Identifying the obstacles facing emergency nurses regarding treating CTAS1 and CTAS2 in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Abstract Background: Emergency nurses are crucial to the effectiveness of an emergency healthcare system. However, several difficulties and obstacles, particularly in dealing with life-threatening cases, may affect the health, safety, and satisfaction of nurses and patients. This study aimed to explore the most common challenges faced by emergency nurses when dealing with CTAS1 and CTAS2 cases according to the Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale in Saudi hospitals to avoid or manage them in the future. Methods: This study used the mixed-method sequential study design with two phases. The first phase involved focus group discussions with eight expert nurses from two large hospitals in Taif. The second phase was an online questionnaire using 23 of the 28 items extracted from the first phase. Principal component analysis was used to describe and find the correlation and contrast between the results. Findings: Five factors were extracted: patient care management, critical case handling, hospital management support, delays in patient care, and the impact of the presence of the patient’s family on nurses. Conclusion: Understanding the difficulties faced by emergency nurses may assist hospital stakeholders in providing psychological support and sufficient resources and improving high-quality protocols for emergency situations.