Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38829484›Full record

ArticleCJEM2024

Decreased patient discharges on weekends: part 2-what do the ward nurses tell us?

Ian G Stiell, Warren J Cheung, Debra A Eagles, Krishan Yadav, Jeffrey J Perry, Ottawa Hospital Weekend Discharge Group

Abstract read
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in CJEM, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Ian G StiellDepartment of Emergency Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada. istiell@ohri.ca.ORCID 0000-0002-2583-6408
Warren J CheungDepartment of Emergency Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Debra A EaglesDepartment of Emergency Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Krishan YadavDepartment of Emergency Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Jeffrey J PerryDepartment of Emergency Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.ORCID 0000-0003-2134-9597
Ottawa Hospital Weekend Discharge Group

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundHospital and emergency department (ED) crowding is exacerbated on Mondays because fewer in-patients are discharged during the weekend. We evaluated the experiences and attitudes of in-patient ward nurses to better understand the challenges they face when considering the weekend discharge of their patients.

methodsWe conducted a qualitative study of in-patient ward nurses, using the theoretical domains framework (TDF), at two campuses of a major academic health sciences centre. The interview guides consisted of, first, a series of questions to explore the typical processes involved for safe patient discharges and, second, exploration of the influence of the 14 TDF domains. All interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and anonymized and then imported into NVivo qualitative software for data management and analysis. Analysis was conducted in three stages (coding, generation of specific beliefs, identification of relevant and nonrelevant domains).

resultsThe 28 interviewed nurses represented a variety of medical, surgical and other wards, and reported being acutely aware of the pressures to discharge patients on weekends (knowledge). They believed that increasing weekend discharges would improve hospital flow and aid in decanting the ED (beliefs about consequences). However, they also acknowledged that the weekend discharge pressures might result in patients being discharged prematurely and bouncing back to the hospital (beliefs about consequences). Overall, the nurses reported that as a hospital culture, discharging patients was not much of a priority (goals; environmental context and resources).

conclusionWe know there are much fewer discharges on weekends, and this is associated with significant hospital and ED crowding on Mondays. This study has illuminated the many challenges faced by in-patient ward nurses when considering the discharge of admitted patients on weekends. In order to decrease ED and hospital crowding related to decreased weekend discharges, hospitals will need to effect a culture change amongst all staff.

Indexed as

Attitude of Health PersonnelPatient DischargeQualitative ResearchAdultEmergency Service, HospitalFemaleHumansInterviews as TopicMaleMiddle AgedNursing Staff, HospitalTime FactorsCrowdingEmergency departmentPatient safetyQualitative research

Identifiers

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.