A Qualitative Study Of Emergency Nurses’ Basic Life Support Practices In A Ghanaian University Hospital

Abstract


 Background: Medical emergencies are common but Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) incidences are rare; yet when they occur could be life threatening leading either to disability or death. During SCA incidents, health care professionals will be required to act skilfully and swiftly to restart the heart and stabilise the patient until advanced care can be accessed or provided. There is evidence that victims of cardio and/or respiratory arrest whilst in the hospital will have improved outcomes if Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) is initiated within three to five minutes. The objectives of this study were to find if emergency nurses were adequately resourced to practice Basic Life Support (BLS), and the ease or difficulties with which they practice BLS. 
 Methods: This Qualitative Descriptive (QD) study was conducted at the University of Cape Coast Hospital (UCCH) between June and September 2019. Six nurses were purposively recruited for the study. All interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. The transcription was done with Microsoft Word and transferred to Microsoft Excel for thematic analysis using an inductive descriptive approach. Data analysis took a conventional qualitative content analysis approach. 
 Results: Four of the participants were females whilst two were males. During data aggregation and analysis, 17 first-level codes were extracted from which two themes, five categories and six subcategories were obtained for discussion. The major themes were: (1) Basic Life Support (BLS) equipment and material resources, and (2) working environment and human resource. 
 Conclusion: The study found that nurses working at emergency ward at UCCH were adequately resourced and well prepared to practice BLS. They however had challenges as their work seem to be hindered by patients who present to the ward without emergency needs and unavailability of emergency drugs.

Implementation of basic life support outside the hospital through video training

“…To simplify the systematics of the aid process, the concept of DRSCABE is introduced, consisting of Danger (ability to identify danger), Response (ability to know the victim's response), Shout for help (ask for help), Chest Compression (perform chest compression), Airway (assess airway patency), Breathing (assess breathing), Evaluation (evaluation after 5 cycles within 2 minutes). This process is not easy because when faced with victims, first responders often feel confused in providing assistance, even though they have received previous training (Afrifa, 2021).…”

Efektivitas Video Latihan Terhadap Ketepatan Bantuan Hidup Dasar di Luar Rumah Sakit

“…Penatalaksanaan BHD sebagai dasar pemahaman awal penolong tidak boleh dalam keadaan panik dan bingung maka untuk memudahkan sistematika dalam proses pertolongan maka diperkenalkan konsep DRSCABE yang terdiri dari Danger (kemampuan mengidentifikasi bahaya), Respon (kemampuan mengetahui respon korban), Shout for help (meminta bantuan), Chest Compression (melakukan kompresi dada), Airway (mengkaji kepatenan jalan napas), Breathing (mengkaji pernapasan), Evaluation (evaluasi setelah 5 siklus dalam 2 menit) proses ini tidak lah mudah karena ketika berhadapan dengan korban seringkali merasa kebingungan untuk melakukan pertolongan meskipun sebelumnya sudah mendapatkan pelatihan pertolongan (Afrifa, 2021). Penyuluhan kesehatan sangatlah penting di berikan kepada mitra dengan mayoritas keadaan gawatdarurat yang terjadi di desa sungai alat adalah kecelakaan lalulintas dengan harapan besar mitra dapat melakukan kesiapan dan kesigapan dalam upaya menyelamatkan nyawa seseorang, yang hanya hitungan menit bahkan detik karena dalam situasi kegawatdaruratan seperti ini jangan berpikir panjang namun tindakan secara langsung yang harus dilakukan.…”