Evaluation of Nurse Managers for Care Provided to Families of Terminally Ill Patients in the Emergency Room and Related Systemic Organizational Factors

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to have nurse managers in emergency rooms evaluate the care provided for families of terminally ill patients and identify systemic organizational factors related to that care.

Methods: A 30-item survey on the care provided to families of terminally ill patients was conducted among nurse managers working in emergency room. Factor analysis was used to score the responses, and regression analysis was performed on factors related to how the organization systematically provided the care.

Results: Valid responses were received from 149 (51.6%) of the targeted sample participants. The range of the percentage of positive ratings on the 30 items was 53.3–96.6%. Regression analysis showed that the systemic factors significantly predictive of total scores were “annual number of patient mortalities in the emergency room” (β = –0.21), “systematic multi-disciplinary collaboration” (β = 0.25), “systematic evaluation of care” (β = 0.44), and “existence of a standardized care plan manual” (β = 0.24).

Conclusion: This study showed that nurse managers perceived that, in some cases, more needs to be done in the way of care for the families of terminally ill patients. The findings also suggested that to promote better practice, health organizations need to have in place systems for multi-disciplinary collaboration and for the standardization and evaluation of care.