Understanding health service quality in emergency department through the length of stay and its determinants.

Objectives: To identify and analyse the determinants of emergency department length of stay. METHODS: The cross-sectional study was conducted from December 20 to 31, 2017, at the Centre of Referral Hospital after approval from the ethics review committee of Dr Soetomo General Hospital, Surabaya, Indonesia, and comprised patients of either gender aged 18 years or above who visited the emergency department who required follow-up after triage, such as diagnostics or hospitalisation. Emergency department length of stay, assessment time, review and consultation, and disposition or decision were the variables noted. Data was analysed using SPSS 18. RESULTS: Of the 172 patients, 95(57%) were men and 74(43%) were women. The largest age group was of those aged 45-59 years 61(34.4%). There were 48(27%) cases of surgery and 124(73%) of medicine. Mean emergency department length of stay was 575.94±306.402 minutes (range: 100-2215 minutes), and it was significantly associated with assessment time (p=0.001), review and consultation time (p=0.001) and disposition or decision time (p=0.002). CONCLUSIONS: The emergency department length of stay was found to be rather prolonged and needed to be improved.

The Lived Experiences of Indonesian Nurses Who Worked as Care Workers in Taiwan.

BACKGROUND: Despite the large number of Indonesian nurses currently working as migrant care workers in Taiwan, no studies in the literature have been found that explore this phenomenon or assess the working situation of Indonesian nurses working in care facilities in Taiwan. PURPOSE: This study aimed to elicit and describe the lived experiences of Indonesian nurses serving as care workers in Taiwan. METHODS: Phenomenological research was used to explore the experiences of Indonesian nurses working in long-term care facilities. The participants were recruited from care facilities in Taiwan. This study utilized semistructured interviews conducted with 16 Indonesian nurses in a suitable setting. All of the interviews were transcribed, and the work of Van Manen was used to analyze the data. RESULTS: Four main themes were identified, including motives for working abroad, feelings of being trapped, experiencing a difficult journey, and the feeling of being supported. These themes reflect the lived experiences of Indonesian nurses who work in Taiwan's long-term care industry. CONCLUSIONS: Nurses from Indonesia choose to who work as nurses in Taiwan because of poor financial background and the chance of gaining a better life. However, the participants in this study felt stressed, challenged, and disappointed when faced with the unmet expectations of being employed as care workers without a clear career path. Furthermore, the need to communicate in an unfamiliar language was mentioned as a significant barrier to fulfilling their role. Better policies should be put in place to achieve improved outcomes for both countries.