Waiting management at the emergency department - a grounded theory study
(2013) In BMC Health Services Research 13.- Abstract
- Background: An emergency department (ED) should offer timely care for acutely ill or injured persons that require the attention of specialized nurses and physicians. This study was aimed at exploring what is actually going on at an ED. Methods: Qualitative data was collected 2009 to 2011 at one Swedish ED (ED1) with 53.000 yearly visits serving a population of 251.000. Constant comparative analysis according to classic grounded theory was applied to both focus group interviews with ED1 staff, participant observation data, and literature data. Quantitative data from ED1 and two other Swedish EDs were later analyzed and compared with the qualitative data. Results: The main driver of the ED staff in this study was to reduce non-acceptable... (More)
- Background: An emergency department (ED) should offer timely care for acutely ill or injured persons that require the attention of specialized nurses and physicians. This study was aimed at exploring what is actually going on at an ED. Methods: Qualitative data was collected 2009 to 2011 at one Swedish ED (ED1) with 53.000 yearly visits serving a population of 251.000. Constant comparative analysis according to classic grounded theory was applied to both focus group interviews with ED1 staff, participant observation data, and literature data. Quantitative data from ED1 and two other Swedish EDs were later analyzed and compared with the qualitative data. Results: The main driver of the ED staff in this study was to reduce non-acceptable waiting. Signs of non-acceptable waiting are physical densification, contact seeking, and the emergence of critical situations. The staff reacts with frustration, shame, and eventually resignation when they cannot reduce non-acceptable waiting. Waiting management resolves the problems and is done either by reducing actual waiting time by increasing throughput of patient flow through structure pushing and shuffling around patients, or by changing the experience of waiting by calming patients and feinting maneuvers to cover up. Conclusion: To manage non-acceptable waiting is a driving force behind much of the staff behavior at an ED. Waiting management is done either by increasing throughput of patient flow or by changing the waiting experience. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/3739237
- author
- Burstrom, Lena ; Starrin, Bengt ; Engstrom, Marie-Louise and Thulesius, Hans LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2013
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Waiting, Management, Emergency department, Grounded theory, Focus group, Participant observation
- in
- BMC Health Services Research
- volume
- 13
- article number
- 95
- publisher
- BioMed Central (BMC)
- external identifiers
-
- wos:000317462000002
- scopus:84874799311
- pmid:23496853
- ISSN
- 1472-6963
- DOI
- 10.1186/1472-6963-13-95
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- cf7d133e-7b70-47c6-8956-2044504fc18a (old id 3739237)
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-01 14:10:10
- date last changed
- 2022-01-27 23:06:53
@article{cf7d133e-7b70-47c6-8956-2044504fc18a,
abstract = {{Background: An emergency department (ED) should offer timely care for acutely ill or injured persons that require the attention of specialized nurses and physicians. This study was aimed at exploring what is actually going on at an ED. Methods: Qualitative data was collected 2009 to 2011 at one Swedish ED (ED1) with 53.000 yearly visits serving a population of 251.000. Constant comparative analysis according to classic grounded theory was applied to both focus group interviews with ED1 staff, participant observation data, and literature data. Quantitative data from ED1 and two other Swedish EDs were later analyzed and compared with the qualitative data. Results: The main driver of the ED staff in this study was to reduce non-acceptable waiting. Signs of non-acceptable waiting are physical densification, contact seeking, and the emergence of critical situations. The staff reacts with frustration, shame, and eventually resignation when they cannot reduce non-acceptable waiting. Waiting management resolves the problems and is done either by reducing actual waiting time by increasing throughput of patient flow through structure pushing and shuffling around patients, or by changing the experience of waiting by calming patients and feinting maneuvers to cover up. Conclusion: To manage non-acceptable waiting is a driving force behind much of the staff behavior at an ED. Waiting management is done either by increasing throughput of patient flow or by changing the waiting experience.}},
author = {{Burstrom, Lena and Starrin, Bengt and Engstrom, Marie-Louise and Thulesius, Hans}},
issn = {{1472-6963}},
keywords = {{Waiting; Management; Emergency department; Grounded theory; Focus group; Participant observation}},
language = {{eng}},
publisher = {{BioMed Central (BMC)}},
series = {{BMC Health Services Research}},
title = {{Waiting management at the emergency department - a grounded theory study}},
url = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/3825322/4090794.pdf}},
doi = {{10.1186/1472-6963-13-95}},
volume = {{13}},
year = {{2013}},
}