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AIM: To explore experienced nursing staff's perceptions of essential nursing care in the emergency department (ED).

BACKGROUND: Nurse staffing levels in the ED are known to influence a variety of patient outcomes, such as time to medication, incidence of unexpected cardiac arrest, and flow indications such as length of stay. In addition, studies highlight an issue with missed nursing care in the ED setting, particularly for basic care needs. This suggests a need for deeper understanding of the content of ED nursing, and nursing staff's perceptions of their responsibilities towards ED patients' needs.

METHODS: A qualitative focus group interview study with an exploratory design, interviewing experienced nursing staff at four Swedish EDs of various sizes and locations. Data were analysed through inductive, reflexive thematic analysis.

RESULTS: Three main themes of essential ED nursing emerged, which were for nursing staff to Create control, Take Action and Be a safety net. The themes were united by the overarching theme of Making knowledge-based priorities in an ever-changing environment.

CONCLUSION: ED nursing is complex and requires skill to prioritise among multiple essential nursing tasks constantly in an environment that itself is constantly changing. A priority is to identify warning signs quickly, ensure patient safety and keep length of stay as short as possible. Due to variation in patients' symptoms, almost all nursing tasks, such as performing various medical interventions and meeting physical and psychosocial needs, were considered to be essential nursing. However, the need to prioritise among essential tasks may lead to less urgent tasks being postponed or missed.

Introduction: Traumatic thoracic injuries constitute a major global health burden, associated with high mortality, severe complications, and complex care needs. The acute and unpredictable nature of trauma care often limits early patient involvement despite the importance of person-centred care for safety and recovery. Although nurses provide crucial technical and holistic support, organisational pressures may hinder psychosocial care.

Aim: This study aimed to explore how patients with traumatic thoracic injuries experience nursing care and participation in a trauma care unit.

Methods: Sixteen semi-structured individual interviews with patients who had sustained a traumatic thoracic injury were conducted in a level 1 trauma centre. The data were analysed using thematic analysis and an inductive approach.

Results: The main findings revealed that organisational factors and relational aspects directly influenced the delivery and continuity of nursing care. Organisational factors affected the delivery and continuity of care. Relational aspects, such as attention to individual preferences and basic care needs, and recognition of the patient's capability, influenced perceptions of dignity, participation, trust, and safety.

Conclusion: Organisational factors and relational aspects shape the quality of trauma nursing, relying not only on adequate resources and professional competence, but equally on the relational integrity of everyday clinical encounters.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to explore how emergency department (ED) organisations and clinicians adapted to altered prerequisites during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the processes involved and the consequences. In addition, we examined how the ordinary state affected resilient performance during this period.

DESIGN: This qualitative study involved inductive thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews and narratives.

SETTING: Three hospital-based EDs, one county and two rural hospitals, located in two Swedish regions were studied.

PARTICIPANTS: A total of 12 participants, 80% of whom were women, were recruited. The participants included two physicians, three registered nurses, three assistant nurses and four nursing managers working at the three EDs before and during the first pandemic wave.

RESULTS: The overarching theme 'anchored in the eye of the storm' emerged. This theme suggests that resilient performance during the pandemic was facilitated by ordinary adaptive capacity in the ED. A thematic map and seven main themes with a total of 25 subthemes explain the process. The ordinary state of conditions in the ED was challenged with the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. Altered prerequisites were perceived partly as a new reality in addition to business as usual. The adaptations included organise to regain control and developing new strategies to manage the situation, mainly by initiatives among clinicians. The consequences included perceived strain and frustration and partially impacted quality of care. However, an increased sense of cohesion among clinicians and enhanced knowledge were also noted.

CONCLUSION: During the pandemic, a partially new reality was experienced, although work also continued largely as business as usual based on experiences of crowding, established preparedness plans and ordinary adaptive capacity. Despite dealing with a previously unknown patient group, the experience of working with critically ill patients and establishing structured work processes proved advantageous and facilitated resilient performance.

INTRODUCTION: Trauma causes nearly six million deaths annually and is the leading cause of death in the working-age population. Systematic, multidisciplinary, team-based initial care is vital. Trauma nursing addresses complex physical and psychological needs, enhancing patient outcomes and preventing complications. However, acute care settings have challenges, such as heavy workloads and high patient-to-nurse ratios.

AIM: This study aimed to explore nursing staff́s perceptions of reasons for missed nursing care for patients with traumatic injuries.

METHODS: Four semi-structured group interviews were conducted with 22 registered and assistant nurses caring for trauma patients in a level one trauma center. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis and an inductive approach.

RESULTS: The main findings revealed that complex organizational challenges hinder consistent nursing care. Factors such as patient characteristics and team composition necessitate prioritizing medical interventions over nursing care, leading to feelings of inadequacy among nurses when they are unable to provide timely care.

CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that essential nursing care is frequently overlooked in the trauma ward, often taking a backseat to medical interventions. This trend arises from the intricate dynamics of patient characteristics, team composition, and the organizational environment.

Across the world, emergency department nurses care for patients around the clock all year long. They perform tasks ranging from direct nursing care to managing patient flow, working in an environment characterised by interdependencies among numerous actors. The complex context in which emergency nurses operate has not been thoroughly described or discussed, indicating a knowledge gap. Hence, the aim of this discussion paper is to describe and discuss nursing in the emergency department and the connection between patient flow and nursing care, drawing on the concept of complex adaptive systems.

The acts of direct patient care and patient flow, when viewed through the lens of complex adaptive systems, are central components of emergency nursing. Through a stepwise description of these two perspectives, based on literature and clinical experience from European countries, the paper illustrates the complexity of the emergency nursing context in a novel manner. We argue that direct patient care and patient flow, combined as patient flow management, constitute essential parts of the core of emergency department nursing. Further studies are needed to challenge or confirm this assertion.

Introduction: This descriptive cross-sectional study describes missed nursing care, quality of care, and patient safety rated by nursing staff in emergency departments. Required patient care that is omitted or delayed (missed nursing care) is associated with poorer quality of care and increased risk for adverse events, but studies are scarce in the emergency setting. Methods: Emergency registered nurses and nursing assistants (N=126) at 2 Swedish emergency departments participated in the study. The MISSCARE survey -Swedish version was used for data collection. Results: Emergency nursing staff assessed that nursing care is frequently missed in the emergency department. More than half of the 24 nursing care items were reported as missed by over 50% of the participants, and registered nurses rated most items significantly higher compared to nursing assistants. Half of the nursing staff perceived quality of care to be good, but nearly the same proportion perceived patient safety as poor. Registered nurses viewed both quality and safety worse than nursing assistants. Discussion: The present study found very high levels of missed nursing care in most nursing items. Results indicate that nursing staff in emergency departments need to prioritize between the tasks and that some tasks may not be relevant in the context. The emergency setting focuses primarily on identifying signs of urgency, assessing patients, performing interventions, and diagnostics. However, even items that seemed to be prioritized, such as reassessment of vital signs, had a surprisingly high level of missed nursing care in comparison to in -hospital wards.

BACKGROUND: Adverse events (AEs) cause suffering for hospitalised children, a fragile patient group where the delivery of adequate timely care is of great importance.

OBJECTIVE: To report the incidence and characteristics of AEs, in paediatric inpatient care, as detected with the Global Trigger Tool (GTT), the Trigger Tool (TT) or the Harvard Medical Practice Study (HMPS) method.

METHOD: MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science and Google Scholar were searched from inception to June 2021, without language restrictions. Studies using manual record review were included if paediatric data were reported separately. We excluded studies reporting: AEs for a specific disease/diagnosis/treatment/procedure, or deceased patients; study protocols with no AE outcomes; conference abstracts, editorials and systematic reviews; clinical incident reports as the primary data source; and studies focusing on specific AEs only. Methodological risk of bias was assessed using a tool based on the Quality Assessment Tool for Diagnostic Accuracy Studies 2. Primary outcome was the percentage of admissions with ≥1 AEs. All statistical analyses were stratified by record review methodology (GTT/TT or HMPS) and by type of population. Meta-analyses, applying random-effects models, were carried out. The variability of the pooled estimates was characterised by 95% prediction intervals (PIs).

RESULTS: We included 32 studies from 44 publications, conducted in 15 countries totalling 33 873 paediatric admissions. The total number of AEs identified was 8577. The most common types of AEs were nosocomial infections (range, 6.8%-59.6%) for the general care population and pulmonary-related (10.5%-36.7%) for intensive care. The reported incidence rates were highly heterogeneous. The PIs for the primary outcome were 3.8%-53.8% and 6.9%-91.6% for GTT/TT studies (general and intensive care population). The equivalent PI was 0.3%-33.7% for HMPS studies (general care). The PIs for preventable AEs were 7.4%-96.2% and 4.5%-98.9% for GTT/TT studies (general and intensive care population) and 10.4%-91.8% for HMPS studies (general care). The quality assessment indicated several methodological concerns regarding the included studies.

CONCLUSION: The reported incidence of AEs is highly variable in paediatric inpatient care research, and it is not possible to estimate a reliable single rate. Poor reporting standards and methodological differences hinder the comparison of study results.

BACKGROUND: Internationally, prolonged length of stay for older adults in the emergency department (ED) is associated with increased risk of in-hospital adverse events. In Sweden patients 65 years and older account for 35% of emergency visits, and according to consensus from an international expert group, all persons over 70 should be screened for frailty. This is not routinely done in Swedish EDs, and therefore, knowledge about prevalence, characteristics and clinical outcomes associated with frailty is limited.

AIM: To describe the prevalence of frailty and associated factors in older adults seeking care at Swedish EDs.

METHODS: The study has a cross-sectional design. Data was collected at three hospital-based EDs, varying in level and size of setting, for one month. Patients age 70 and older presenting at the EDs and agreed to participate were screened for frailty using the FRail Elderly Support researcH group (FRESH) instrument. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics to assess the distribution of patient characteristics and clinical outcomes. Multivariate logistic regression was used to model the association between frailty and demographic characteristics, and Cox regression was used to model the association between frailty and clinical outcomes.

RESULTS: A total of 3101 patients were eligible for inclusion; of these, 984 (32%) were included and screened for frailty. Of the final sample, 57.3% were assessed as frail. Characteristics significantly associated with frailty were living in a residential care facility, age (> 80 years), being a woman and arriving with emergency medical service (EMS). There was a significant association between frailty and admittance to in-hospital care.

CONCLUSION: Our study shows a high prevalence of frailty in older people. Factors associated with frailty were living in a residential care facility, age ≥ 80 years, being a woman and arriving with EMS to the ED and being admitted to in-hospital care. Frailty screening should be incorporated in the triage system to identify frail patients who need tailored interventions. More studies using the FRESH instrument are needed to further confirm our findings and to develop the methods for screening for frailty in the ED.

BACKGROUND: Thoracic injuries are common among trauma patients. Studies on trauma patients with thoracic injuries have reported considerable differences in morbidity and mortality, and there is limited research on comparison between trauma patients with and without thoracic injuries, particularly in the Scandinavian population. Thoracic injuries in trauma patients should be identified early and need special attention since the differences in injury patterns among patient population are important as they entail different treatment regimens and influence patient outcomes. The aim of the study was to describe the epidemiology of trauma patients with and without thoracic injuries and its influence on 30-day mortality.

METHODS: Patients were identified through the Karolinska Trauma Register. The Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) system was used to find patients with thoracic injuries. Logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate factors [age, gender, ASA class, GCS (Glasgow Coma Scale), NISS (New Injury Severity Score) and thoracic injury] associated with 30-day mortality.

RESULTS: A total of 2397 patients were included. Of those, 768 patients (32%) had a thoracic injury. The mean (± SD, range) age of all patients (n = 2397) was 46 (20, 18-98) years, and the majority (n = 1709, 71%) of the patients were males. There was a greater proportion of patients with rib fractures among older (≥ 60 years) patients, whereas younger patients had a higher proportion of injuries to the internal thoracic organs. The 30-day mortality was 11% (n = 87) in patients with thoracic injury and 4.3% (n = 71) in patients without. After multivariable adjustment, a thoracic injury was found to be associated with an increased risk of 30-day mortality (OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.3-3.0); as was age ≥ 60 years (OR 3.7, 95% CI 2.3-6.0), ASA class 3-4 (OR 2.3, 95% CI 1.4-3.6), GCS 1-8 (OR 21, 95% CI 13-33) and NISS > 15 (OR 4.2, 2.4-7.3).

CONCLUSION: Thoracic injury was an independent predictor of 30-day mortality after adjustment for relevant key variables. We also found a difference in injury patterns with older patients having a higher proportion of rib fractures, whilst younger patients suffered more internal thoracic organ injuries.

AIM: To describe ratio and skill mix for nursing staff in Swedish emergency departments over a specific 24-hour period.

BACKGROUND: The link between number of patients per nursing staff and missed nursing care is well described within the in-hospital setting, showing association with negative outcomes such as increased mortality. Potential association within the emergency department setting is still unexplored.

METHOD: A national descriptive cross-sectional benchmark study.

RESULTS: The majority (n=54; 89%) of Swedish emergency departments participated. The patients-per-registered nurse ratio varied between the shifts, from 0.3 patients to 8.8 patients (mean 3.2). The variation of patients per licensed practical nurse varied, from 1.5 to 23.5 patients (mean 5.0). The average skill mix was constant at around 60% registered nurses and 40% licensed practical nurses.

CONCLUSION: The varying ratios for patient per registered nurse and licensed practical nurse in Swedish emergency departments is noteworthy. Furthermore, the patient flow and nursing staff numbers did not match one another, resulting in higher nursing staff ratios during the evening shift.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Findings can be used to improve rosters in relation to crowding, to manage the challenging recruitment and retention situation for nursing staff and to improve patient safety.