Home health nurses’ views on participating in pre-ambulance emergency treatment: A qualitative descriptive study

Abstract

As part of the Health Care Interaction project that was rolled out in western Sweden, home health nurses (HHNs) were called on as first responders to provide emergency treatment to patients, while waiting for the ambulance to arrive. The aim of this study was to evaluate the Health Care Interaction project in terms of the training and preparation of HHNs and the competencies that the nurses felt they needed to develop to feel confident in these assignments. In this qualitative descriptive study, 11 home health nurses from six municipalities that implemented the project were interviewed, and the data were analysed using content analysis. The COREQ guidelines were followed in the reporting of this study. The findings show that some municipalities did not have a training or preparation course in place, and guided the HHNs to refer to self-education material. The HHNs emphasised the importance of continuously updating their knowledge and skills through regular training. Further, feedback and reflection were considered important as reinforcement of learning.

Voluntary first responders’ experiences of being dispatched to suspected out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in rural areas: an interview study

“…Often, they feel included as a part of the team at the scene, but also emphasise sometimes feeling left out and excluded when going to a scene by themselves and being ‘pushed aside’ by arriving ambulance personnel. The result is in line with other lone working FRs, such as FIP [ 40 ] and RNs [ 39 , 41 ] that states missing both preparatory conversations on the way to the scene and debriefing after the incident. Also, receiving information about the outcome of the patient is desired, which is in line with what other VFRs have stated as important [ 39 , 42 ].…”

“…The possibility to contact the first responder (firefighter) afterwards could help fill in the knowledge gaps and contribute to a sense of control. The way the VFRs acted in this study, may contribute in the same way to a sense of control for the family members [ 37 , 39 ].…”

Types and effects of feedback for emergency ambulance staff: a systematic mixed studies review and meta-analysis

“…Furthermore, patient outcome feedback may improve staff mental health and learning103–109 for patients not conveyed to hospital,110 with non-specific complaints,111 with significant differences between EMS and in-hospital diagnoses112 and patients referred to the coroner,113 while increased audit and feedback of particular skills (eg, intubation,114 ultrasound115) or situations (eg, handover,116 117 triage118) may improve performance. Lastly, increasing peer-to-peer and patient outcome feedback for certain staff groups may provide peer support and improve patient management skills for newly qualified119 120 and specialist paramedics 121–126…”

“…Lastly, increasing peer-to-peer and patient outcome feedback for certain staff groups may provide peer support and improve patient management skills for newly qualified 119 120 and specialist paramedics. [121][122][123][124][125][126]…”

Coping strategies that motivated frontline nurses while caring for the COVID‐19 patients during the pandemic: A scoping review

“…There is also huge shortage of nurses around the world (Lopez et al, 2021) particularly so in LMIC. Moreover, nurses deal with high level of work stress (Mo et al, 2020), manage complex patient care situations (Combrinck et al, 2020) and come across emergency situations on a regular basis (Fjällman et al, 2021).…”