The use of role play to increase patient awareness and tolerance during triage waiting time

The provision of care at the emergency department is usually congested with delays and marred with long waiting times for the patients (Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric & Neonatal Nursing, 2012). Waiting time can be either for patient queues waiting to receive care and treatment or for patients waiting to be transferred from the emergency department to the inpatient care departments (Sonis, Aaronson, Lee, Philpotts & White, 2017). Triage at the emergency department plays a critical role in ensuring patients are attended as per their individual needs and that such needs are attended to on a priority basis (Lauks et al. Triaging lengthens the waiting time for less severe patients at the emergency department (Ebrahimi et al. Background World over, crowding in the triage areas is a key healthcare delivery concern that results in patient and provider strain (Erenler et al.

In many emergency rooms, the triage process fails to meet the time requirement for the patients seen at the department. There is long waiting time, poor directional assistance at the triage (Weiner, 2013). The delays at the triage during a patient’s visit to the emergency center is often excruciating for patients experiencing pain and suffering with their illnesses (Sayah, Rogers, Devarajan, Kingsley-Rocker & Lobon, 2014). Long waiting time which is often filled with uncertainty, pain, and suffering for the patient is an essential quality indicator for the health care facilities as well as one of the qualities of care experience (El Sayed, El-Eid, Saliba, Jabbour & Hitti, 2015). To enhance patient experience of care, triage waiting time role plays reviews have been used having differing levels of success (Slim & Loch, 2017).

Research questions 1. Does patient length of wait at the triage impact on patient satisfaction? 2. Does the use of role play at the triage department enhance patient tolerance of the waiting time at the triage? 3. Does triage waiting time tolerance by the patients improve following improved patient-provider communication? How to conduct the study The research will be conducted at the emergency department of a local acute care hospital. The study will use key informant interviews from a selected random sample of patients at the triage waiting area of the hospital. doi. org/10. 1111/j. x Burström, L. , Starrin, B. , Tyberg, J. , Ramagnano, S. , & Kiss, A. et al. Implementing wait-time reductions under Ontario government benchmarks (Pay-for-Results): a Cluster Randomized Trial of the Effect of a Physician-Nurse Supplementary Triage Assistance team (MDRNSTAT) on emergency department patient wait times.

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