Emergency department (ED) crowding is a patient safety concern that has been increasing for more than a decade. Increased visits have resulted in ED crowding, longer wait times, ambulance diversions, and boarding of admitted patients (Hing & Bhuiya, 2012). Numerous factors affect ED crowding. Once various extraneous issues are resolved and a bed is available for a patient, it becomes the responsibility of nurses across unit boundaries to coordinate the patient transfer. This study applies Relational Coordination Theory (RCT) as a framework to provide nurses insight into the relational aspects of their work in the transfer of ED patients to inpatient beds. Relational coordination is a mutually reinforcing process of interaction between communication and relationships that is carried out for the purpose of task interaction. It is useful for coordinating work that is highly interdependent, uncertain, and time constrained (Gittell, 2002). Nurses work during ED transfers requires task interaction as they coordinate their efforts. This study, guided by RCT, will examine relational and communication dynamics among nurses within their own units and across unit boundaries as they interact during ED transfers. A cross-sectional, descriptive design will explore the seven dimensions of Relational Coordination (RC) during ED admissions and explain nurses relational and communication dimensions that may influence ED boarding times. The results of this study provide new information and a sound theoretical model on which to base future research.

In-patient deterioration is a global phenomena and timely recognition and action improves outcome. Intensive care facilities are scarce and expensive and therefore patient care must be optimal. A retrospective health record analysis was used for this study. The findings indicated that nursing personnel do not recognize patient deterioration timeuously. However, the implementation of an outreach team and clinical markers training program improved the recognition of patient deterioration in general wards with three hours and 40 minutes. It is recommended to implement a comprehensive hospital program that addresses the basic knowledge and skills of general ward personnel to observe, recognize, assess and intervene to patients with clinical deterioration. Together with an extensive training program, a basic physiological parameters guideline to activate a team of experts to the bedside, such as an Outreach team, assist nursing personnel to recognize and manage those patients timeuously and ensure treatment in an appropriate level of care. / Health Studies / M. A. (Health studies)

Introduktion: Clostridium difficile är en bakterie som bildar tåliga sporer som kan överleva länge i sjukhusmiljön trots goda rutiner. De flesta Clostridium difficile-infektioner (CDI) är sjukhusförvärvade. Att tarmen koloniseras av sporer eller bakterier är en förutsättning för infektion, risken att sedan insjukna beror på tarmflorans och immunförsvarets tillstånd. I modern sjukvård sker regelmässigt patientomflyttningar inom och mellan avdelningar, vilket gör att patienten exponeras mot en större del av sjukhusmiljön där C. difficile-sporer kan finnas. Syfte: Att undersöka om byte av vårdplats inom och/eller mellan avdelningar är en riskfaktor för att insjukna i CDI när hänsyn tas till andra kända riskfaktorer. Metod: En fall-kontroll-studie på alla sjukhusförvärvade fall hos vuxna på Södra Älvsborgs Sjukhus i Borås under två år, 2012 och 2015. Beräkning av odds ratio med univariat logistisk regression följt av multivariat logistisk regression för statistiskt signifikanta variabler. Resultat: Vårdplatsbyten var inte vanligare i fallgruppen när hänsyn togs till övriga riskfaktorer. I den multivariata modellen var vårdtid innan provtagning den enda variabel som utföll statistiskt signifikant (OR per vårddygn: 1,07, konfidensintervall: 1,02–1,12). Slutsats: Studien kunde inte påvisa att vårdplatsbyten är en oberoende riskfaktor för CDI, men att genomföra undersökningen på ett större studiematerial kan vara av värde. / Introduction: Clostridium difficile is a spore-forming bacterium; the spores are highly resilient and can survive for long periods of time in the hospital environment. Most Clostridium difficile infections (CDI) are hospital-acquired. Colonization of spores or vegetative bacteria in the large intestine is necessary for infection to occur; the risk of infection is modulated by the state of the intestinal microbiome and the host´s immune status. Patient-to-patient transmission within and between wards are commonplace in modern healthcare, exposing patients to more of the hospital environment where spores may exist. Aim: To determine whether changing room and/or ward is a risk factor for developing CDI when adjusted for other known risk factors. Method: A case-control study of all hospital-acquired CDI cases at Södra Älvsborg Hospital, Borås, Sweden, during two years: 2012 and 2015. Odds ratios were calculated using univariate logistic regression analysis followed by multivariate logistic regression analysis to evaluate statistically significant (p<0,05) variables identified by the univariate analysis. Results: Patient transfers were not more common in the case group when data was adjusted for other known risk factors. In the multivariate model, length of stay [A1] alone was the only statistically significant variable (OR per additional day of care: 1.07, 95 % confidence interval: 1.02-1.12). Conclusion: The study could not demonstrate patient transfers as an independent risk factor for CDI, though replicating the study on a larger patient sample might be valuable.

In-patient deterioration is a global phenomena and timely recognition and action improves outcome. Intensive care facilities are scarce and expensive and therefore patient care must be optimal. A retrospective health record analysis was used for this study. The findings indicated that nursing personnel do not recognize patient deterioration timeuously. However, the implementation of an outreach team and clinical markers training program improved the recognition of patient deterioration in general wards with three hours and 40 minutes. It is recommended to implement a comprehensive hospital program that addresses the basic knowledge and skills of general ward personnel to observe, recognize, assess and intervene to patients with clinical deterioration. Together with an extensive training program, a basic physiological parameters guideline to activate a team of experts to the bedside, such as an Outreach team, assist nursing personnel to recognize and manage those patients timeuously and ensure treatment in an appropriate level of care. / Health Studies / M. A. (Health studies)

Bakgrund: Överflyttningar mellan intensivvårdsavdelningar kan leda till negativa konsekvenser för patienten så som minskad patientsäkerhet och försämring under själva transporten med förlängd vårdtid som följd. När resurserna på en intensivvårdsavdelning överstigs kan det bli nödvändigt att överflytta patienter mellan intensivvårdsavdelningarna trots de kända riskerna. Syfte: Syftet med studien var att undersöka intensivvårdssjuksköterskors förhållningssätt till patientöverflyttningar på grund av resursbrist. Metod: En fokusgruppsintervju på en specialistintensivvårdsenhet i Mellansverige genomfördes. En induktiv kvalitativ innehållsanalys användes vid bearbetning av textmaterialet. Resultat: Intensivvårdssjuksköterskornas förhållningssätt kunde kategoriseras i tre domäner: yrkesroll, känslor samt rationell inställning. Dessa tre domäner utgjorde ett tema: Professionellt och känslomässigt förhållningssätt. Konklusion: Intensivvårdssjuksköterskorna har med hjälp av sin yrkeserfarenhet funnit både ett professionellt och känslomässigt förhållningssätt som hjälper dem att hantera etiska dilemman och moralisk stress vid patientöverflyttningar på grund av resursbrist. Intensivvårdssjuksköterskans professionella och känslomässiga förhållningssätt vid patientöverflyttningar på grund av resursbrist påverkas av deras yrkesroll, känslor och rationella inställning. / Background: Transfers between intensive care units can cause negative consequences for the patient, such as decreased patient safety and deterioration during the transport, which leads to a longer time of treatment. When the resources at an intensive care unit are exceeded it may be necessary to transfer patients between the units although the risks are known. Aim: The aim of this study was to examine the approach of critical care nurses towards patient transfers due to lack of resources. Method: Focus group interview at a special intensive care unit was conducted in Central Sweden. Six critical care nurses with at least two years’ experience were included in the study. An inductive qualitative contents analysis was used during material editing. Result: The critical care nurses approach was identified in three domains: profession, emotions and rational attitude. These three domains formed a theme: A professional and emotional approach. Conclusion: Critical care nurses have found with their professional experience a professional and emotional approach that helps them to manage ethical dilemmas and moral distress of patient transfers due to lack of resources. Critical care nurses’ ´professional and emotional approach of patient transfers due to lack of resources are led by their profession, emotions and rational attitude.

The spread of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and multi-drug resistance in healthcare networks is a major public health issue. Evaluating the role of inter-facility patient transfers that form the structure of these networks may provide insights on novel infection control measures. Identifying novel infection control strategies is especially important for multi-drug resistant pathogens such as Carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE) due to limited treatment options. The increasing use of inter-individual contact and inter-facility transfer network data in mathematical modelling of HAI spread has helped these models become more realistic; however, they remain limited to a few settings and pathogens. The main objectives of this thesis were two-fold: 1) to better understand the structure of the healthcare networks of France and their impact on HAI spread dynamics; and 2) to assess the role of transfers on the spread of CPE in France during the 2012 to 2015 period. The French healthcare networks are characterized by centralized patient flows towards hubs hospitals and a two-tier community clustering structure. We also found that networks of patients with HAIs form the same underlying structure as that of the general patient population. The number of CPE episodes have increased over time in France and projections estimate that the number of monthly episodes could continue to increase with seasonal peaks in October. The general patient network was used to show that, since 2012, patient transfers have played an increasingly important role over time in the spread of CPE in France. Multiple spreading events of CPE linked to patient transfers were also observed. Despite subtle differences in the flows of patients with an HAI and the general patient population, the general patient network may best inform novel infection control measures for pathogen spread. The structure of healthcare networks may help serve as a basis for novel infection control strategies to tackle HAIs in general but also CPE in particular. Key healthcare hubs in large metropoles and key patient flows connecting hospital communities at the local and regional level should be considered in the development of coordinated regional strategies to control pathogen spread in healthcare systems. / La propagation des infections nosocomiales (IN), notamment liées aux bactéries multi-résistantes, au sein du réseau des hôpitaux, est un grand enjeu de santé publique. L’évaluation du rôle joué par les transferts inter-établissements des patients sur cette propagation pourrait permettre l’élaboration de nouvelles mesures de contrôle. L’identification de nouvelles mesures de contrôle est particulièrement importante pour les bactéries résistantes aux antibiotiques comme les entérobactéries productrices de carbapenemase (EPC) pour lesquelles les possibilités de traitement sont très limitées. L’utilisation des données de réseaux de contact inter-individus et de transferts inter-établissement dans la modélisation mathématique ont rendu ces modèles plus proches de la réalité. Toutefois, ces derniers restent limités à quelques milieux hospitaliers et quelques pathogènes. La thèse a eu pour objectifs de 1) mieux comprendre la structure des réseaux hospitaliers français et leur impact sur la propagation des IN ; et 2) évaluer le rôle des transferts sur la propagation des EPC.Les réseaux hospitaliers français sont caractérisés par des flux de patients vers des hubs et par deux niveaux de communautés des hôpitaux. La structure du réseau de transfert des patients présentant une IN n’est pas différente de celle du réseau général de transfert des patients. Au cours des dernières années, le nombre d’épisode d’EPC a augmenté en France et les prédictions prévoient une poursuite de cette augmentation, avec des pics de saisonnalité en octobre. Ce travail a également montré que, depuis 2012, les transferts de patients jouent avec les années un rôle de plus en plus important sur la diffusion des EPC en France. Des évènements de propagation multiple liée aux transferts sont également de plus en plus souvent observés.En conséquence, la structure du réseau des hôpitaux pourrait servir de base pour la proposition des nouvelles stratégies de contrôles des IN en général, et des EPC en particulier. Les hôpitaux très connectés des grandes métropoles et les flux des patients entre les communautés locale et régionale doivent être considérés pour le développement de mesures de contrôle coordonnées entre établissements de santé.