Caring approach for patients with chest pain - Swedish registered nurses' lived experiences in Emergency Medical Services

Prevalence and clustering of NANDA-I nursing diagnoses in the pre-hospital emergency care setting: A retrospective records review study

AIM

To determine the prevalence and clustering of NANDA-International nursing diagnoses in patients assisted by pre-hospital emergency teams.

DESIGN

Retrospective descriptive study of electronic record review.

METHODS

Episodes recorded during 2019, including at least a nursing diagnosis, were recovered from the electronic health records of a Spanish public emergency agency (N = 28,847). Descriptive statistics were used to characterize the sample and determine prevalence. A two-step cluster analysis was used to group nursing diagnoses. A comparison between clusters in sociodemographic and medical problems was performed. Data were accessed in November 2020.

RESULTS

Risk for falls (00155) (27.3%), Anxiety (00146) (23.2%), Acute pain (00132), Fear (00148) and Ineffective breathing pattern (00032) represented 96.1% of all recorded diagnoses. A six-cluster solution (n = 26.788) was found. Five clusters had a single high-prevalence diagnosis predominance: Risk for falls (00155) in cluster 1, Anxiety (00146) in cluster 2, Fear (00148) in cluster 3, Acute pain (00132) in cluster 4 and Ineffective breathing pattern (00032) in cluster 6. Cluster 5 had several high prevalence diagnoses which co-occurred: Risk for unstable blood glucose level (00179), Ineffective coping (00069), Ineffective health management (00078), Impaired comfort (00214) and Impaired verbal communication (00051).

CONCLUSION

Five nursing diagnoses accounted for almost the entire prevalence. The identified clusters showed that pre-hospital patients present six patterns of nursing diagnoses. Five clusters were predominated by a predominant nursing diagnosis related to patient safety, coping, comfort, and activity/rest, respectively. The sixth cluster grouped several nursing diagnoses applicable to exacerbations of chronic diseases.

IMPLICATIONS FOR THE PROFESSION AND/OR PATIENT CARE

Knowing the prevalence and clustering of nursing diagnoses allows a better understanding of the human responses of patients attended by pre-hospital emergency teams and increases the evidence of individualized/standardized care plans in the pre-hospital clinical setting.

IMPACT

What problem did the study address? There are different models of pre-hospital emergency care services. The use of standardized nursing languages in the pre-hospital setting is not homogeneous. Studies on NANDA-I nursing diagnoses in the pre-hospital context are scarce, and those available are conducted on small samples. What were the main findings? This paper reports the study with the largest sample among the few published on NANDA-I nursing diagnoses in the pre-hospital care setting. Five nursing diagnoses represented 96.1% of all recorded. These diagnoses were related to patients' safety/protection and coping/stress tolerance. Patients attended by pre-hospital care teams are grouped into six clusters based on the nursing diagnoses, and this classification is independent of the medical conditions the patient suffers. Where and on whom will the research have an impact? Knowing the prevalence of nursing diagnoses allows a better understanding of the human responses of patients treated in the pre-hospital setting, increasing the evidence of individualized and standardized care plans for pre-hospital care.

REPORTING METHOD

STROBE checklist has been used as a reporting method.

NO PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION

Only patients' records were reviewed without further involvement.

Balancing power: Ambulance personnel's lived experience of older persons' participation in care in the presence of municipal care personnel

BACKGROUND

Patient participation is considered to promote well-being and is, therefore, central in care contexts. Care-dependent older persons living at home constitute a vulnerable population with increased ambulance care needs. Care transfers risk challenging participation in care, a challenge that can be accentuated in situations involving acute illness.

AIM

To illuminate meanings of older persons' participation in ambulance care in the presence of municipal care personnel from the perspective of ambulance personnel.

METHOD

A phenomenological hermeneutical method was used to analyse transcripts of narrative interviews with 11 ambulance personnel.

RESULTS

The ambulance personnel's lived experience of older persons' participation includes passive and active dimensions and involves a balancing act between an exercise of power that impedes participation and equalisation of power that empowers participation. The main theme 'Balancing dignity in relation to manipulating the body' included the themes Providing a safe haven and Complying with bodily expressions, which means shouldering responsibility for existential well-being and being guided by reactions. The main theme 'Balancing influence in relation to perceived health risks' included the themes Agreeing on a common perspective, Directing decision-making mandate, and Sharing responsibility for well-being, which means shouldering responsibility for health focusing on risks. Influence is conditional and includes performance requirements for both the older person and municipal care personnel.

CONCLUSION

Care-dependent older persons' participation in care from the perspective of ambulance personnel means recognising passive and active dimensions involving human dignity, the ability to influence care, and optimising care efforts through collaboration. This study provides a deepened understanding of the balancing of power involved in ambulance care determining participation, where power is equalised or exercised depending on personal engagement, health risks, and available care options. The knowledge provided holds the potential to improve ambulance care to benefit older persons in critical life situations.

Patient, family member, and ambulance staff experiences of prehospital acute pain management in adults: A systematic review and meta-synthesis

Background

We aimed to synthesize the qualitative experiences of patients, their family members, and ambulance staff involved in the prehospital management of acute pain in adults and generate recommendations to improve the quality of care.

Methods

A systematic review was conducted following the enhancing transparency in reporting the synthesis of qualitative research (ENTREQ) guidelines. We searched from inception to June 2021: MEDLINE, CINAHL Complete, PsycINFO and Web of Science (search alerts were screened up to December 2021). Articles were eligible for inclusion if they reported qualitative data and were published in the English language. The Critical Appraisal Skills Program for qualitative studies checklist was used to assess risk of bias, thematic synthesis was performed on included studies and recommendations for clinical practice improvement were generated.

Results

Twenty-five articles were included in the review, representing over 464 patients, family members, and ambulance staff from 8 countries. Six analytical themes and several recommendations to improve clinical practice were generated. Strengthening the patient-clinician relationship by building trust, promoting patient empowerment, addressing patient needs and expectations, and providing a holistic approach to pain treatment is key to improving prehospital pain management in adults. Shared pain management guidelines and training across the prehospital and emergency department intersection should improve the patient journey.

Conclusion

Interventions and guidelines that strengthen the patient-clinician relationship and span the prehospital and emergency department phase of care are likely to improve the quality of care for adults suffering acute pain in the prehospital setting.

Ambulance nurses' experiences of using prehospital guidelines for patients with acute chest pain - A qualitative study

BACKGROUND

Ambulance nurses have an important role in early recognition and treatment often being the first medical contact for patients with acute chest pain. However, there is sparse knowledge on the experiences of ambulance nurses with regard to use of Prehospital Guidelines for patients with Acute Chest Pain.

AIM

To explore ambulance nurses' experiences of using prehospital guidelines for patients with acute coronary syndrome.

METHOD

A qualitative descriptive study design. Semi-structured interviews with 22 ambulance nurses recruited through purposive sampling strategy. The material was transcribed and analysed using content analysis.

RESULTS

Two main categories emerged from the results. The first category Sense of professional obligation included experiences of having an important role in caring for patients with acute chest pain. Understanding this role and the collaboration in the chain of care prompted ambulance nurses to adhere to the guidelines. However, not receiving enough feedback on the provided care made them uncertain whether to use guidelines. The second category Clinical difficulties using guidelines consisted of experiences of being surrounded by practical challenges while using guidelines. Ambulance nurses meet these challenges by relying on their clinical experience, which sometimes led to them deviating from the guidelines.

CONCLUSIONS

The ambulance nurses experienced a mixture of feeling secure and insecure when using the guidelines. Foremost, when encountering patients with unspecific chest pain, they felt a lack of feedback and an insufficient collaboration within the chain of care, which made them deviate from guidelines. To increase adherence in guidelines, post-registration education to update the knowledge and skills about guidelines for acute chest pain is needed followed by formal inter-disciplinary feedback on the care provided.