title: 'Let other people do it…': the role of emergency department nurses in health promotion.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To explore emergency department nurses' roles in health promotion and contributing factors involved.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  In many healthcare systems, emergency departments are increasingly urged to play a crucial role in health promotion. Although much has been written about health promotion and nurses in acute care settings, less has focused on emergency departments.
  
  
  METHODS
  A qualitative design was used.
  
  
  METHODS
  In-depth semi-structured interviews were used with a convenient sample of 15 nurses in a Jordanian emergency department. Data were analysed using nvivo 9 (QSR International, Doncaster, Victoria, Australia).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The analysis identified two themes. The first focused on nurses' roles in health promotion, comprising two categories: having no roles and 'let other people do it'. The second theme focused on the context and constraints of health promotion comprising fear of violence, the nature of healthcare service and patients' beliefs. The majority of nurses in emergency departments do not associate health promotion with their practice, hold some negative attitudes and devote more time to clinical tasks than health promotion, which is seen as a second priority.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The ideology of medicalised tasks has penetrated deeply into the core principles of health promotion, and thus, nurses' roles and potential in this area are questioned.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Decision-makers and nurses within the hospital are urged to address the constraints identified in this study and debate them further. Failure to do so may lead to emergency nursing not being optimally achieved, with the absence of sustained and concerted health promotion work matching patients' cultural needs and sensitivities.
authors: Faculty of Nursing, Mutah University, Karak, Mutah, Jordan.
authors: Noordeen
authors: N
authors: Shoqirat
mesh_terms: D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D006293:Health Promotion; D024802:Nurse's Role; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital; D000078329:Workforce
keywords: Jordan; emergency department; health promotion; nurses; semi-structured interviews