Emergency Nurses' Perceived Barriers and Solutions to Engaging Patients With Life-Limiting Illnesses in Serious Illness Conversations: A United States Multicenter Mixed-Method Analysis.

INTRODUCTION: This study aimed to assess emergency nurses' perceived barriers toward engaging patients in serious illness conversations. METHODS: Using a mixed-method (quant + QUAL) convergent design, we pooled data on the emergency nurses who underwent the End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium training across 33 emergency departments. Data were extracted from the End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium post-training questionnaire, comprising a 5-item survey and 1 open-ended question. Our quantitative analysis employed a cross-sectional design to assess the proportion of emergency nurses who report that they will encounter barriers in engaging seriously ill patients in serious illness conversations in the emergency department. Our qualitative analysis used conceptual content analysis to generate themes and meaning units of the perceived barriers and possible solutions toward having serious illness conversations in the emergency department. RESULTS: A total of 2176 emergency nurses responded to the survey. Results from the quantitative analysis showed that 1473 (67.7%) emergency nurses reported that they will encounter barriers while engaging in serious illness conversations. Three thematic barriers-human factors, time constraints, and challenges in the emergency department work environment-emerged from the content analysis. Some of the subthemes included the perceived difficulty of serious illness conversations, delay in daily throughput, and lack of privacy in the emergency department. The potential solutions extracted included the need for continued training, the provision of dedicated emergency nurses to handle serious illness conversations, and the creation of dedicated spaces for serious illness conversations. DISCUSSION: Emergency nurses may encounter barriers while engaging in serious illness conversations. Institutional-level policies may be required in creating a palliative care-friendly emergency department work environment.

Serious Illness Communication Skills Training for Emergency Physicians and Advanced Practice Providers: A Multi-Method Assessment of the Reach and Effectiveness of the Intervention.

Background: EM Talk is a communication skills training program designed to improve emergency providers' serious illness conversational skills. Using the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance (RE-AIM) framework, this study aims to assess the reach of EM Talk and its effectiveness. Methods: EM Talk is one of the components of Primary Palliative Care for Emergency Medicine (EM) intervention. It consisted of one 4-hour training session during which professional actors used role-plays and active learning to train providers to deliver serious/bad news, express empathy, explore patients' goals, and formulate care plans. After the training, emergency providers filled out an optional post-intervention survey, which included course reflections. Using a multi-method analytical approach, we analyzed the reach of the intervention quantitatively and the effectiveness of the intervention qualitatively using conceptual content analysis of open-ended responses. Results: A total of 879 out of 1,029 (85%) EM providers across 33 emergency departments completed the EM Talk training, with the training rate ranging from 63-100%. From the 326 reflections, we identified meaning units across the thematic domains of improved knowledge, attitude, and practice. The main subthemes across the three domains were the acquisition of discussion tips and tricks, improved attitude toward engaging qualifying patients in serious illness (SI) conversations, and commitment to using these learned skills in clinical practice. Conclusion: Effectively engaging qualifying patients in serious illness conversations requires appropriate communication skills. EM Talk has the potential to improve emergency providers' knowledge, attitude, and practice of SI communication skills. Trial registration: NCT03424109.