Beyond Triage: The Critical Role of Emergency Nurses in COPD Assessment and Management—Insights from Patients and Staff.
Background: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) remains a leading cause of emergency department (ED) presentation, hospitalisation, and preventable healthcare utilisation worldwide. Although guidelines advocate coordinated, preventative, and community-based management, care within ED settin...
| Publicado en: | Nursing Reports Vol. 16; no. 4; pp. 136 - 154 |
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| Autores principales: | , , |
| Formato: | research tables/charts Journal Article |
| Publicado: |
MDPI
Apr2026
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=193440316&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ccm uiTerm: 193440316 longDbName: CINAHL Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: dissinfo: jinfo: jid: 2039439X EGNT jtl: Nursing Reports issn: 2039439X maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Apr2026 vid: 16 iid: 4 pid: 97109 pub: MDPI artinfo: ui: 193440316 193440316 193440316 10.3390/nursrep16040136 193440316 ppf: 136 ppct: 18 formats: fmt: – @attributes: type: T – @attributes: type: P tig: atl: Beyond Triage: The Critical Role of Emergency Nurses in COPD Assessment and Management—Insights from Patients and Staff. aug: au: Moloney, Clint Beccaria, Gavin Mullens, Amy B. affil: School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, QLD 4350, Australia sug: subj: Patient Attitudes Evaluation Nurse Attitudes Evaluation Attitude of Health Personnel Evaluation Attitude to Illness Evaluation Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive Nursing Disease Exacerbation Nursing Acute Care Nursing Role Emergency Nursing Needs Assessment Comorbidity Emergency Service Queensland Funding Source Queensland Human Qualitative Studies Phenomenological Research Purposive Sample Semi-Structured Interview Thematic Analysis Holistic Nursing Patient Centered Care Health Screening Sleep Apnea, Obstructive Nursing Assessment Patient Education Middle Age Aged Male Female Audiorecording Continuity of Patient Care Self-Management Education Nurse-Patient Relations Middle Aged: 45-64 years Aged: 65+ years Male Female ab: Background: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) remains a leading cause of emergency department (ED) presentation, hospitalisation, and preventable healthcare utilisation worldwide. Although guidelines advocate coordinated, preventative, and community-based management, care within ED settings often remains reactive and crisis-driven. Nurses occupy a central role in COPD management; however, the experiential dimensions of nursing practice and its contribution to improving patient outcomes are insufficiently understood. Objectives: To explore the lived experiences of patients, nurses and medical officers regarding COPD presentations to the ED, with particular focus on the nursing role in assessment, coordination, education, and identification of unmet and comorbid care needs. Methods: A qualitative phenomenological approach was undertaken across three regional Australian EDs. Purposive sampling recruited patients presenting with acute exacerbations of COPD and nursing and medical officers involved in their care. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and transcribed verbatim. Data were analysed using Braun and Clarke's thematic analysis framework, supported by reflexive discussion and audit trails to enhance rigour. Results: Six interrelated themes were identified: (1) nursing within a "crisis first" model of care; (2) holistic assessment and translation of complexity; (3) education and care coordination as preventative nursing work; (4) relational care and therapeutic connection; (5) nurses as sentinels for undiagnosed comorbidities, particularly obstructive sleep apnoea; and (6) system pressures constraining optimal nursing practice. Participants consistently described nurses as the clinicians who stabilised acute episodes, interpreted contextual risks, coordinated services, and provided relational and educational support, yet whose preventative contributions were limited by time and organisational demands. Conclusions: ED nurses function as critical integrators between acute stabilisation and chronic disease management for patients with COPD. Formalising nurse-led assessment, education, coordination, and sleep-disordered breathing screening may reduce avoidable ED presentations and enhance patient-centred outcomes. Investment in structured nursing models represents a key opportunity for improving COPD care delivery. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: research tables/charts Journal Article ougenre: Article language: English refInfo: holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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