Bakgrund: Antalet äldre patienter som söker vård till akutmottagningen har ökat med åren. De flesta sökande av dessa äldre patienter är multisjuka, vilket innebär att de äldre patienterna har minst två sjukdomar. Sjuksköterskor upplever stress och frustration i sitt arbete på akutmottagningen på grund av tidsbrist och brist i kompetenser samt erfarenhet. Syfte: Att beskriva äldre multisjuka patienters upplevelser av att bli vårdade på akutmottagningen. Metod: En systematisk litteraturstudie med beskrivande syntes baserad på 10 kvalitativa vetenskapliga artiklar. Resultat: Resultatdelen presenteras utifrån två teman med sina respektive subteman. Första temat är ”Positiva upplevelser”, som inkluderar två subteman” Att uppleva tillfredsställelse och bli sedd och respekterad” och ” Att uppleva trygghet och tillit”. Andra tema är ”Negativa upplevelser” som inkluderar två subteman ”Att uppleva sig övergiven” och ”Att uppleva brist på trygghet och tillit”. Slutsats: Äldre multisjuka patienter har en stark önskan om att uppleva trygghet och sjuksköterskans närvaro. Att sjukvårdspersonalen är professionella och säkra i sin yrkesroll leder till att äldre patienter känner sig trygga, sedda och respekterade. När sjukvårdspersonalen inte har tillräckliga kunskaper och erfarenheter om de äldre patienternas hälsotillstånd leder det till att de äldre patienterna upplevde sig övergivna, otrygga samt en minskad tillit till sjukvårdspersonalen. / Background: The number of older patients who require and seek the emergency department is increasing every year. Most of them have multiple diseases, which means that the older patients have at least two diseases. The nurses encounter a lot of stress and frustration while working at the emergency department because there is always shortage of time but also because they might have a lack in their knowledge, certain competence skills or experience. Aim: To describe the experiences of older patients with multiple diseases to be cared at the emergency department. Method: A systematic literature study with descriptive synthesis based on 10 qualitative scientific articles. Results: The result is presented based on two themes with two subthemes, respectively. The first theme is "Positive Experiences", which includes two subthemes "Experiencing satisfaction, being seen and respected" and "Experiencing security and trust". The second theme is "Negative Experiences", which includes two subthemes "Experiencing abandonment" and "Experiencing lack of security and trust". Conclusion: Older patients with multiple diseases have a strong desire for staff presence and safety. The fact that healthcare personnel are professional and safe in their occupational role leads to older patients feeling safe, seen and respected. When healthcare personnel do not have sufficient knowledge and experience about the older patients’ health condition, older patients experience abandonment, insecurity and reduced confidence in healthcare personnel.

Akutsjukvården är ofta den första kontakten en patient har vid ett vårdtillfälle och i många fall även den enda kontakten en patient har med sjukvården. Vid ett besök på en akutmottagning kan en patient träffa ett antal olika vårdare av olika yrkeskategorier, vilket resulterar i många möten med många tillfällen till att få ett bra och/eller dåligt bemötande.Syftet med litteraturstudien var att beskriva patienters upplevelse av vårdpersonalens bemötande på akutmottagning. Datainsamlingen skedde genom sökning i tre databaser för att finna material. 15 artiklar kvalitetsgranskades, alla höll medel till hög kvalité. Där efter analyserades de med kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Analysen resulterade i fyra kategorier; “Förväntan att vara i handlingens centrum”, “Att bli lyssnad till av närvarande vårdpersonal”, “Att inte få information och att uppleva ett vacuum” och “Att vara ett objekt i vårdpersonalen ögon och att vara till besvär”. Många patienter upplevde att bemötandet på akutmottagningen var dåligt på grund av brist på information, medan ett gott bemötande upplevdes när vårdpersonal var närvarande och gav patienter möjlighet att berätta sin historia.

A solução de problemas é parte fundamental da manutenção da qualidade e da melhoria contínua. Ao longo dos anos diversos métodos foram desenvolvidos para solucionar problemas, todavia nem todos os métodos são aplicáveis em todos os problemas ou adequados para todos os setores. Caracterizado pelo ambiente em constante mudança, o setor hospitalar possui problemas complexos, cuja solução necessita de uma abordagem adequada e robusta. Dessa forma, o presente trabalho objetiva avaliar o desempenho de três métodos normalmente utilizados para solução de problemas: A3, RCA e FRAM, quando aplicados em ambiente hospitalar. Para esse fim, os três métodos foram aplicados no mesmo processo, de prescrição e medicação, de um hospital universitário. Os resultados das aplicações foram analisados de acordo com os critérios: número total de ações de melhoria propostas, dificuldade de implementação, a possibilidade de replicação das ações entre as unidades do hospital, o tempo necessário para aplicação dos métodos, o número de envolvidos, a necessidade de capacitação da equipe e um indicador de prioridade das ações propostas. Além disso, a percepção dos profissionais da saúde em relação aos métodos foi analisada. Os resultados demonstram que, no contexto avaliado, os métodos apresentaram um bom desempenho, por terem apresentado melhorias que, em média, foram consideradas adequadas pela instituição. / Problem solving is a fundamental part for quality maintenance and continuous improvement. Through the years many methods were developed to solve problems, though these methods do not apply to every problem, or are suitable to every type of activity. Kwon for its constant changing nature, hospitals have complex problems, which need a suitable and robust approach to solve. Thus, the present study has the objective of evaluating the performance of three methods usually used for problem solving: A3, RCA and FRAM, when applied on a hospital. For this, the three methods were applied in the same process, of prescription and medication, in an academic hospital. The results were analyzed accordingly to the following criteria: the total number of improvement actions proposed, implementation difficult, replication possibility along the departments of the hospital, the time needed to apply the methods, the number of people involved, the need of training for the team and an indicator for prioritization. Besides that, the health sector workers’ perception regards the methods was analyzed. The results evidence that, in the studied context, the methods had good performance, because introduced improvements that, on average, were considered suitable for the institution.

A solução de problemas é parte fundamental da manutenção da qualidade e da melhoria contínua. Ao longo dos anos diversos métodos foram desenvolvidos para solucionar problemas, todavia nem todos os métodos são aplicáveis em todos os problemas ou adequados para todos os setores. Caracterizado pelo ambiente em constante mudança, o setor hospitalar possui problemas complexos, cuja solução necessita de uma abordagem adequada e robusta. Dessa forma, o presente trabalho objetiva avaliar o desempenho de três métodos normalmente utilizados para solução de problemas: A3, RCA e FRAM, quando aplicados em ambiente hospitalar. Para esse fim, os três métodos foram aplicados no mesmo processo, de prescrição e medicação, de um hospital universitário. Os resultados das aplicações foram analisados de acordo com os critérios: número total de ações de melhoria propostas, dificuldade de implementação, a possibilidade de replicação das ações entre as unidades do hospital, o tempo necessário para aplicação dos métodos, o número de envolvidos, a necessidade de capacitação da equipe e um indicador de prioridade das ações propostas. Além disso, a percepção dos profissionais da saúde em relação aos métodos foi analisada. Os resultados demonstram que, no contexto avaliado, os métodos apresentaram um bom desempenho, por terem apresentado melhorias que, em média, foram consideradas adequadas pela instituição. / Problem solving is a fundamental part for quality maintenance and continuous improvement. Through the years many methods were developed to solve problems, though these methods do not apply to every problem, or are suitable to every type of activity. Kwon for its constant changing nature, hospitals have complex problems, which need a suitable and robust approach to solve. Thus, the present study has the objective of evaluating the performance of three methods usually used for problem solving: A3, RCA and FRAM, when applied on a hospital. For this, the three methods were applied in the same process, of prescription and medication, in an academic hospital. The results were analyzed accordingly to the following criteria: the total number of improvement actions proposed, implementation difficult, replication possibility along the departments of the hospital, the time needed to apply the methods, the number of people involved, the need of training for the team and an indicator for prioritization. Besides that, the health sector workers’ perception regards the methods was analyzed. The results evidence that, in the studied context, the methods had good performance, because introduced improvements that, on average, were considered suitable for the institution.

Partindo do princípio de que existe a necessidade de padronizar os enfermeiros quanto à avaliação do nível de consciência, em pacientes atendidos no Serviço de Emergência (SE), utilizando a Escala de Coma de Glasgow (ECGl), questiona-se quais as técnicas de ensino-aprendizagem mais adequadas. O presente estudo, limitado a medir a aquisição do conhecimento nessa temática, teve como objetivos analisar duas técnicas de ensino-aprendizagem, sendo uma a de exposição oral com slides e a outra, a leitura dirigida, em enfermeiros que atuam nos SE do município de São Paulo, divididos em dois grupos, com vistas a: caracterizá-los, segundo algumas variáveis sócio-demográficas, de aperfeiçoamento profissional e de utilização da ECGl; mensurar o grau de conhecimento, utilizando um teste de conhecimentos sobre a ECGl, antes de aplicar as duas técnicas; verificar o grau de aquisição de conhecimentos, utilizando o mesmo teste de conhecimentos, após a aplicação das duas técnicas. A coleta de dados foi feita com sorteio prévio dos hospitais selecionados quanto `a técnica a ser aplicada e realizada no final de 1999 e início de 2000. Os enfermeiros dos hospitais sorteados para serem submetidos à exposição oral compuseram o Grupo 1 e à leitura dirigida, o Grupo 2. Nas características dos dois grupos de enfermeiros, verificaram-se diferenças estatisticamente significativas nas variáveis idade, tempo de formado e utilização da ECGl. Os enfermeiros do Grupo 1 eram mais jovens, com faixa etária predominante entre 22 a 25 anos (45,5%), graduados há menos de 4 anos (72,7%) e a grande maioria relatou utilizar a ECGl, às vezes (72,7%). Contrariamente, os enfermeiros do Grupo 2 tinham mais de 31 anos (86,3%) e destes, 40,9%, mais que 41 anos; estavam mais distribuídos quanto ao tempo de formado, sendo que mais da metade tinham se graduado há mais de 5 anos; e, acima de um terço (36,4%) relatou nunca usar a ECGl e 40,9%, às vezes. Homogeneidade nas demais variáveis com preponderância do sexo feminino, e solteiros, graduação em escolas da Grande São Paulo e de tempo de experiência em SE menor que 5 anos e cursos de educação continuada variada e baixa, com exceção do Basic Life Support (BLS), freqüentado por 45,5% dos enfermeiros do Grupo 1. Na mensuração do grau de conhecimento prévio dos enfermeiros, constatou-se, na totalização de pontos, os dois Grupos alcançaram mais de 50% de acertos; aqueles do Grupo 1 totalizaram 273 (62,0%) pontos de acertos de um total de 440 pontos; os do Grupo 2 perfizeram 231 (52,5%) pontos. Em relação à aquisição de conhecimentos, após serem submetidos às duas técnicas de ensino-aprendizagem, verificou-se que o Grupo 1, no global, apresentou incremento estatisticamente significativo da fase pré para a pós do processo e ele foi de 29,8%; obteve altos percentuais de acertos, em várias questões, já na fase pré e incremento de conhecimentos estatisticamente significativo, também, na maioria das questões, principalmente naquelas de aplicação prática. O Grupo 2, embora no global tenha obtido incremento estatisticamente significativo da fase pré para a pós da ordem de 8,2%, ficou inconclusivo devido à ocorrência de um importante fator interveniente, caracterizado como não leitura do texto por parte de 55,0% dos participantes. Contudo, na análise por questão, pode-se constatar que o grupo apresentou acerto em menos da metade (41,0%) das questões, na fase pré, demonstrando a precariedade da base de conhecimentos deste Grupo e a necessidade de sanar essas lacunas. Embora os resultados obtidos apontem para a superioridade da técnica de exposição oral com slides em relação à leitura dirigida, incluindo maior adesão em participar, esta conclusão deve ser interpretada com restrição, visto que a leitura para atualização não demonstrou ser uma atividade do cotidiano desses enfermeiros / Considering the fact that there is the need to standardize nurses in relation to evaluating the level of consciousness in patients attended in emergency department (ED), by making use of the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), one questions which teaching-learning techniques are more adequate. The present study, limited to measuring the acquisition of knowledge regarding this topic, had the objective of analysing two teaching-learning techniques, one of them through lecturing with slides and the other one through guided reading, among nurses working in ED in the city of São Paulo. These nurses were subdivided into two groups aiming at: classifying them in relation to some variables such as their social-demographic status, professional improvement and use of GCS; measuring their level of previous knowledge by giving them a test about GCS, before applying both techniques; verifying the level of knowledge acquisition using the same test, after applying both techniques. Data collection was carried out with previously-selected hospitals drawn in relation to the technique to be applied; this data collection took place between the end of 1999 and beginning of 2000. Group 1 consisted of nurses from the drawn hospitals where lecturing with slides would be applied, whereas Group 2 was involved with guided reading. When analysing both groups of nurses statistically-significant differences in relation to age brackets, how long they had been graduated for and usage of GCS arose. Nurses in Group 1 were younger, mostly between 22 and 25 (45.5%), had been graduated for less than 4 years (72.7%) and in their great majority mentioned using GCS at times (72.7%). In contrast, nurses in Group 2 were over 31 years old (86.3%) and among these, 40.9% were over 41, had been graduated for a wider range of time (more than half for over a five-year´s time), and over one third (36.4%) of the nurses in this group mentioned never using GCS while 40.9% mentioned using it at times. The other variables were more homogeneous, with a predominance of female single nurses coming from schools in Greater São Paulo with an experience at ED of less than 5 years and a variedly-low attendance in continued education courses, except for Basic Life Support (BLS), frequented by 45.5% of the nurses in Group 1. When measuring nurses´level of previous knowledge, during the adding up of points, it was revealed that both groups scored higher than 50% of the correct answers; those in Group 1 reached 273 points (62%) out of 440; those in Group 2 obtained 231 points (52.5%). In relation to knowledge acquisition, after the application of both teaching-learning techniques, it was noticed that Group 1, as a whole, presented a statistically- significant improvement of 29.8% when comparing the fases before and after the process; this group also presented high rates of correct answers in several questions already during the pre-fase and a statistically-significant increase in knowledge as well in most questions, mainly in those related to practical application. Although Group 2 as a whole presented a statistically-significant increase (8.2%), when comparing the fases before and after the process, this group remained inconclusive due to an important intervening factor: 55% of its members did not read the texts. However, when analysing each question, it became clear that less than half of the questions (41%) were correctly answered by over 50% of the members in this group during the pre-fase, a fact which shows the precariousness of their previous knowledge and the need to bridge these gaps. Even though the results obtained in this research point out the superiority of lecturing with slides in relation to guided reading, including nurses higher interest in participating, this conclusion must be interpreted in terms since reading to update knowledge does not seem to be an everyday activity for these nurses

Atrial fibrillation is a common arrhythmia encountered in the emergency department. In the United States, newly diagnosed cases of atrial fibrillation is projected to be 2.6 million cases in 2030 and the annual prevalence of atrial fibrillation is expected to be 12.1 million in 2030 (Colilla et al., 2013). Patients may present to the emergency department for treatment of atrial fibrillation with a variety of symptoms and therefore makes diagnosing atrial fibrillation based on symptomatology challenging for the clinician. The primary goal of this Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) project is to describe symptoms of atrial fibrillation in patients that seek medical treatment in the emergency department. Methods: This descriptive study contains secondary analysis of existing data derived from structured interviews that took place at two academic medical centers. This analysis included 74 patients that presented to the emergency department with symptoms suspected of acute coronary syndrome and were later diagnosed with atrial fibrillation. Descriptive statistics were used to synthesize data, while inferential statistics (bivariate tests) were used to compare symptoms between the age groups. Results: The mean age of subjects was 70 + 13 years, ranging 31 to 92 years. The majority of subjects were men (75.7%) and whites (90.5%). The most common symptoms reported by study subjects included chest discomfort (n = 50; 67.6%), followed by generalized weakness (n = 39; 52.7%) and shortness of breath (n = 39; 52.7%), and palpitations/ funny beating of the heart (n = 36; 48.6%) and unusual fatigue/ tiredness (n = 36; 48.6%). Sweating was the only symptom that was statistically significant in the younger adult group than in the older adult age group. Conclusion: The symptoms identified in this DNP project can be used to aid in identifying patients that present to the emergency with symptomatic atrial fibrillation. Further efforts for the assessment of atrial fibrillation should focus on the dissemination of common although nonspecific symptoms to facilitate the inclusion of atrial fibrillation as part of the differential diagnosis.

Mobile devices are becoming more common in health care and studies show that they can contribute with a lot of benefits. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate what important factors should be considered when designing an application for a tablet computer to be used at an emergency department. The project involved creating a prototype for an application that would be used as a decision support system for doctors when a stroke patient arrives to the emergency department – a case where time and accuracy are both equally important. Research was conducted by doing field studies and interviews, and the results from these helped to develop a prototype. Usability tests were conducted on the prototype and changes were made accordingly. The study showed that there are many important factors to consider; e.g. identifying the workflows, creating a non-linear system and overview support.

Våld mot vårdpersonal är ett aktuellt ämne och ett växande problem världen över. Till akutmottagningen kommer akut svårt sjuka vårdsökande för undersökning och behandling. Sjuksköterskor som arbetar på en akutmottagning jobbar i en utsatt position där våld ofta förekommer och det finns en mängd olika faktorer som bidrar till att våld uppstår. Syftet med denna litteraturöversikt var att studera sjuksköterskors upplevelse av våld på en akutmottagning. En litteraturöversikt av analys av tio vetenskapliga artiklar som var utförda med kvalitativ metod. Artiklarna är publicerade mellan åren 2008-2017 och har bearbetats för att få en inblick i hur sjuksköterskor upplever våld på akutmottagningarna. I detta examensarbete söktes det efter artiklar på ett metodiskt vis i databaserna Cinahl och Medline. Dataanalysen mynnade ut i fyra huvudteman: “Rädsla och oro”, “Maktlöshet och frustration”, “En del av jobbet” och “ Försämrade (vård)relationer” som presenteras i resultatet. Litteraturöversikten visar slutligen att sjuksköterskor upplever en påverkan på både inställning till arbetet men även på sociala relationer samt en försämrad kvalitet på omvårdnadsarbetet. / Violence against healthcare workers is a current issue and a growing problem all over the world. Patients with acute and severe illness goes to the emergency department, ED, to seek treatment. Nurses working in the ED are in a vulnerable position where violence has a high prevalence and is often present at the ED. There are a variety of factors that contributes to the emergence of violence. Thus the aim of this literature review was to explore the nurse's perception of violence in the ED. A literature review of analysis of ten scientific articles carried out with qualitative method. The articles are published between 2008-2017 and have been processed to gain an insight into how nurses experience violence at ED. Furthermore the search for articles in this literature review was conducted in a methodical way and extracted from the two databases Cinahl and Medline. The data analysis resulted in four main themes: "Fear and worriness", "Powerlessness and frustration", "A part of the job" and "A deterioration in relations" presented in the result. This literature review shows that nurses experience a variety of things and feelings when they are exposed to violence and these experiences leads to an impact on both the personal attitude towards the work, but also has an effect on the social relationships and the quality of the patient related work.

Bakgrund: Den psykiska ohälsan ökar bland befolkningen och är idag ett omfattande och allvarligt folkhälsoproblem i världen. I omvårdnaden kring en patient med psykisk ohälsa är det viktigt att det första mötet mellan sjuksköterska och patienter präglas av att patienten kan känna tillit och hopp gentemot sjuksköterskan. Det är vanligt att en patient med psykisk ohälsas första möte med vården är på akutmottagningar. Akutmottagningar har ett arbetssätt med ett högt tempo som kan göra det svårt för sjuksköterskan att avsätta tid för att hinna bygga upp en relation till patienten samt att omvårdnaden är olik omvårdnaden inom den psykiatriska vården. Syfte: Att beskriva sjuksköterskors erfarenheter kring omvårdnad av patienter med psykisk ohälsa på akutmottagningar. Metod: Studien är en litteraturöversikt. Resultat: Det framkom fem teman i resultatet som hade betydelse för sjuksköterskornas erfarenheter, vilka var: miljö, tid, attityder, kommunikation samt kunskap och utbildning. Resultatet visade att en brådskande miljö ansågs vara opassande för omvårdnaden av patienter med psykisk ohälsa. Vidare visade resultatet att en tidsbrist och kunskapsbrist hos sjuksköterskorna påverkade kommunikationen och attityderna gentemot dess patienter. Slutsats: Litteraturöversikten visar på att sjuksköterskor erfor brister i gällande omvårdnad av patienter med psykisk ohälsa på akutmottagningar. / Background : Mental illness is increasing among the population and is today an extensive and serious public health problem. In nursing a patient with mental illness, it’s important that the nurse's first meeting with the patient is characterized by the patient being able to feel trust and hope towards the nurse. It is common for a patient with mental illness to have their first meeting within healthcare in the emergency department. The emergency department has a high rate of work that can make it difficult for the nurse to set aside time to build a relationship with the patient and the nursing requirements are different from nursing in psychiatric care. Aim: To describe nurses' experience in nursing patients with mental illness in the emergency department. Method: A literature review. Finding: There were five themes that had significance for the nurses' experiences: environment, time, attitudes, communication, knowledge and education. The findings showed that a busy environment was considered unsuitable for the care of patients. Furthermore, the results showed that a lack of time and lack of nurse’s knowledge affected communication and attitudes towards their patients. Conclusion: The literature review shows that nurses requires shortcomings in nursing patients with mental illness in emergency departments.

Successful triage is the basis for sound emergency department (ED) care, whereas unsuccessful triage could result in adverse outcomes. ED triage is a rather unexplored area in the Swedish health care system. This thesis contributes to our understanding of this complex nursing task. The main focus of this study has been on the organisation, performance, and decision making in Swedish ED triage. Specific aims were to describe the Swedish ED triage context, describe and compare registered nurses’ (RNs) allocation of acuity ratings, use of thinking strategies and the way they structure the ED triage process. In this descriptive, comparative, and correlative research project quantitative and qualitative data were collected using telephone interviews, patient scenarios and think aloud method. Both convenience and purposeful sampling were used when identifying the participating 69 nurse managers and 423 RNs from various types of hospital-based EDs throughout the country. The results showed national variation, both in the way triage was organised and in the way it was conducted. From an organisational perspective, the variation emerged in several areas: the use of various triageurs, designated triage nurses, and triage scales. Variation was also noted in the accuracy and concordance of allocated acuity ratings. Statistical methods provided limited explanations for these variations, suggesting that RNs’ clinical experience might have some affect on the RNs’ triage accuracy. The project identified several thinking strategies used by the RNs, indicating that the RNs, amongst other things, searched for additional information, generated hypotheses about the fictitious patients and provided explanations for the interventions chosen. The RNs formed relationships between their interventions and the fictitious patients’ symptoms. The RNs structured the triage process in several ways, beginning the process by searching for information, generating hypotheses, or allocating acuity ratings. Comparison of RNs’ use of thinking strategies and the structure of the triage process based on triage accuracy revealed only slight differences. The findings in this dissertation indicate that the way a patient is triaged, and by whom, depends upon the particular organisation of the ED. Moreover, the large variation in RNs triage accuracy and the inter-rater agreement and concordance of the allocated acuity ratings suggest that the acuity rating allocated to a patient may vary considerably, depending on who does the allocation. That neither clinical experience nor the RNs’ decision-making processes alone can explain the variations in the RNs triage accuracy indicates that accuracy might be influenced by individual and contextual factors. Future studies investigating triage accuracy are recommended to be carried out in natural settings. In conclusion, Swedish ED triage is permeated by diversity, both in its organisation and in its performance. The reasons for these variations are not well understood.