Emergency nurses' perceptions of providing end-of-life care in a Hong Kong emergency department: A qualitative study
Author(s)
Author(s)
Tse, J. W. K.
Pang, S. M. C.
Date Issued
2016
Publisher
Elsevier
Journal
Journal of Emergency Nursing
Volume
42
Issue
3
Start page
224
End page
232
Abstract
Introduction
Provision of end-of-life (EOL) care in the emergency department has improved globally in recent years and has a different scope of interventions than traditional emergency medicine. In 2010, a regional hospital established the first ED EOL service in Hong Kong.
Methods
The aim of this study was to understand emergency nurses’ perceptions regarding the provision of EOL care in the emergency department. A qualitative approach was used with purposive sampling of 16 nurses who had experience in providing EOL care. Semi-structured, face-to-face interviews were conducted from May to October, 2014. All the interviews were transcribed verbatim for content analysis.
Results
Four themes were identified: (1) doing good for the dying patients, (2) facilitating family engagement and involvement, (3) enhancing personal growth and professionalism, and (4) expressing ambiguity toward resource deployment.
Discussion
Provision of EOL care in the emergency department can enhance patients’ last moment of life, facilitate the grief and bereavement process of families, and enhance the professional development of staff in emergency department. It is substantiated that EOL service in the emergency department enriches EOL care in the health care system. Findings from this study integrated the perspectives on ED EOL services from emergency nurses. The integration of EOL service in other emergency departments locally and worldwide is encouraged.
SFU Affiliated Publication
No
Availability at SFU Library
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