Acceptability Among Frontline Staff Toward Distributing an Anonymous Alcohol Survey in Emergency Departments: A Mixed Methods Study.

ABSTRACT: Emergency departments (EDs) serve as the front line when patients encounter the hospital system. Limited data are available of patients' alcohol habits collected during Danish ED visits, and no studies have, to our knowledge, examined frontline staffs' (registered nurses and medical secretaries) acceptability to deliver anonymous alcohol surveys to patients. We aimed at examining the proportion of survey respondents and the prevalence of patients' alcohol habits and also exploring frontline staff acceptability of the distribution of an anonymous survey regarding patients' alcohol habits in EDs. Intendedly, all eligible patients ≥18 years old entering two EDs in March 2019 should receive a survey based on the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test. The study was an explanatory, sequential, mixed methods design, and results were analyzed with descriptive statistics and a deductive content analysis based on the theoretical framework of acceptability. In total, 15% (n = 1,305) of the total 8,679 patients in the EDs returned the survey. Qualitative analysis of interviews (n = 31) with staff showed that they had been reluctant to distribute the survey primarily because of ethical concerns of anonymity, freedom of choice, and being nonjudgmental toward patients. Hence, patients with no obvious alcohol problems were more likely to receive the survey. Still, we found that 23% of the respondents had an Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test score ≥ 8. Results indicate that frontline staffs' recognition of patients' alcohol use is inadequate, and findings show a low degree of acceptability among staff to deliver an anonymous survey, which is in line with earlier described barriers toward screening activities in EDs.

Barriers and facilitators for implementing a new screening tool in an emergency department: A qualitative study applying the Theoretical Domains Framework.

AIM: The aim was to identify the factors that were perceived as most important as facilitators or barriers to the introduction and intended use of a new tool in the emergency department among nurses and a geriatric team. BACKGROUND: A high incidence of functional decline after hospitalisation for acute medical illness has been shown in the oldest patients and those who are physically frail. In Denmark, more than 35% of older medical patients acutely admitted to the emergency department are readmitted within 90 days after discharge. A new screening tool for use in the emergency department aiming to identify patients at particularly high risk of functional decline and readmission was developed. DESIGN: Qualitative study based on semistructured interviews with nurses and a geriatric team in the emergency department and semistructured single interviews with their managers. METHODS: The Theoretical Domains Framework guided data collection and analysis. Content analysis was performed whereby new themes and themes already existing within each domain were described. RESULTS: Six predominant domains were identified: (1) professional role and identity; (2) beliefs about consequences; (3) goals; (4) knowledge; (5) optimism and (6) environmental context and resources. The content analysis identified three themes, each containing two subthemes. The themes were professional role and identity, beliefs about consequences and preconditions for a successful implementation. CONCLUSIONS: Two different cultures were identified in the emergency department. These cultures applied to different professional roles and identity, different actions and sense making and identified how barriers and facilitators linked to the new screening tool were perceived. RELEVANCE FOR CLINICAL PRACTICE: The results show that different cultures exist in the same local context and influence the perception of barriers and facilitators differently. These cultures must be identified and addressed when implementation is planned.