Patient satisfaction with nursing care in an urban and suburban emergency department.
METHODS
Patient satisfaction is an important outcome measurement in the emergency department (ED). When unavoidable, the negative effect of patient wait time may be lessened by communicating expected wait time, affective support, health information, decisional control, and competent providers.


METHODS
This controlled quasi-experimental design used a convenience sample. The patient questionnaire included demographics, expected and perceived wait time, receiving of comfort items, information and engaging activities and their perceived helpfulness for coping with waiting, and the Consumer Emergency Care Satisfaction Scale measure of patient satisfaction with nursing. Systematic offering of comfort items, clinical information, and engaging activities were statistically analyzed for impact on perceived wait times, helpfulness in waiting, and satisfaction with nursing care.


RESULTS
Interventions were supported by the data as helpful for coping with waiting and were significantly related to nursing care satisfaction. Interventions were less helpful for suburban patients who were also less satisfied.


CONCLUSIONS
Nurses can influence patient satisfaction in the ED through communication and caring behaviors.
Author Affiliations: ICU/PCU Clinical Nurse Specialist and Educator (Mr Wright) and Accreditation Coordinator (Ms Causey), Carolinas Medical Center University, Charlotte, North Carolina; Professor Emeritus and Nursing Research/EBP Consultant (Dr Dienemann), University of North Carolina, Charlotte; Director of Emergency Nursing Operations & Emergency Services (Ms Guiton), ER Staff/Charge Nurse (Ms Coleman), Lake Norman Regional Medical Center, Mooresville, North Carolina; Director of Analytic Services (Ms Nussbaum) Dickson Advanced Analytics Group, Charlotte, North Carolina.
Greg
G
Wright
Sherry
S
Causey
Jacqueline
J
Dienemann
Paula
P
Guiton
Frankie Sue
FS
Coleman
Marcy
M
Nussbaum
D000328:Adult; D016529:Emergency Nursing / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005260:Female; D006786:Hospitals, Urban / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D013383:Suburban Population; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D014218:Triage / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*