What Are the Needs and Preferences of Patients and Family Members Discharged from the Emergency Department Within 24 Hours? A Qualitative Study Towards a Family-centred Approach

Overview

Journal BMJ Open

Specialty General Medicine

Date 2021 Nov 10

PMID 34753758

Citations 5

Authors

Christina Ostervang

Annmarie Touborg Lassen

Charlotte Myhre Jensen

Elisabeth Coyne

Karin Brochstedt Dieperink

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Objective: There is an increase in patients being discharged after short stays in the emergency department, but there is limited knowledge of their perspectives on treatment and care. This study aims to explore and understand the needs and preferences of emergency care from the perspective of patients and family members discharged from the emergency department within 24 hours of admission.

Design: The study reports from the first phase in an overall participatory design project. Systematic text condensation was used to identify key themes from field observations and interviews with patients and family members.

Setting: This study was conducted in two emergency departments in the Region of Southern Denmark.

Participants: All adults aged ≥18 years who had been discharged from the emergency department within 24 hours were eligible to take part. Purposeful sampling was used to recruit patients and family members with different sociodemographic features.

Results: Field observational studies (n=50 hours), individual interviews with patients (N=19) and family members (N=3), and joint interviews with patients and family members (N=4) were carried out. Four themes were derived from the material: (1) being in a vulnerable place-having emotional concerns; (2) having a need for person-centred information; (3) the atmosphere in the emergency department and (4) implications of family presence.

Conclusion: This study demonstrates a gap between patients' and family members' needs and preferences and what current emergency departments deliver. The findings highlight the importance of family and person-centred care. Tailored communication and information with genuine involvement of family members is found to be essential needs during acute illness.

Citing Articles

Fundamental care in the emergency room: insights from patients with life-threatening conditions in the emergency room.

Pavedahl V, Muntlin A, von Thiele Schwarz U, Summer Meranius M, Holmstrom I BMC Emerg Med. 2024; 24(1):217.

PMID: 39551728 PMC: 11571529. DOI: 10.1186/s12873-024-01133-4.

Usability and Evaluation of a Health Information System in the Emergency Department: Mixed Methods Study.

Ostervang C, Myhre Jensen C, Coyne E, Dieperink K, Lassen A JMIR Hum Factors. 2024; 11:e48445.

PMID: 38381502 PMC: 10918535. DOI: 10.2196/48445.

Patient Involvement in Decisions regarding Emergency Department Discharge: A Multimethod Study.

Thise Rasmussen M, Lomborg K, Iversen K, Konradsen H Emerg Med Int. 2023; 2023:4997401.

PMID: 37324976 PMC: 10264132. DOI: 10.1155/2023/4997401.

Development of a health information system to promote emergency care pathways: A participatory design study.

Ostervang C, Lassen A, Schmidt T, Coyne E, Dieperink K, Myhre Jensen C Digit Health. 2023; 8:20552076221145856.

PMID: 36601282 PMC: 9806496. DOI: 10.1177/20552076221145856.

Health professionals' perspectives of patients' and family members' needs in emergency departments and patient pathway improvement: a qualitative study in Denmark.

Ostervang C, Lassen A, Oelund K, Coyne E, Dieperink K, Myhre Jensen C BMJ Open. 2022; 12(2):e057937.

PMID: 35228292 PMC: 8886412. DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-057937.

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