Emergency department (ED) use for behavioral-health-associated diagnoses has steadily increased in adult and pediatric populations, accounting for 1 out of every 8 ED visits. The increase in pediatric behavioral health ED visits, combined with limited resources for treatment, has created a challenge for EDs faced with extended boarding and constant observation of this population. The generalized behavioral health guidelines used at the practice site have not been adapted for the pediatric population. This project focused on providing age- and developmentally appropriate best practice guidelines for children under constant observation in the children's emergency department (CED) using Havelock's theory of planned change as the framework. Practice in the CED was compared to best practice recommendations identified in the literature and community standards including workflow, defined roles and responsibilities, addressing the needs of the parent/guardians, and defined outcomes. These best practices were incorporated in a guideline developed to provide age- and developmentally appropriate recommendations. An expert panel comprising the behavioral health nurse manager and children's emergency department nurse manager reviewed the guideline using the AGREE II tool, and the guideline was revised based on the composite results from the 6 domains in the AGREE II tool. Based on these composite results and panel feedback, domain 5 was revised to include an auditing and monitoring plan. In addition to improving the safety and care for the CED patient population, this project also serves to increase awareness of the topic while emphasizing on the need for additional research and evidence-based practice focused on pediatric behavioral health patients.

Excerpt: The study by Doyle et al1 concluded that “Implementing rapid triage and fast track guidelines can affect nurse-sensitive patient outcomes related to safety and care delivery in a pediatric emergency department,” but the support for the conclusions was weak because of 2 shortcomings: (1) the authors did not use a side-by-side control group, and (2) the findings can be explained by the Hawthorne effect.

SAMMANFATTNING  Syfte Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka anledningen till att vissa familjer väljer att söka akutsjukvård till sina barn istället för att vända sig till andra vårdinstanser.  Metod En enkät utformades för studien. Enkäten delades ut till familjer som sökte för icke akuta åkommor på en barnakutmottagning i Uppsala län. Studien pågick under en tolvdagarsperiod och avslutades när 80 familjer besvarat enkäten. Frågorna bearbetades med hjälp av beskrivande statistik samt chi2-test.  Resultat Den huvudsakliga anledningen till att man valde att söka på barnakutmottagningen var att man telefonledes blivit hänvisad av annan vårdinstans (73,8%). Av de familjer som varit i kontakt med annan vårdinstans hade 70% hänvisats via sjukvårdsrådgivningen/1177.De vanligaste åkommorna som det söktes för var andningsbesvär, luftvägsinfektioner och bukbesvär. Någon skillnad i sökmönster beroende på demografiska faktorer kunde inte urskiljas.  Slutsats Studien visade att anledningen till att familjer sökte akutsjukvård för icke akuta åkommor i mycket stor grad berodde på att man hänvisats till barnakutmottagningen av annan vårdinstans. Det är således inte familjernas intention att söka akut i första hand utan systemets utformning som styr familjerna till barnakutmottagningen. / ABSTRACT  Aim The aim was to evaluate why families visited the pediatric emergency department with non-acute conditions instead of seeking other healthcare providers.  Method A questionnaire was constructed and distributed to families that visited a pediatric emergency department in Uppsala county. The study was terminated after twelve days. 80 families were included. The results were evaluated with descriptive statistics as well as Chi2-test.  Results The most common reason (73,8%) for visiting the pediatric emergency department was that the families had been instructed by phone to do so by another health care provider. Of the families that had been referred by another health care provider 70% had been referred by the ”Sjukvårdsrådgiving/1177”. The most common reasons for the visit were troubles with breathing, upper air way infection and abdominal problems. There were no discernable differences in the visiting patterns due to demographic differences.  Conclusion The study shows that the reason that families visited the pediatric emergency department for for non-acute conditions to a large degree was that they had been recommended to do so by another health care provider. It is thus not the families own intention to primarily visit the pediatric emergency department but the health care system channels them there.

BACKGROUND: One in ten sexually active adolescents in the United States become pregnant each year. Significant differences in unintended pregnancy and use of long-acting reversible contraceptive (LARC) methods: the sub-dermal implant, the copper intrauterine device (IUD) and hormonal IUDs, exist between socioeconomic strata as well as ethnic and racial groups. Women using LARC are 20 times less likely to experience a pregnancy than women using short-acting reversible methods. Thus, LARCs present a major opportunity for the prevention of unintended pregnancy. PURPOSE: Characterize contraceptive use, demographics, and behavioral characteristics of a novel population: young women presenting to an urban Pediatric Emergency Department (PED) in order to better understand the contraceptive needs of this population. METHODS: We characterized the current LARC usage. Using an anonymous paper-based questionnaire, we surveyed women ages 16-21 years regardless of chief complaint presenting to our PED regarding their demographics, health care access, sexual history, and history of contraceptive use. We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of demographic characteristics for current LARC and non-LARC users (n=331) using chi-squared for categorical variables and student's t-test for continuous variables. RESULTS: No significant differences were found between women currently using LARC and those not using LARC, however current LARC usage in our population was 15.8%, about three times that documented in the most recent national studies conducted in 2013. CONCLUSION: Current LARC use is particularly high in our urban PED setting. More research is necessary to determine if this is part of a larger national trend or if the early implementation of no-cost contraception in Massachusetts and changes in provider or patient attitudes towards LARC may explain the large observed difference in LARC usage.

Bakgrund: Barntriage är komplext och kräver noggrannhet för att kunna fatta korrekta beslut. På en barnakutmottagning innebär det för sjuksköterskan att bedöma och prioritera vilket barn som är i störst behov av vård och vem som kan vänta. Det ställer krav på sjuksköterskan att vara trygg i sin yrkesroll för att självständigt fatta kliniska beslut och vidta lämpliga åtgärder. Syfte: Att beskriva hur sjuksköterskor upplevde triagering av barn och ungdomar på en barnakutmottagning. Metod: Utifrån studiens syfte valdes en kvalitativ metod med induktiv ansats. Åtta sjuksköterskor intervjuades utifrån en semistrukturerade intervjuguide. Intervjuerna analyserades genom kvalitativ innehållsanalys vilket resulterade i fyra huvudkategorier med åtta underkategorier. Resultat: Resultatet presenterades utifrån fyra huvudkategorier med underkategorier. Huvudkategorierna var, Sjuksköterskans strategier för att hantera familjer vid triage, Professionens utmaningar och erfarenheter av triagering, Sjuksköterskans stöd vid triagebedömning, Organisationens inverkan på triageprocessen. Konklusion: Resultatets viktigaste aspekter för en optimal triagering var erfarenhet, klinisk blick och kompetens samt att inkludera familjen. Vidare forskning kring barncentrerad vård inom akutsjukvården är av intresse. Barnsjuksköterskans specialistkompetens är viktig för att erhålla ökad kunskap inom triage. / Background: Triage of children is complex and requires accuracy in order to make the right decision. At a pediatric emergency department, the nurse has to assess and prioritize which child is in greatest need of care and who can wait. It requires the nurse to be confident in her professional role in order to make clinical decisions independently and take appropriate measures. Aim: To describe how nurses experience triage of children and adolescents in a pediatric emergency department. Method: Based on the aim of the study, a qualitative method with an inductive approach were chosen. Eight nurses were interviewed with semi-structured interviews. The interviews were analyzed through qualitative content analysis, which resulted in four main categories with eight subcategories. Results: The results were presented based on four main categories with subcategories. The main categories were, The Nurse's strategies for managing families in triage, The profession's challenges and experiences of triage, The nurse's support in triage assessment, The organization's impact on the triage process. Conclusion: The most important aspects for optimal triage were experience, clinical perspective and competence as well as including the family. Further research on child-centered care in emergency care is of interest. The competence of the pediatric nurse specialist is important for obtaining increased knowledge in triage.

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The pediatric emergency department (PED) provides a unique environment to consider ethical issues faced in modern healthcare. Using a combination of personal reflections and a review of current literature, ethics within the PED is explored as it pertains to four categories: informed consent, health literacy, language barrier, and implicit bias. Parental consent is generally required for pediatric care, but there are exceptions encountered in the PED. Although children typically cannot provide consent, soliciting assent respects their autonomy and maturing cognitive development. Limited health literacy is a prominent issue in the U. S., yet healthcare information continues to be delivered in ways that do not adequately account for this. Change will necessitate creative solutions and reorientation to a focus on health equity and justice. Physician implicit bias may be related to a patient’s negative behaviors or inherent characteristics (e.g. race), and can result in adverse health outcomes for affected children. Physicians should confront their subconscious biases through introspection, open discussion, and implicit-bias training. Access to healthcare information in one’s native language is a basic human right protected by law. Use of qualified medical interpreters can alleviate disparities faced by patients with limited English proficiency, but may be underutilized in the PED. / Urban Bioethics

Influenza is a highly contagious respiratory virus that can cause very severe health complications in people, and can be especially dangerous for young children. The peak influenza season occurs in the winter months with February usually being the month with the highest number of reported infections. As the virus can cause serious illness, pediatric institutions during the winter months see a very large number of patients who have influenza or influenza related complications. Pediatric Emergency Departments (ED) similarly see a dramatic increase in the number of patients who visit the ED during the winter influenza season. Therefore, it is important that pediatric EDs develop ways to handle the increased patient population while still maintaining quality care to the rest of the ED. Thus, a novel influenza clinic run entirely by non-ED Nurse Practitioners (NP) was implemented into the operations of the ED as an annexed clinic in February 2013 during the winter influenza season. The clinic was beneficial in improving the average quality measures of the ED against similar days without the influenza clinic, lowering the average length of stay (LOS) by 24 minutes (13% decrease) and lowering the left without being seen rates (LWBS) by 1.35% (3 fewer patients on average). In addition, using NPs instead of higher cost physicians dramatically lowered the cost of the clinic by nearly half. While the influenza clinic was beneficial in lowering the average LOS and LWBS rates against similar days without the clinic the data did not reach statistical significance, perhaps due to the small amount of data available. The results, despite the statistical insignificance, show a promising future in addition of an NP run influenza clinic to handle the increased patient population during the winter influenza season.

Bakgrund: Besöken på akutmottagningar för barn i Sverige ökar hela tiden. För att möta detta har allt fler sjukhus börjat använda sig av sjuksköterskebesök. Syfte: Att beskriva barnsjuksköterskans erfarenhet av att självständigt bedöma och behandla sjuka barn på en akutmottagning. Metod: En kvalitativ intervjustudie med induktivt förhållningssätt. Urvalet bestod av elva barnsjuksköterskor med erfarenhet av sjuksköterskebesök. Materialet analyserades med manifest innehållsanalys. Resultat: Barnsjuksköterskans erfarenhet av sjuksköterskebesök visade sig vara positiva. Hen ansåg att sjuksköterskebesök innebar att arbetet blev mer stimulerande och utvecklande. Barnsjuksköterskan hade en betydande uppgift i att barnen kom till rätt vårdnivå både för barnets bästa och för att verksamheten skulle fungera på ett bra sätt. Det fanns potential och vilja att utveckla sjuksköterskebesök på akutmottagning för barn. Slutsats: Sjuksköterskebesök är positivt för barnsjuksköterskan, för att det bidrar till att barnsjuksköterskan utvecklas i sin profession vilket i sin tur skapar arbetsglädje. På grund av sjuksköterskebesök kan barnen som inte är i behov av en läkarbedömning få hjälp snabbare vilket leder till kortare väntetider på akutmottagningarna. / Background: Visits in the Swedish emergency units for children are increasing. In order to meet this, more and more hospitals are using nurse-led consultations. Aim: The purpose of this study was to describe the pediatric nurse´s experience of independently assess and treat children in the emergency department for children. Method: A qualitative interview study with inductive approach. The sample consisted of eleven pediatric nurses with experience of nursing visits. The material was analyzed with manifest content analysis. Results: The pediatric nurse´s experience of nurse-led consultation turned out to be positive. He/she considered that nurse-led consultations meant that the work became more stimulating, interesting and developing. The pediatric nurse had a significant task in that the children reached the right level of care both for the child's best interests and the activities. There was potential and willingness to develop nurse-led consultations to the emergency department for children. Conclusion: Nursing visits are positive for the pediatric nurse, because they contribute to the pediatric nurse developing in her profession, which in turn creates job satisfaction. Due to nurse visits, children who do not need a medical assessment can get help more quickly, which leads to shorter waiting times in the emergency department. In addition, the business benefits as nurse visits are more cost-effective.

Die Versorgung von Kindernotaufnahmen geht für Kinder und Angehörige in vielen Fällen mit einem hohen Angst- und Stressempfinden einher. Die vorliegende Arbeit dient der Ermittlung von evidenzbasierten baulichen, Maßnahmen, die das Stress- und Angstempfinden von Kindern und ihren Angehörigen in Wartebereichen von Kindernotaufnahmen reduzieren können. Anschließend an eine systematische Literaturrecherche wurden Handlungsempfehlungen für den architektonischen Entwurf formuliert. Der Einsatz von farbigen Beleuchtungskonzepten und Multisensorik in der Innenarchitektur ist durch Studien belegt, jedoch besteht dabei noch weiterer Forschungsbedarf bezüglich Effekten auf pädiatrische Patient:innen.