title: Emergency department nurses' perceptions and experiences of providing care for older people.
abstract: Emergency department nurses are challenged to provide safe, quality care to older people; however, nurses' perceptions of their role and experiences are seldom investigated. This focus-group study investigated emergency department nurses' perceptions and experiences of caring for older people, using four focus groups of nurses with a minimum three months' experience in the emergency department and a demographic survey. Data were thematically analyzed. Two themes emerged. The first was the clash of expectations between nurses and family/carers related to safety and quality of nursing care. Older people were perceived to be vulnerable in the emergency department, and nurses were frustrated that competing priorities decreased their ability to ensure them safe and quality care. Nurses felt family/carers were disappointed with care provided, and might not empathize with or understand their predicament. The second theme concerned nurses' perception that family/carers could provide a safety net for the older person in the emergency department in times of high workload. Nurses need support to care for older people in the emergency department to ensure safe and optimal care, and a shared understanding of care provision between nurses and family needs development.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health, University of Technology, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Robyn
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gallagher
authors.forename: Margaret
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fry
authors.forename: Lynne
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chenoweth
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gallagher
authors.forename: Jane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Stein-Parbury
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D016529:Emergency Nursing; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D005851:Geriatric Nursing; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D036301:Qualitative Research; D011787:Quality of Health Care
keywords: carer; emergency department; family; older person; quality; safety