Emergency Nurses' Practice in Caring for Older Patients and Related Factors in Southern Thailand

Abstract

This descriptive correlational study aimed to examine the level of emergency nurses� practice in caring for older patients and the correlation of knowledge of geriatric emergency care, attitude towards older patients, and organizational support with emergency nurses� practice in caring for older patients. Two hundred and five emergency department (ED) nurses were conveniently recruited from three tertiary care and six secondary care level hospitals. Data were collected using questionnaires, including demographic data, Knowledge of Geriatric Emergency Care (KGEC), Attitude of Older Patient Questionnaire (AOPQ), Organizational Support, and Practice for Geriatric Emergency Care (PGEC). The content validity index values of the KGEC, AOPQ, organizational support, and PGEC were 0.96, 0.92, 1.0, and 0.99, respectively. The internal consistency reliability of KGEC using K-R 20 was 0.70, and the Cronbach�s alpha coefficient values of AOPQ, organizational support, and PGEC were 0.82, 0.81, and 0.94, respectively. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The Pearson correlation coefficient and Spearman�s rank correlation coefficient were used to analyze the relationship between emergency nurses� practice in caring for older patients and its related factors, which in this study were knowledge of geriatric emergency care, attitude towards older patients, and organizational support. The findings of this study revealed that emergency nurses� practice in caring for older patients was at a moderate level, followed by a high level. Attitude towards older patients (r = 0.372, p < 0.001) and organizational support (r = 0.511 p < 0.001) showed a statistically significant correlation with emergency nurses� practice in caring for older patients, but not knowledge of geriatric emergency care (? = 0.056, p = 0.422). These findings suggest specific interventions that aim to promote a positive attitude towards older persons. Additionally, developing organizational support systems, such as policies and guidelines, could help ED nurses improve their nursing practices for older patients visiting emergency departments.

This descriptive correlational study aimed to examine the level of emergency nurses� practice in caring for older patients and the correlation of knowledge of geriatric emergency care, attitude towards older patients, and organizational support with emergency nurses� practice in caring for older patients. Two hundred and five emergency department (ED) nurses were conveniently recruited from three tertiary care and six secondary care level hospitals. Data were collected using questionnaires, including demographic data, Knowledge of Geriatric Emergency Care (KGEC), Attitude of Older Patient Questionnaire (AOPQ), Organizational Support, and Practice for Geriatric Emergency Care (PGEC). The content validity index values of the KGEC, AOPQ, organizational support, and PGEC were 0.96, 0.92, 1.0, and 0.99, respectively. The internal consistency reliability of KGEC using K-R 20 was 0.70, and the Cronbach�s alpha coefficient values of AOPQ, organizational support, and PGEC were 0.82, 0.81, and 0.94, respectively. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The Pearson correlation coefficient and Spearman�s rank correlation coefficient were used to analyze the relationship between emergency nurses� practice in caring for older patients and its related factors, which in this study were knowledge of geriatric emergency care, attitude towards older patients, and organizational support. The findings of this study revealed that emergency nurses� practice in caring for older patients was at a moderate level, followed by a high level. Attitude towards older patients (r = 0.372, p < 0.001) and organizational support (r = 0.511 p < 0.001) showed a statistically significant correlation with emergency nurses� practice in caring for older patients, but not knowledge of geriatric emergency care (? = 0.056, p = 0.422). These findings suggest specific interventions that aim to promote a positive attitude towards older persons. Additionally, developing organizational support systems, such as policies and guidelines, could help ED nurses improve their nursing practices for older patients visiting emergency departments.