Title
A Grounded Theory Qualitative Analysis of Interprofessional Providersʼ Perceptions on Caring for Critically Ill Infants and Children in Pediatric and General Emergency Departments
Publication Date
2016
Journal Title
Pediatr Emerg Care
Abstract
Copyright © 2016 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to explore pediatric emergency department (PED) and general emergency department (GED) providersʼ perceptions on caring for critically ill infants and children. METHODS: This study utilized qualitative methods to examine the perceptions of emergency department providers caring for critically ill infants and children. Teams of providers participated in 4 in situ simulation cases followed by facilitated debriefings. Debriefings were recorded and professionally transcribed. The transcripts were reviewed independently and followed by group coding discussions to identify emerging themes. Consistent with grounded theory, the team iteratively revised the debriefing script as new understanding was gained. A total of 188 simulation debriefings were recorded in 24 departments, with 15 teams participating from 8 PEDs and 32 teams from 16 GEDs. RESULTS: Twenty-four debriefings were audiotaped and professionally transcribed verbatim. Thematic saturation was achieved after 20 transcripts. In our iterative qualitative analysis of these transcripts, we observed 4 themes: (1) GED provider comfort with algorithm-based pediatric care and overall comfort with pediatric care in PED, (2) GED provider reliance on cognitive aids versus experience-based recall by PED providers, (3) GED provider discomfort with locating and determining size or dose of pediatric-specific equipment and medications, and (4) PED provider reliance on larger team size and challenges with multitasking during resuscitation. CONCLUSIONS: Our qualitative analysis produced several themes that help us to understand providersʼ perceptions in caring for critically ill children in GEDs and PEDs. These data could guide the development of targeted educational and improvement interventions.
Volume Number
34
Issue Number
8
Pages
578-583
Document Type
Article
Status
Faculty
Facility
School of Medicine
Primary Department
General Pediatrics
Additional Departments
Science Education
PMID
DOI
10.1097/PEC.0000000000000906