Journal of emergency nursing : JEN : official publication of the Emergency Department Nurses Association
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Multicenter Study
Implementation of a Comprehensive Intervention to Reduce Physical Assaults and Threats in the Emergency Department.
The purpose of this study was to test the effectiveness of a comprehensive program to reduce the incidence of workplace violence (WPV) against ED providers by patients and visitors. ⋯ This study emphasizes the risk of WPV to ED workers and highlights the need for prevention programs. Future research needs to be conducted to test additional comprehensive WPV prevention interventions.
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The objective of this study was to evaluate whether screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) could be incorporated into the emergency nursing workflow using a computerized physician order entry/clinical decision support system. We report demographic and operational factors associated with failure to initiate the protocol and revenue collection from SBIRT. ⋯ In this study electronic documentation of adults with at-risk alcohol and/or drug use was feasible by emergency nurses, but SBIRT execution and subsequent revenue collection were challenging.
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Proper pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) assessment and treatment is essential in preventing ectopic pregnancies, repeated PID infections, infertility, chronic pelvic pain, and fetal death. This project measured the effectiveness of interventions directed toward the providers in the emergency department to facilitate a change in the assessment and treatment of PID. Two aims identified for the project included increasing the number of providers who recorded a correct diagnosis of PID in the chart and included a sexual history for female adolescents who presented to the emergency department with abdominal pain. An additional aim was to increase the percentage of adolescents who received the correct treatment for PID. ⋯ The study demonstrated a significant improvement in all 3 aims related to improved care of adolescents with PID. PowerPoint presentations and the physical presence of the CDC treatment guidelines in the provider treatment areas were instrumental for success. Nurses play a pivotal role in the implementation and success of quality improvement projects for improving patient outcomes.
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Research focused on improving the outcome of patients with pain is an important aspect of emergency care, yet little information has been published to quantify pain severity, patient improvement, and return to independent function after ED discharge. Because of the paucity of available clinical data, this pilot study was designed to determine the acceptability and feasibility of using electronic data collection procedures. Specifically, we examined the willingness of discharged ED patients to use portable touch-screen computers as an alternative to traditional "paper and pencil" or telephone data collection methods to report postdischarge pain. ⋯ Touch-screen computers are a feasible and acceptable approach to collecting information about how patients self-manage unresolved pain after discharge from an emergency department. This methodology offers an alternative to traditional data collection methods. These data can inform researchers as they design future studies and assist emergency nurses who are responsible for planning quality improvement initiatives.