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Potential Improvements in Emergency Department Care for Cancer Patients According to Clinical Staff

Completed
Conditions
Emergencies
Cancer
Interventions
Behavioral: Emergency department caregivers interview
Registration Number
NCT05974800
Lead Sponsor
Erasmus Medical Center
Brief Summary

The goal of this Single center prospective cross-sectional study is to identify the facilitators and barriers among caregivers in the emergency department that influence disposition of patients with solid and hematology malignancies. The main question it aims to answer is to categorize the facilitators and barriers identified by three groups of emergency department (ED) staff. Participants will be asked for permission, afterwards a short interview will be held with the different ED caregivers (ED nurse, attending physician and supervising physician).

Detailed Description

The goal of this to identify the facilitators and barriers among caregivers in the emergency department (ED) that influence disposition of patients with solid and hematology malignancies. Participants will be asked for permission, afterwards a short interview will be held with the different caregivers (ED nurse, attending physician and supervising physician) in the ED. The interviews will be held in the order of the ED care pathway, meaning ED nurse first, treating physician second and supervising physician at last. The interviews will be conducted for every patient with each of the caregivers. Each interview will be conducted after the caregiver has made the first examination of the patient. The interview focuses on several parts of the emergency care process: The first part is regarding the actions that are executed during an ED visit. We will establish which actions are executed and why. The second part is regarding the suspected outcome for the patient. The third part will be about any potential improvements to the emergency care process for the patient.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
59
Inclusion Criteria
  • Patients with solid or hematological malignancies and receiving system therapy or having received systemic therapy within the last 3 months.
  • Presented at or admitted from the emergency department for the oncology, hematology, neuro- or lung-oncology clinical unit.
  • Awake and conscious.
  • Possible to answer questions within the same shift / day after presentation in the ED.
Exclusion Criteria
  • <18 years old.
  • Only received a surgical intervention as cancer treatment.
  • Not willing or able to give written informed consent.

Study & Design

Study Type
OBSERVATIONAL
Study Design
Not specified
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
Cancer patientsEmergency department caregivers interviewAll adult patients with solid or hematological malignancies and receiving systemic therapy or having received systemic therapy within the last 3 months that are admitted to the emergency department of the Erasmus medical center for the oncology, hematological, lung- and neuro-oncology medical unit are eligible for inclusion.
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Clusters of facilitator and barriers identified by the emergency department (ED) nurseThrough study completion, an average of 6 months

(Sub)Clusters of facilitator and barriers identified by the ED nurse for the ED care of patients with cancer

Clusters of facilitator and barriers identified by the treating physicianThrough study completion, an average of 6 months

(Sub)Clusters of facilitator and barriers identified by the treating physician for the ED care of patients with cancer

Clusters of facilitator and barriers identified by the supervising physicianThrough study completion, an average of 6 months

(Sub)Clusters of facilitator and barriers identified by the supervising physician for the ED care of patients with cancer

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Years of medical experienceThrough study completion, an average of 6 months

Number of years a medical staffmember is working in health care

Time-to-dispositionThrough study completion, an average of 6 months

The time between patient's arrival at the ED and the decision to disposition

Supervising physician agreement of dispositionThrough study completion, an average of 6 months

Agreement between supervising physician expected disposition and the actual disposition

Emergency department (ED) length of stay (LOS)Through study completion, an average of 6 months

Emergency department length of stay

DispositionThrough study completion, an average of 6 months

Outcome after ED admission, being home or admission

ED nurse agreement of dispositionThrough study completion, an average of 6 months

Agreement between ED nurse expected disposition and the actual disposition

Attending physician agreement of dispositionThrough study completion, an average of 6 months

Agreement between treating physician expected disposition and the actual disposition

ED nurse summary of actionsThrough study completion, an average of 6 months

Summary of actions taken by ED nurse in the ED care for patients with cancer

Difference in clusters per group between day, evening and nightThrough study completion, an average of 6 months

Difference in clusters per ED staff group between day, evening and night

Correlation between time-to-ward and the ED-LOSThrough study completion, an average of 6 months

Correlation between time-to-ward and the ED-LOS

Correlation between ED-LOS and dispositionThrough study completion, an average of 6 months

Correlation between ED-LOS and disposition

Need for imagingThrough study completion, an average of 6 months

Was imaging ordered during ED visit and which kind

Supervising physician summary of actionsThrough study completion, an average of 6 months

Summary of actions taken by supervising physician in the ED care for patients with cancer

Difference in categoriesThrough study completion, an average of 6 months

The difference in the percentages in categories between the different caregivers

ED crowdingThrough study completion, an average of 6 months

Degree of crowding in the ED, consisting of number of patients in the ED and the ED crowding color code

Time-to-wardThrough study completion, an average of 6 months

The time between the decision to hospitalize and the arrival at the ward

Correlation between time-to-disposition and the ED-LOSThrough study completion, an average of 6 months

Correlation between time-to-disposition and the ED-LOS

Attending physician summary of actionsThrough study completion, an average of 6 months

Summary of actions taken by attending physician in the ED care for patients with cancer

Difference in clusters per group between weekdays and weekendThrough study completion, an average of 6 months

Difference in clusters per group between weekdays (Monday 08:00 till Friday 16:00) and weekend (Friday 16:01 till Monday 7:59)

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Erasmus MC

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Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands

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