title: Ambulance personnel's experience of pain management for patients with a suspected hip fracture: A qualitative study.
abstract: Pain management is described to be insufficient for patients suffering from a hip fracture, and the management for this vulnerable group of patients may be challenging due to their medical history (multiple comorbidities) and polypharmacy. Previous research has mainly focused on fast tracks aiming to reduce time to surgery. But the research on how pain management is handled for these patients in the prehospital context has been sparse. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to describe the ambulance personnel's experience of managing the pain of patients with a suspected hip fracture. A descriptive and qualitative design with Critical Incident Technique was used for collecting data. Moreover, a qualitative content analysis was used for analysing the collected data. Twenty-two participants communicated their experiences and 51 incidents were analysed. The main finding in the study was that the ambulance personnel, by using their clinical knowledge and by empowering the patients to participate in their own care, managed to individualize the pain relief for patients with a suspected hip fracture through a variety of interventions.
authors: Falck Ambulance Services and Academic EMS in Stockholm, Sweden.
authors: D
authors: D
authors: Jakopovic
authors: Karolinska Institutet, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors: A-C
authors: AC
authors: Falk
authors: Karolinska Institutet, Department of Clinical Science and Education, Södersjukhuset and Academic EMS in Stockholm, Sweden. Electronic address: veronica.lindstrom@ki.se.
authors: V
authors: V
authors: Lindström
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000488:Allied Health Personnel; D000552:Ambulances; D004632:Emergency Medical Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005260:Female; D006620:Hip Fractures; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D059408:Pain Management / Q000379:methods*; D036301:Qualitative Research; D013548:Sweden
keywords: Ambulance personnel; Critical incident technique; Emergency medical services; Hip fracture; Pain; Prehospital