Healthcare staff experiences on the impact of COVID-19 on emergency departments: a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on the access and delivery of healthcare services, posing unprecedented challenges to healthcare staff worldwide. Frontline healthcare staff faced unique stressors and challenges that impact their well-being and patient care. This qualitative study aimed to explore the experiences and perspectives of frontline ED healthcare staff on emergency care services during the COVID-19 pandemic, providing valuable insights into the challenges, adaptations, and lessons learned in delivering emergency care. METHODS: This study utilized a qualitative approach. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 30 ED healthcare staff from three different hospitals located in Turkey between 15/03/2022 and 30/04/2022. Convenience sampling was used to recruit participants. The duration of the interviews ranged from 28 to 37 min. Data saturation was reached as no new information was gathered. The data were analyzed using the thematic analysis method. NVivo software was used to manage the data analysis process. Member check was carried out to ensure that the generated themes conformed to the participants' views. RESULTS: 15 sub-themes under three themes emerged: (1) the impact of COVID-19 on emergency care services, including sub-themes of "introducing a COVID-19 unit in the ED", "changes in the routine functioning of EDs", "changes in the number of ED visits", "quality of care", "resources", and "increased workload"; (2) the psychological effects of COVID-19 on ED healthcare staff, including sub-themes of "staying away from family", "fear", "society's perspective on healthcare professionals", "morale-staff burnout", "psychological and emotional effects", and "unable to receive sufficient support"; and (3) the difficulties faced by ED healthcare staff, including sub-themes of "difficult working conditions", "community-based effects difficulties", and "COVID-19 is an unknown situation". CONCLUSION: Staff burnout threatens the quality of patient care and staff retention, and therefore this should be addressed by ED directors and leaders. This study could inform appropriate stakeholders regarding lessons learned from COVID-19 to better manage future pandemics. Learning from such lived experiences and developing appropriate interventions to minimize the difficulties faced during COVID-19 would allow better management of future pandemics. This study calls for a reform to address the challenges faced by healthcare staff, improve the overall response to public health crises, and enhance the resilience of healthcare systems for future crises.

A Cross-Sectional Study of Emergency Care Services During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Multicenter Study of Healthcare Staff Perspectives.

INTRODUCTION: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has significantly impacted various aspects of healthcare services, including emergency care services. Healthcare staff face mental issues and physical exertion when caring for patients potentially infected with COVID-19. Understanding the experiences and perspectives of emergency department (ED) healthcare staff during the COVID-19 pandemic is essential to inform evidence-based interventions and strategies to mitigate the impact on emergency care services. This study aims to investigate the experiences of ED healthcare staff regarding emergency care services during the COVID-19 pandemic, thus providing valuable insights into the challenges faced. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study utilized a cross-sectional study design. Data were collected from 256 ED healthcare staff working in nine different hospitals located in Turkey between November 15, 2021, and December 30, 2021. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. RESULTS: A total of 256 participants were included in the study. Of the participants, 58.6% were nurses, 19.5% were ED doctors, and 21.9% were emergency medical technicians. In addition, 67.2% of the participants were infected with COVID-19, and almost all of them (94.1%) were psychologically affected by the pandemic process. It was found that 85.2% of ED healthcare staff felt excluded by society due to being healthcare staff and 71.9% had to be separated from their families. Nurses were separated from their families at the highest rate (78%) during this period. CONCLUSION: More than half of the ED healthcare staff had problems accessing protective equipment and were separated from their families during the pandemic due to the risk of COVID-19 transmission. Although the number of ED visits decreased because of restrictions at the beginning of the pandemic, ED visits increased again with the abolition of restrictions.

Exploring parents' reasons for attending the emergency department for children with minor illnesses: a mixed methods systematic review.

BACKGROUND: The number of EDs visit is on the increase, and the pressure on EDs is of significant concern worldwide. The usage of EDs by parents of children with minor illness is an important and still unresolved problem causing a burden to healthcare services. The aim of this study was to review the literature to summarise parental reasons for visiting ED for children with minor illness. METHOD: Seven electronic databases (Medline, Embase, PsycINFO, CINAHL, PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus) were comprehensively searched during a 2-week period in August 2016 and updated between 11 and 20 June 2018. The study selection process was undertaken independently by two authors. Qualitative and quantitative studies that focused on the reasons for parents of children with minor illness to attend an ED were included. Studies were assessed for quality and data were analysed by means of narrative synthesis. RESULTS: Twenty-four studies were included. Eleven studies employed quantitative methods, eleven studies used qualitative methods and two studies used mixed methods. Parental reasons for using ED included perceived urgency, ED advantages (eg, faster service, superior ED resources and efficiency), difficulties with getting a general practitioner appointment, lack of facilities in primary healthcare services, lack of health insurance, reassurance, convenience and access. CONCLUSION: This review identified some of the reasons why parents bring their children to the ED for minor illnesses highlighting the multifaceted nature of this problem. Understanding parental reasons behind their choice to use the ED may help us better design targeted interventions to reduce unnecessary ED visits and alleviate the burden on overstretched healthcare services. This review may help inform emergency care policy makers, researchers and healthcare staff to understand parents' reasons for visiting the ED, to better meet their healthcare needs.

A qualitative systematic review of the reasons for parental attendance at the emergency department with children presenting with minor illness.

INTRODUCTION: Over 5 million children attend the Emergency Department (ED) annually in England with an ever-increasing paediatric emergency caseload echoed globally. Approximately 60% of children present with illness and the majority have non-urgent illness creating burgeoning pressures on children's ED and this crisis resonates globally. To date no qualitative systematic review exists that focuses on the parental reasons for childhood attendance at the ED in this sub-group. AIM: To identify parental reasons for attending ED for their children presenting with minor illness. METHOD: A qualitative systematic review was conducted against inclusion/exclusion criteria. Five electronic databases and key journals were searched in June 2015. FINDINGS: 471 studies were identified and following study selection, 4 qualitative studies were included. Nine themes were identified e.g. dissatisfaction with family medical services, perceived advantages of ED and 'child suffering' with novel and insightful sub-themes of 'hereditary anxiety', 'taking it off our hands', ED as a 'magical place'. CONCLUSION: This novel qualitative systematic review examined parental attendance presenting with childhood minor illness of interest to emergency care reformers and clinicians. ED attendance is complex and multifactorial but parents provide vital insight to ED reformers on parental reasons for ED attendance in this sub-group.