Nurses’ Experiences of Caring for Patients in A Combined Paediatric and Adult Unit: A Qualitative Study from A Tertiary Hospital
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31436/ijcs.v8i2.386Keywords:
Paediatric unit, Adult unit, Nurses' experiences, Patient-centred care, Qualitatitve studyAbstract
Introduction: Provision of care in a combined settings model for both adult and paediatric populations is uncommon, especially for general inpatient care. Despite the potential advantages of mixed-age care models, their effectiveness across age groups remains uncertain due to the need for highly skilled healthcare professionals and suitable environments. Furthermore, there is a noticeable gap in research regarding nurses' experiences within combined pediatric and adult units. This study explored the experiences of nurses working in a combined ward setting and caring for both paediatric and adult patients in the same unit.
Methods: A qualitative research was utilized to conduct this study. In-depth face-to-face tape-recorded interviews with a purposive sample of 15 nurses caring for both paediatric and adult patients.
Results: The perspective of the participants resulted in the identification of three themes: double hat: adult/paediatric nurse, age-centred care, and challenges and rewards.
Conclusion: The study results suggest that nurses can provide simultaneous nursing care for both paediatric and adult patients in one unit. This can be facilitated by having clear guidelines, teamwork, support, tailored training and age-appropriate equipment/resources to meet patients’ age-specific needs.
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