Telenurses’ experiences of monitoring calls to parents of children with gastroenteritis

Abstract

Aims and objective To describe telenurses’ experiences of monitoring calls in telephone advice nursing to parents of children with gastroenteritis. Background In previous studies, making monitoring calls is mentioned as a method used by telenurses to assess the need for care. MonitoringTHE terms ‘care‐seekers’, ‘care‐seeker’ and ‘careseekers’ are used inconsistently in the article. Please suggest which one to follow. We suggest Care‐seeker calls in telephone advice nursing have been described as when telenurses call care‐seekers back once or twice after an initial call. Calls from parents of children with gastroenteritis are common, and many of these calls result in telenurses providing self‐care advice. Methods Nineteen telenurses from two healthcare call centres in Sweden were interviewed. Data were analysed using inductive qualitative content analysis. Results One main category, four generic categories and eleven sub‐categories emerged. The telenurses described how working with monitoring calls aimed to provide self‐care at home in a patient‐safe way. Their focus on the parents aimed at increasing their feeling of security and focus on the child aimed at ensuring patient safety. Monitoring calls also provided a learning opportunity for parents and telenurses, and the possibility of relieving pressure on healthcare services. The findings indicate that the use of monitoring calls aims to provide a patient‐safe form of telephone advice nursing. Conclusion This study shows that many parents feel insecure when their child has gastroenteritis, and the use of monitoring calls may be an effective approach to help them feel more secure at home with their sick child.

The telephone nursing dialogue process: an integrative review

“…The telephone nurse could decide already in the motivating phase that such a call is needed. This could be to reach a feeling of security that the caller has the ability to self-care, or if there are uncertainties regarding the assessment (72). Monitoring calls can therefore belong to more than one of the phases in the telephone nursing dialogue process.…”

“…Monitoring the caller may be indicated to observe the course of the disease and to safeguard the initial assessment, especially if there remains some uncertainty regarding the assessment or the choice of intervention (2,5,6,19,41,51,63,66,72). A monitoring call provides an opportunity to re-assess the situation, to ask more questions and give new advice (2,5,6,41,51,63,66,72). A monitoring call may result in a deeper, more personal contact as the caller feels that their situation is being taken seriously, that they are secure and cared for, and that they are not alone (2, 5-6, 30, 51, 72).…”

“…A monitoring call can provide output validation about whether the initial assessment and advice were appropriate and thus constitute a learning opportunity for the nurse (2,52,68). It also enables the caller to safely perform self-care at home (6, 72), thus avoiding unnecessary visits and relieving the pressure on healthcare (72). The caller's self-care ability could also be strengthened through a mutual evaluation of self-care effect and symptom development during the monitoring call (30,37,72).…”

“…The nurse supports the caller to empower them in coping with the illness (37,51,58,72). The support can consist of positive feedback that the self-care performed is correct, a calm appearance and emotional con rmation, as well as con rmation of the caller's own decision to seek care (5-6, 33, 35, 51, 58, 72).…”

“…In some cases, a monitoring call (also called a follow-up call) could be necessary. Monitoring the caller may be indicated to observe the course of the disease and to safeguard the initial assessment, especially if there remains some uncertainty regarding the assessment or the choice of intervention (2,5,6,19,41,51,63,66,72). A monitoring call provides an opportunity to re-assess the situation, to ask more questions and give new advice (2,5,6,41,51,63,66,72).…”