ISBAR: A Handover Nursing Strategy in Emergency Departments, Scoping Review

The present work aims to map the available scientific evidence on the benefits of using the ISBAR tool in the nursing care of acutely ill adult patients' handover in an emergency department context. To this end, a scoping review was conducted, according to the guidelines proposed by the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI), to answer the following research question: "What are the benefits of using the ISBAR tool in the nursing care of acutely ill adult patients' handover in an emergency department context?" The bibliographic search was carried out during August and September 2023 in the following electronic databases: CINAHL Complete; MEDLINE Complete; Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials; Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews; and Cochrane Methodology Register. Only works published between 2013 and 2023 were deemed fit for inclusion. All the included studies (9) show that ISBAR methodology, as a standardized tool for transferring nursing care in the emergency service, allows for a safe, clear, and concise transition of nursing care. The benefits relate to patient and professional safety, continuity, and quality of care, as well as patient and professional comfort, with health gains.

Effects of the physical environment on children and families in hospital-based emergency departments: A systematic literature review

Every year, millions of children seek care in emergency departments (EDs) for various conditions. Though the physical environment of the ED provides the context and setting for care delivery, influences workflows, and shapes interactions between users, the noisy, sterile, stimulating nature of the ED can be counter-therapeutic to pediatric patients and families. This systematic literature review investigates this complex dynamic and asks how the physical environment of emergency departments affects children and their families or guardians. Using PRISMA methods, this review searched four databases to identify and analyze twenty-one peer-reviewed articles that explored the impacts of the physical environment of hospital-based EDs on children or family members. Several themes emerged from the literature - concerning control, positive distractions, family and social supports, and designing for a safe and comfortable experience - that illustrate opportunities for future ED design and highlight knowledge gaps and avenues for future research.

Use of “Finding Cards” to Improve Relative Experience on Arrival at an Emergency Department

This report describes introducing “Finding Cards” as a solution to improve relatives’ experience. Arriving at an emergency department (ED) can feel daunting for relatives. The simple bespoke Finding Card is handed to the relative on arrival. The card can help relatives feel less overwhelmed when attempting to find their family member who is a patient within one of many subsections of the ED. The card helps the relative remember the patient location, it reassures and gives confidence that help will be available if they become lost, it empowers relatives to approach any staff member for help, it supports relatives to feel at ease. The Finding Card enables clinical staff to immediately know the location any lost relative is trying to find, minimizes the length of interruptions to health professionals, improving patient safety. This simple, cost-effective tool to improve relatives’ experience and limit interruptions, could easily be replicated in large EDs.

The effect of informational support on anxiety and satisfaction among patients' family members in the emergency room using path analysis

This study was to determine the direct and indirect effect of informational support on the levels of anxiety and satisfaction of patients' family members in the ER. A cross-sectional design was used involving 74 family members of patients in an ER. The respondents were selected by way of a purposive sampling technique. The study employed the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HARS) and a satisfaction questionnaire to collect data. Path analysis was performed on the data analysis. The study findings show that informational support has a more direct (β=0.599) than the indirect effect (β=0.084) on family satisfaction. The results also reveal that informational support has a significant effect on the anxiety score and satisfaction of a patient's family members (p<0.05). The quality and the quantity of informational support affects the levels of anxiety and satisfaction experienced by the family of a patient in the ER.