi":"10.1016/j.auec.2023.02.004","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.auec.2023.02.004","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><p>Patients’ Own Medications (POMs) are useful to inform clinical decision-making, best possible medication history documentation, and ensure timely medication administration. A procedure was developed for managing POMs specifically in the emergency department<span> (ED) and short stay unit. This study evaluated the impact of this procedure on process and patient safety outcomes.</span></p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>An interrupted time-series was undertaken in a metropolitan ED/short stay unit between November 2017 and September 2021. Pre-implementation and during each of four post-implementation time-periods, data were collected at unannounced times on approximately 100 patients taking medications prior to presentation. Endpoints included proportion of patients with POMs stored in green POMs bags, in standardised locations, and proportion who self-medicated without nurses knowing.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>Following procedure implementation, POMs were stored in standardised locations for 45.9 % of patients. Proportion of patients with POMs stored in green bags increased from 6.9 % to 48.2 % (difference 41.3 %, p < 0.001). Patient self-administration without nurses’ knowledge declined from 10.3 % to 2.3 % (difference 8.0 %, p = 0.015). POMs were infrequently left in ED/short stay unit after discharge.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>The procedure has standardised POMs storage, but room for further improvement remains. Although POMs were not locked away and were readily available to clinicians, patient self-medication without nurses’ knowledge declined.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55979,"journal":{"name":"Australasian Emergency Care","volume":"26 3","pages":"Pages 271-278"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10237220","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Julie Gale , Wayne Varndell , Steven James , Lin Perry
{"title":"Unscheduled emergency department presentations with diabetes: Identifying high risk characteristics","authors":"Julie Gale , Wayne Varndell , Steven James , Lin Perry","doi":"10.1016/j.auec.2022.12.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.auec.2022.12.001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><p>Unscheduled emergency department (ED) presentation by patients with diabetes has seldom been examined. This study aimed to determine the frequency and associated characteristics of presentations in this population.</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>Using a prospective cross-sectional design, data were collected from patients with diabetes presenting and/or admitted to a tertiary metropolitan hospital in New South Wales, Australia (December 2016-September 2017). A screening interview including brief measures of cognitive and executive function, and clinical details from healthcare records were utilised; details around unscheduled presentations within 90 days were extracted. Independent associations with ED presentation were determined.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>Unscheduled ED presentations were common; 35.4% had at least one within 90 days, and for 20.1% this occurred within 28 days. The screening tool contributed little towards identifying risk of unscheduled presentation. Those attending any community or outpatient follow-up appointment within the first 28 (OR 0.42, 95% CI 0.23–0.76; p = 0.004) or 90 days (OR 0.25; 0.13–0.47; p < 0.001) from the index presentation were less likely to present within that same period.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>Findings indicated the magnitude of unscheduled ED presentation, care complexity and the value of targeted and timely follow-up. Alternative service support may help maintain and improve diabetes self-management and will require effectiveness and cost-effectiveness evaluation.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55979,"journal":{"name":"Australasian Emergency Care","volume":"26 3","pages":"Pages 205-210"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10236708","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Myeong Namgung , Dong Hoon Lee , Sung Jin Bae , Ho Sub Chung , Keon Kim , Choung Ah Lee , Duk Ho Kim , Eui Chung Kim , Jee Yong Lim , Sang Soo Han , Yoon Hee Choi
{"title":"The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on revisits to emergency department","authors":"Myeong Namgung , Dong Hoon Lee , Sung Jin Bae , Ho Sub Chung , Keon Kim , Choung Ah Lee , Duk Ho Kim , Eui Chung Kim , Jee Yong Lim , Sang Soo Han , Yoon Hee Choi","doi":"10.1016/j.auec.2023.01.002","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.auec.2023.01.002","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Aim</h3><p>This study presents the impact of COVID-19 on revisits to the emergency department comparing revisit rates and characteristics between the pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19 periods.</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>This multi-center retrospective study included patients over 18 years of age who visited emergency departments during the pre-COVID-19 period and the COVID-19 pandemic. The revisit rates were analyzed according to five age groups; 18–34, 35–49, 50–64, 65–79, and ≥ 80 years, and three revisit time intervals; 3, 9, and 30 days. Also, we compared the diagnosis and disposition at revisit between the study periods.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>The revisit rates increased with age in both study periods and the revisit rates among all age groups were higher in the COVID-19 period. The proportion of infectious and respiratory diseases decreased during the COVID-19 period. The ICU admission rate and mortality at the revisit among patients aged ≥ 80 years were lower in the COVID-19 period than in the pre-COVID-19 period.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><p>The revisit rates increased with age in both study periods and there were several changes in the diagnosis and disposition at the revisit in the COVID-19 period.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55979,"journal":{"name":"Australasian Emergency Care","volume":"26 3","pages":"Pages 221-229"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9874043/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10226628","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Assessing student paramedics' measurements of fatigue and quality of cardiopulmonary resuscitation on a simulated cardiac arrest case","authors":"Anthony Weber , Shannon Delport , Aldon Delport","doi":"10.1016/j.auec.2022.12.002","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.auec.2022.12.002","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objective</h3><p>The International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR) and the Australian Resuscitation Council (ARC) recommend that high-quality cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is the key to performance outcomes, emphasising compression and rotation through this process. The proposed study has a two-stage approach to evaluating cardiopulmonary resuscitations effectiveness by out-of-hospital practitioners. The first stage aimed to evaluate the influence of providing real-time biofeedback<span> using the Q-CPR system on the provision of CPR by student paramedics. Secondly, the study quantified the effects of physical fatigue on maintaining quality cardiopulmonary resuscitation performed by paramedic students.</span></p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>Forty paramedic students completed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on an instrumented manikin with and without audio-visual biofeedback (Q-CPR within the Phillips MRx defibrillator) in a balanced cross-over fashion. To quantify the quality of cardiopulmonary resuscitation concerning the percentage of applied compressions that meet the current ARC guidelines in terms of rate, depth, and recoil time, a manikin feedback system (SimMan 3 G; Laerdal, Norwegian) was used.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>When using the Q-CPR prompt with bio-feedback, overall, the depth and fatigue levels increased significantly, highlighting a correlation between correct depth and increased fatigue.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>Audio prompts improved compression depth; however, fatigue levels increased. The depth during manual compression compared to the Q-CPR prompt was not statistically significant.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55979,"journal":{"name":"Australasian Emergency Care","volume":"26 3","pages":"Pages 211-215"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10289399","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Characteristics and outcomes of patient presentations to the emergency department via police: A scoping review","authors":"Rachel Wardrop , Jamie Ranse , Wendy Chaboyer , Julia Crilly","doi":"10.1016/j.auec.2023.01.004","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.auec.2023.01.004","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><p>As emergency department (ED) presentations continue to rise, understanding the complexities of vulnerable populations such as people brought in by police (BIBP) is crucial. This review aimed to map and describe the research about people BIBP to the ED.</p></div><div><h3>Design and method</h3><p>A scoping review, guided by the Joanna Briggs Institute process, was undertaken. The databases CINAHL, Embase and PubMed were searched between November 2017 and July 2022. The Patterns, Advances, Gaps, Evidence for practice, Research recommendations (PAGER) framework was used to guide the analysis.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>A total of 21 studies were included in the review, originating mainly from westernised countries. Examination of patterns across studies revealed four themes: routinely collected data is used to describe people BIBP to the ED; a focus on mental health care; the relationship between care delivery and outcomes; and the role of police in providing emergency care.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><p>There is some understanding of the demographic characteristics, clinical characteristics, and outcomes of people BIBP to the ED. Knowledge gaps surrounding sociodemographic factors, prehospital and ED care delivery for people BIBP require further investigation to optimise outcomes for this vulnerable cohort of presenters.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55979,"journal":{"name":"Australasian Emergency Care","volume":"26 3","pages":"Pages 239-248"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10233205","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The role of emergency medical services in the management of in-hospital emergencies: Causes and outcomes of emergency calls – A descriptive retrospective register-based study","authors":"Henna Myrskykari , Timo Iirola , Hilla Nordquist","doi":"10.1016/j.auec.2023.07.007","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.auec.2023.07.007","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><p>Medical emergency teams (METs) are in place in some hospitals in Finland to respond to critical emergency events. However, in hospitals without dedicated METs, staff are instructed to call emergency medical services (EMS) to deal with emergencies. This study examined the reasons for calling EMS to hospitals and the outcomes of these calls.</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>Descriptive retrospective register-based study of the response and management of in-hospital emergencies by EMS in the wellbeing services county of Southwest Finland. Patient care reports of the EMS and those of the hospitals were analysed.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>In total, 138 medical emergencies managed by EMS were included in this study. 108 of these related to patients, and 25 related to hospital personnel. Cardiac arrest (<em>n</em> = 36) and a reduced level of consciousness (<em>n</em> = 29) were the most common in-hospital emergencies. In 68% of in-hospital emergencies managed by the EMS team, after calling 112, hospital personnel implemented various treatment measures. In 72% of cases, follow-up treatment was required.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>Hospital personnel are able to initiate medical measures in emergencies, even when no MET is available. Although EMS are important in responding to in-hospital emergencies, they seem to be performing the same role as METs.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55979,"journal":{"name":"Australasian Emergency Care","volume":"27 1","pages":"Pages 42-48"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2023-08-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2588994X23000532/pdfft?md5=14382413616dada601b95abd072539ec&pid=1-s2.0-S2588994X23000532-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10028043","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Relationship between transformational leadership, adverse patient events, and nurse-assessed quality of care in emergency units: The mediating role of work satisfaction","authors":"Leodoro J. Labrague","doi":"10.1016/j.auec.2023.08.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.auec.2023.08.001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><p>Effective leadership plays a pivotal role in healthcare settings, particularly in the fast-paced and high-pressure environment of the emergency room, as it is closely linked to patient safety and the overall quality of care. This study assessed the mediating role of work satisfaction in the relationship between nurses' perceptions of their nurse managers' transformational leadership, reported adverse patient events, and the nurse-assessed quality of care in the emergency units.</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>A cross-sectional survey design was carried out involving 283 emergency room nurses from the Philippines, utilizing standardized scales. Mediation testing was performed using Hayes' PROCESS macro in SPSS (Model 4).</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>Emergency room nurses perceived their nurse managers as highly transformational. Nurses' perceptions of transformational leadership in their nurse managers were associated with a reduction in reported adverse patient events and an increase in nurse-assessed nursing care quality. Work satisfaction partially mediated the relationship between transformational leadership and nurse-assessed nursing care quality, but it did not serve as a mediator between transformational leadership and reported adverse patient events.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><p>The results suggested that enhancing transformational leadership behaviors among nurse leaders can foster work satisfaction in ER nurses, which, in effect, contributes to enhanced nursing quality of care provision in emergency settings.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55979,"journal":{"name":"Australasian Emergency Care","volume":"27 1","pages":"Pages 49-56"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2023-08-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10028045","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}