Observational Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Jun 26, 2024; 12(18): 3453-3460
Published online Jun 26, 2024. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v12.i18.3453
Facilitating and hindering factors of community nurses' emergency and critical care treatment abilities: A qualitative study
Wen-Lin Cheng, Rui Li, Yan Song, Fei-Hu Qian, Si-Yuan Sha, Shuang-Yuan Song
Wen-Lin Cheng, Yan Song, Si-Yuan Sha, Shuang-Yuan Song, School of Nursing, Beihua University, Jilin 132013, Jilin Province, China
Rui Li, Fei-Hu Qian, Department of Nursing, Tongren Hospital Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200335, China
Co-first authors: Wen-Lin Cheng and Rui Li.
Author contributions: Cheng WL and Li R contributed to the research design and thesis writing; Qian FH collected and analyzed the data, while Sha SY and Song SY contributed to the data collection process; Song Y and Li R provided overall supervision for the study; Cheng WL and Li R collaborated in writing and revising the research paper, thereby improving the overall quality of the paper; All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.
Supported by Key Joint Research Program of Scientific Research Project of Shanghai Changning District Health Commission in 2023, No. 20234Y008.
Institutional review board statement: The study was reviewed and approved by the Beihua University Medical Ethics Committee [Approval No. 2023 (03)].
Informed consent statement: All study participants, or their legal guardian, provided informed written consent prior to study enrollment.
Conflict-of-interest statement: There are no conflicts of interest to report.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
STROBE statement: The authors have reviewed the STROBE Statement checklist of items, and the manuscript has been prepared and revised in accordance with the STROBE Statement checklist of items.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Yan Song, PhD, Professor, School of Nursing, Beihua University, No. 3999 Binjiang East Street, Jilin 132013, Jilin Province, China. 1293625334@qq.com
Received: March 24, 2024
Revised: May 10, 2024
Accepted: May 15, 2024
Published online: June 26, 2024
Processing time: 85 Days and 23.3 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

This study adopts a descriptive phenomenological approach to investigate the facilitators and barriers of community nurses' abilities in managing critical and emergency conditions. With the transition of healthcare systems to the community, the evolution of nursing practices, and the attention from policies and practices, community nurses play a crucial role in the management of critical and emergency conditions. However, there is still a lack of comprehensive understanding regarding the factors that promote or hinder their capabilities in this area.

AIM

To understand the facilitators and barriers of community nurses in managing critical and emergency conditions, exploring the fundamental reasons and driving forces influencing their treatment capabilities.

METHODS

This study utilized the destination sampling method between May 2023 and July 2023. It employed a descriptive phenomenological approach within qualitative research methodologies. Through objective sampling, 17 community nurses from 7 communities in Changning District, Shanghai, were selected as the study subjects. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to gather data, which were subsequently organized and analyzed using Colaizzi's seven-step analysis method, leading to the extraction of final themes.

RESULTS

The barrier factors identified from the interviews encompassed three topics: resource allocation, professional factors, and personal literacy. The facilitators comprised three themes: professionalism, management attention, and training and continuing education. We identified that the root causes of the barriers included the lack of practical treatment experience among community nurses, insufficient awareness of self-directed learning, and limited knowledge and technical proficiency. The professional quality of community nurses and management attention serve as motivation for them to enhance their treatment abilities.

CONCLUSION

To enhance the capability of community nurses in treating acute and critical patients, it is recommended to bolster training specifically tailored to acute and critical care, raise awareness of first aid practices, and elevate knowledge and skill levels.

Keywords: Community nurse, Acute and critical illness, Promoting factors, Obstacle factors, Qualitative study

Core Tip: This study used descriptive phenomenology to investigate the facilitating and obstacle factors that affect the ability of community nurses to treat acute and critical diseases. The study may reveal various barriers faced by community nurses in acute and critical treatment, and may include enlightening findings to improve the ability of community nurses in acute and critical treatment. Improving the allocation of community medical resources and personnel management, and strengthening the cultivation of the psychological quality of community nurses are also the key measures. By improving the acute and critical treatment ability of community nurses, the quality of community medical services can be improved and have a positive impact on the health and safety of community residents.