Biomedical subjects

Margareta Ehnfors

Publications and source records attributed to Margareta Ehnfors.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Emergency department triage: is there a link between nurses' personal characteristics and accuracy in triage decisions?

INTRODUCTION: A common task of registered nurses is to perform emergency department triage, often using an especially designed triage scale in their assessment. However, little information is available about the factors that promote the quality of these decisions. This study investigated personal characteristics of registered nurses and the accuracy in their acuity ratings of patient scenarios. METHODS: Using the Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale (CTAS), 423 registered nurses from 48 (62%) Swedish emergency departments individually triaged 18 patient scenarios. RESULTS: The registered nurses' percentage of accurate acuity ratings was 58%, with a range from 22% to 89% accurate acuity ratings per registered nurse. In total, 60.3% of the registered nurses accurately triaged the scenarios in 50-69% of the cases. No relationship was found between personal characteristics of the registered nurses and their ability to triage. DISCUSSION: The lack of a relationship between personal characteristics of registered nurses and their ability to triage suggests that there might be intrapersonal characteristics, particularly the decision-making strategies used which can partly explain this dispersion. Future research that focuses on decision-making is likely to contribute in identifying and describing essential nursing characteristics for successful emergency department triage.

Clinical Competence↗

PubMed2006

Patient participation in clinical decision-making in nursing: A comparative study of nurses' and patients' perceptions.

AIM AND OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to compare the degree of concordance between patients and Registered Nurses' perceptions of the patients' preferences for participation in clinical decision-making in nursing care. A further aim was to compare patients' experienced participation with their preferred participatory role. BACKGROUND: Patient participation in clinical decision-making is valuable and has an effect on quality of care. However, there is limited knowledge about patient preferences for participation and how nurses perceive their patients' preferences. METHODS: A comparative design was adopted with a convenient sample of 80 nurse-patient dyads. A modified version of the Control Preference Scale was used in conjunction with a questionnaire developed to elicit the experienced participation of the patient. RESULTS: A majority of the Registered Nurses perceived that their patients preferred a higher degree of participation in decision-making than did the patients. Differences in patient preferences were found in relation to age and social status but not to gender. Patients often experienced having a different role than what was initially preferred, e.g. a more passive role concerning needs related to communication, breathing and pain and a more active role related to activity and emotions/roles. CONCLUSIONS: Registered Nurses are not always aware of their patients' perspective and tend to overestimate patients' willingness to assume an active role. Registered Nurses do not successfully involve patients in clinical decision-making in nursing care according to their own perceptions and not even to the patients' more moderate preferences of participation. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: A thorough assessment of the individual's preferences for participation in decision-making seems to be the most appropriate approach to ascertain patient's involvement to the preferred level of participation. The categorization of patients as preferring a passive role, collaborative role or active role is seen as valuable information for Registered Nurses to tailor nursing care.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Patient characteristics of women and men cared for during the first 10 years at an inpatient hospice ward in Sweden.

The hospice philosophy with focus on the patient's autonomy and the ideal of a good death are the overall objectives of palliative care. Often-raised questions, when discussing hospice, are for which of the incurable ill inpatient hospice is the most optimal care alternative together with who are making use of hospice. The aim of the present study was to describe patient characteristics such as age, marital status, diagnosis, referral source and length of stay (LoS) in relation to gender, during the first decade at an inpatient hospice ward (1992-2001). Data, obtained from medical register, were analysed by using descriptive statistics and the chi-square test. The number of patients was 666 women and 555 men, and most of them were elderly. In some respects significant differences were observed between women and men. More women than men were single, had cancer with relatively rapid trajectory and were referred from the oncology department. Men, more often than women, were diagnosed with cancers with a somewhat longer trajectory. Despite the longer trajectory, the LoS was shorter for men (median =13 days) than for women (median = 17 days). The most frequent referral source was hospital, though men, younger men in particular, were more often referred from home-based hospice care than women. During the last 3 years self-referrals were documented. Self-referrals can be seen as one distinct expression from a standpoint of one's own active choice compared with other referrals. Altogether, self-referrals were less frequent among women than men but in relation to age, self-referrals were more common among the youngest (<60 years) and the oldest women (>85 years) than men in the same age groups. Further studies illuminating a gender perspective can broaden the understanding of what these differences may imply for women and men.

Age Distribution↗

PubMed2006

Conditions for patient participation and non-participation in health care.

This study explored patients' experiences of participation and non-participation in their health care. A questionnaire-based survey method was used. Content analysis showed that conditions for patient participation occurred when information was provided not by using standard procedures but based on individual needs and accompanied by explanations, when the patient was regarded as an individual, when the patient's knowledge was recognized by staff, and when the patient made decisions based on knowledge and needs, or performed self-care. Thus, to provide conditions for true patient participation, professionals need to recognize each patient's unique knowledge and respect the individual's description of his or her situation rather than just inviting the person to participate in decision making.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Patient participation in decision making in nursing.

Patient participation in decision making concerning nursing needs is an important aspect of high quality care, of interest for both planning and implementing care. However, patients' perspective on participation in clinical decision making has not been studied extensively and the literature is inconclusive of what roles patients prefer to adopt. The aim was to investigate associations between patient demographics and preferences for participation in clinical decision making and to compare patients and RNs perceptions of the patients' preferences for participation. A cross sectional study including 80 nurse-patient dyads was adopted. The Control Preference scale was used to collect data. The findings showed that younger and more educated patients preferred to be more active in some aspects of decision making than older and less educated patients did. Further, in comparison with RNs inference of patient preferences for participation, patients preferred to be more passive in decision making in relation to nursing needs in general, as well as for physical and psychosocial needs. Differences in perceptions between patients and RNs concerning patient participation could hamper high quality care and need to be addressed.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

The use of qualitative data analysis software (QDAS) to manage and support the analysis of think aloud (TA) data.

This methodological paper describes how qualitative data analysis software (QDAS) is being used to manage and support a three-step protocol analysis (PA) of think aloud (TA) data in a study examining emergency nurses' reasoning during triage. The authors believe that QDAS program QRS NVivo will greatly facilitate the PA and will allow them to identify and describe the information that triage nurses concentrate on during triage, and how they structure this information to make a triage decision. These findings could assist in designing and creating decision support systems to guide nurses' triaging. Additionally, details about how to use QRS NVivo for PA of TA data may assist and guide future informatics research using similar methodology are presented here. This innovative use of QDAS holds great promise for future nursing informatics research.

Decision Support Systems, Clinical↗

PubMed2006

Mapping VIPS concepts for nursing interventions to the ISO reference terminology model for nursing actions: A collaborative Scandinavian analysis.

The aims of this study were to analyze the coherence between the concepts for nursing interventions in the Swedish VIPS model for nursing recording and the ISO Reference Terminology Model for Nursing Actions and to identify areas in the two models for further development. Seven Scandinavian experts analyzed the VIPS model's concepts for nursing interventions using prototypical examples of nursing actions, involving 233 units of analyses, and collaborated in mapping the two models. All nursing interventions in the VIPS model comprise actions and targets, but a few lack explicit expressions of means. In most cases, the recipient of care is implicit. Expressions for the aim of an action are absent from the ISO model. By this mapping we identified areas for future development of the VIPS model and the experience from nursing terminology work in Scandinavia can contribute to the international standardization efforts.

Cooperative Behavior↗

PubMed2006

Recording of nursing assessment and interventions for stroke patients with eating difficulties.

A standardised language is a necessary condition for successful development and implementation of electronic patient records. In the present study a record audit was performed at a Swedish stroke unit. The aims were to analyse how the nursing process on eating difficulties after stroke was represented in nursing documentation and to describe the information that was transferred to the next care provider at discharge. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and content analysis. Results show that care planning and nursing interventions were not visible in patient records. Furthermore, the language proved vague and expressed in a "non-professional" manner.

Feeding Behavior↗

PubMed2005

The meaning of patient participation for patients and nurses at a nurse-led clinic for chronic heart failure.

BACKGROUND: The legislation of many Western countries emphasizes active patient participation. Patients with chronic heart failure (CHF), however, have experienced participation differently from the general interpretation of legal definitions. Education improves uptake of self-management strategies yet knowledge is lacking about support of patients' own resources in CHF. AIM: To explore the phenomena of patient participation and non-participation as shown in patient visits to a nurse-led clinic for CHF and as experienced by the patients and nurses. METHODS: Data triangulation of field notes from participatory observations and texts from narrative interviews with the patients and assigned nurse specialists. Data were analyzed according to the phenomenological hermeneutic tradition. FINDINGS: Patients' experience of participation and non-participation was interpreted as "Being responsible and accepting responsibility" and "Lacking an equal relationship while being controlled", respectively. Nurses experienced patient participation as "Getting information and security to act" and patient non-participation as "Not accepting". CONCLUSION: Conflicting values of patients and nurses, which were interpreted with respect to participation and non-participation, presumably might influence patient information and education negatively. The issue of participation should be raised as a means of attaining concordance and to facilitate patient participation with education specifically tailored to the individual patient's needs.

Aged↗

PubMed2005

Patients' and nurses' perceptions of nursing problems in an acute care setting.

AIM: This paper reports a study to determine the degree of agreement or disagreement between nurses and patients in their perceptions of the presence, severity, and importance of nursing problems. BACKGROUND: Patient experiences, values and preferences are increasingly acknowledged as important factors underpinning healthcare decision-making. The ability to identify patient problems accurately is an important prerequisite for planning and implementing individualized high quality care. METHODS: A convenience sample of patients (n = 80) and Registered Nurses (n = 30) in an acute care setting responded to a 43-item questionnaire. Findings. Nurses identified patients' problems with a sensitivity of 0.53 and a positive predictive value of 0.50. Patients identified several severe problems that were not identified by nurses, particularly problems with nutrition, sleep, pain, and emotions/spirituality. Nurses underestimated the severity in 47% of mutually-identified problems. An overall level of agreement of 44% was found on the importance of patient problems. Low levels of agreement on severity and importance were related more to individual differences than to systematic differences. CONCLUSIONS: Nurses need to be more aware that patients and nurses often hold disparate views of the priorities in nursing care. To plan individualized nursing care effectively, nurses need to elicit and use individual patients' preferences more systematically in care planning.

Acute Disease↗

PubMed2005

Triage in emergency departments: national survey.

AIM: This paper reports a study the aim of which was to describe how triage-related work was organized and performed in Swedish emergency departments. BACKGROUND: Hospitals in many developed countries use some kind of system to prioritize the patients attending emergency departments. Triage is a commonly used term to refer to the process of sorting and prioritizing patients for care. How the triage procedure is organized and which personnel perform this type of work vary considerably throughout the world. In Sweden, few studies have explored this important issue. METHOD: A national survey was conducted using telephone interviews, with nurse managers at each of the emergency departments. The sample represented 87% of emergency departments in Sweden. RESULTS: The findings clearly illustrate the organization of emergency department triage, focusing on personnel who perform triage, as well as the facilities, resources and procedures available for triage. However, the results indicate that work associated with such triage in Sweden is not organized in any consistent matter. In 81% of the emergency departments a clerk, Licensed Practical Nurse or Registered Nurse were assigned to assess patients not arriving by ambulance. There was also diversity in other areas, including requirements for staff to have particular qualifications and clinical experience for being allocated to triage work, as well as facilities for triage personnel assessing and prioritizing patients. The use of triage scales and acuity ratings also lacked uniformity and disparities were observed in both the design and use of triage scales. A little less than half (46%) of the emergency departments did not use any kind of triage scale to document patient acuity ratings. CONCLUSION: In contrast to several other countries, this study shows that Swedish emergency departments do not adhere well to established standards and guidelines about triage in emergency care. Research on emergency department triage, especially in the areas of personnel performing triage, triage scales and standards and guidelines are recommended. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: The diversity among several aspects of nursing triage (e.g. use of less qualified personnel performing triage, the use of different triage scales) presented in the study points to a safety risk for the patients. It also shows the need of further education for the personnel in clinical practice as well as further research on triage in order to gain national consensus about this nursing task.

Ambulances↗

PubMed2005

Living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: part I. Struggling with meal-related situations: experiences among persons with COPD.

Reduced nutritional intake with low and decreased body weight can be a component of normal ageing. There is, however, also a greater risk for reduced nutritional intake within certain diagnoses, especially for chronic diseases. Malnutrition in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is caused by many factors. The relationship between COPD and low values of body mass index (BMI) is a known independent risk for mortality. For optimal support and care with special focus on nutritional status and interventions, caregivers need more knowledge about the meal-related situations (i.e. shopping for food, cooking and eating) of COPD patients. The aim of this study was to describe experiences of meal-related situations as viewed from the individual's perspective. The sample included eight women and five men with COPD recruited from five primary health clinics. The participants' average age was 68.9 years, with values of forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV(1) percentage) ranging from 18 to 69 and BMI values from 15 to 40. A descriptive design with qualitative interviews and self-reported diaries were used and the data were later analysed using content analysis. Findings showed consistency between informants' COPD, nutritional status and descriptions of experiences in meal-related situations. Findings were disease-specific but were also found to be general- and age-related. Respondents described physical influences and positive and negative feelings in their meal-related situations. Feelings of dependence, level of activity, transport of food, having company or being alone, appetite, hunger and need of time were also mentioned. Most research reports reduced nutritional status from a medical perspective. To our knowledge, no study has reported the positive and negative feelings that arise when eating in persons with COPD. Malnutrition for persons with COPD is not only caused by eating difficulties: eating is an integral part of social situations as shown in this study.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed2005

Accuracy and concordance of nurses in emergency department triage.

In the emergency department (ED) Registered Nurses (RNs) often perform triage, i.e. the sorting and prioritizing of patients. The allocation of acuity ratings is commonly based on a triage scale. To date, three reliable 5-level triage scales exist, of which the Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale (CTAS) is one. In Sweden, few studies on ED triage have been conducted and the organization of triage has been found to vary considerably with no common triage scale. The aim of this study was to investigate the accuracy and concordance of emergency nurses acuity ratings of patient scenarios in the ED setting. Totally, 423 RNs from 48 (62%) Swedish EDs each triaged 18 patient scenarios using the CTAS. Of the 7,550 triage ratings, 57.6% were triaged in concordance with the expected outcome and no scenario was triaged into the same triage level by all RNs. Inter-rater agreement for all RNs was kappa = 0.46 (unweighted) and kappa = 0.71 (weighted). The fact that the kappa-values are only moderate to good and the low concordance between the RNs call for further studies, especially from a patient safety perspective.

Emergency Nursing↗

PubMed2004

Development of a provisional domain model for the nursing process for use within the Health Level 7 reference information model.

OBJECTIVE: Since 1999, the Nursing Terminology Summits have promoted the development, evaluation, and use of reference terminology for nursing and its integration into comprehensive health care data standards. The use of such standards to represent nursing knowledge, terminology, processes, and information in electronic health records will enhance continuity of care, decision support, and the exchange of comparable patient information. As part of this activity, working groups at the 2001, 2002, and 2003 Summit Conferences examined how to represent nursing information in the Health Level 7 (HL7) Reference Information Model (RIM). DESIGN: The working groups represented the nursing process as a dynamic sequence of phases, each containing information specific to the activities of the phase. They used Universal Modeling Language (UML) to represent this domain knowledge in models. An Activity Diagram was used to create a dynamic model of the nursing process. After creating a structural model of the information used at each stage of the nursing process, the working groups mapped that information to the HL7 RIM. They used a hierarchical structure for the organization of nursing knowledge as the basis for a hierarchical model for "Findings about the patient." The modeling and mapping reported here were exploratory and preliminary, not exhaustive or definitive. The intent was to evaluate the feasibility of representing some types of nursing information consistently with HL7 standards. MEASUREMENTS: The working groups conducted a small-scale validation by testing examples of nursing terminology against the HL7 RIM class "Observation." RESULTS: It was feasible to map patient information from the proposed models to the RIM class "Observation." Examples illustrate the models and the mapping of nursing terminology to the HL7 RIM. CONCLUSION: It is possible to model and map nursing information into the comprehensive health care information model, the HL7 RIM. These models must evolve and undergo further validation by clinicians. The integration of nursing information, terminology, and processes in information models is a first step toward rendering nursing information machine-readable in electronic patient records and messages. An eventual practical result, after much more development, would be to create computable, structured information for nursing documentation.

Feasibility Studies↗

PubMed2004

The phenomena of participation and non-participation in health care--experiences of patients attending a nurse-led clinic for chronic heart failure.

BACKGROUND: Patient participation is stressed in the health care acts of many western countries yet a common definition of the concept is lacking. The understanding of experiences of patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) who attend nurse-led specialist clinics, a form of care suggested as beneficiary to this group, may promote a better understanding of participation. AIM: To investigate the meanings of participation and non-participation as experienced by patients living with CHF. METHODS: Narrative interviews analysed in the phenomenological hermeneutic tradition inspired by Ricoeur where the interpretation is made in the hermeneutic circle, explaining and understanding the experienced phenomena. FINDINGS: Participation was experienced as to "be confident", "comprehend" and "seek and maintain a sense of control". Non-participation was experienced as to "not understand", "not be in control", "lack a relationship" and "not be accountable". The findings indicate that the experiences of participation and non-participation can change over time and phases of the disease and treatment. CONCLUSION: The study suggests an extended view on the concept of participation. Patients' experiences of participation in health care can vary and should therefore be an issue for dialogue between nurses and patients with CHF in nurse-led specialist clinics.

Aged↗

PubMed2004

Nursing curriculum and continuing education: future directions.

Redefinition of roles and functions in the healthcare systems of the future requires embracing to the value of continuing education. Within this framework healthcare professional education and continuing education, there are several core competencies described by Institute of Medicine (IOM) [A.C. Greiner, E. Knebel (Eds.), Health Professionals Education: Bridge to Quality, IOM, available at, May 2003] that form the foundation for practice for nurses and other healthcare professionals. An overarching sentence in the document says "All health professionals should be educated to deliver patient-centered care as members of an interdisciplinary team, emphasizing evidence-based practice, quality improvement approaches, and informatics" (p. 45). These IOM core competencies are: (1) Common value for respecting patients' differences, values, preferences and expressed needs. (2) Ability to cooperate, collaborate, communicate and integrate care using interdisciplinary teams. (3) Knowledge of and willingness to employ evidence-based practice principles. (4) Capability to apply quality and safety improvement approaches in care. (5) Understand, value and use informatics to all areas of health care, to reduce errors, manage knowledge and information, and make decisions and communicate. In enveloping these core competencies in basic and continuing education, it is necessary to build an evidence base for education itself, demand that faculty are prepared for the future. A crucial need is for healthcare professional students (including nursing students) learn interdisciplinary collaboration in the education of patients. A global strategy, using these competencies for preparing faculty is necessary; and some models already exist that can be further developed to meet future needs that are informatics driven in our increasingly technological future care systems.

Curriculum↗

PubMed2004

Older patients with chronic heart failure within Swedish community health care: a record review of nursing assessments and interventions.

BACKGROUND: Older patients with chronic heart failure constitute a large group within community home care that is at high risk for re-hospitalization. However, hospital readmission can be prevented if early signs of deterioration are recognized and proper interventions applied. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to audit nursing care for older chronic heart failure patients within the Swedish community health care system. DESIGN: The study adopted a retrospective descriptive design. METHODS: In a Swedish urban municipality nursing documentation from 161 records on patients diagnosed with chronic heart failure was collected retrospectively from community nursing home care units. Patient records were reviewed for characteristics of nursing care and assessed for comprehensiveness in recording. RESULTS: The main results showed that medical care of patients with chronic heart failure was poorly recorded, making it possible only to follow fragments of the care process. The nursing notes showed poor adherence to current clinical guidelines. Only 12% of the records contained notes on patients' body weight and only 4% noted patients' knowledge about chronic heart failure. When interventions did occur, they largely consisted of drug administration. CONCLUSIONS: The findings revealed flaws in the recording of specific assessment and interventions as well as poor adherence to current international clinical guidelines. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Supportive guidelines available at the point of care are needed to enhance proper community-based home health care for older patients with chronic heart failure.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed2004

Stroke and eating difficulties: long-term experiences.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have shown that eating difficulties after stroke are common and often associated with communication problems. These difficulties, however, have mainly been studied from a professional perspective. Although numerous aspects of dysfunction have been identified, little knowledge exists about the experiences of living with eating difficulties. AIM: To explore how people affected by stroke experience living with eating difficulties, during a prolonged period. DESIGN: Explorative, qualitative case study. METHODS: Repeated interviews and participant observations with three persons 1.5-2 years after their last stroke. Data were analysed using qualitative analysis. RESULTS: Eating difficulties after stroke were experienced as Striving to live a normal life, with the subthemes Abandoned to learn on one's own, Experiences of losses and Feeling dependent. The process of getting back to a life that resembled life before the stroke was experienced as long-lasting and hard work. The informants felt that they were abandoned to manage eating training on their own. The informants experienced a loss of functional eating ability and the ability to perform activities related to food and meals. Feelings of dependence were experienced in mealtime situations. CONCLUSION: Living with eating difficulties after stroke is a complex phenomenon. The informants felt abandoned because of lack of support from the nursing staff. They were left on their own to deal with the difficult process of adjusting to a new way of eating and losses regarding mealtime activities. The combination of repeated interviews and participant observations seemed to be an approach that should be tested in larger studies. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: This case study indicates a need for nurses to develop and use evidence-based guidelines for eating training during the continuum of care. Nurses need to assess patient's habits and desires related to eating, and to adjust environment according to patient preferences.

Aged↗