An exploration of the views of healthcare providers on family witnessed resuscitation in an emergency department of a private hospital in Gauteng
Date
2018
Authors
Ambelal, Mayush Narendra
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
Background: There has been an international move towards allowing family member presence during the resuscitation of a relative for many years, but not in South Africa. This practice is discouraged in many hospitals locally. There is a lack of formal protocols on allowing family member presence during resuscitative efforts. Communication with the family is left to a doctor and often only occurs once the patient has demised.
Aim: The aim of this study was to explore the views of the healthcare providers on the practice of family member presence during the resuscitation of their relative in an emergency department in a private hospital setting in Gauteng. The results were intended to inform policy for future reference on the practice of family member presence during the resuscitation of their relative in an emergency department.
Design: This study was carried out at a level two private hospital with a busy emergency unit which receives complex trauma and medical cases. A qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and contextual design was used for this study. A total of twenty four (n=24) multidisciplinary healthcare providers at the selected study site were selected. The sample size was determined by saturation of information during data collection. Open ended questions in an interview were used and the data recorded using an audio recorder. Tesch’s method was used to analyse the data collected. Measures of trustworthiness were applied to ensure rigor of the findings in this study.
Findings: This study revealed five themes with nine sub themes. The five themes included perceptions of emergency room staff, buy in towards family member presence, concerns from staff, family emotions as perceived by staff and balancing your act.
Conclusion: The findings of this study show that there is no consensus between the different healthcare providers on family witnessed resuscitation.
Key words: Family member presence, resuscitation, witnessed resuscitation, perceptions and healthcare providers.
Description
A research report is submitted to the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the
degree of
Master of Science in Nursing.
Johannesburg, 2018.