Barriers to Referral for Elevated Blood Pressure in the Emergency Department and Differences Between Provider Type. Issue 3 (13th January 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Souffront, Kimberly; Chyun, Deborah; Kovner, Christine
• Is Part Of: Journal of clinical hypertension. Volume 17:Issue 3(2015:Mar.)
• Page Start: 207
• Page End: 214
• Publication Date: 2015-01-13
• Subjects: Hypertension -- Periodicals; 616.132
• DOI: 10.1111/jch.12468
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1524-6175

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main" id="jch12468-abs-0001"> <title> <x xml:space="preserve">Abstract</x> </title> <p>A multidisciplinary sample of emergency department providers across the United States (n=450) were surveyed to identify barriers to referral for elevated blood pressure (BP) in the emergency department and differences between provider type. Registered nurses reported less knowledge of stage I hypertension (<italic>P=</italic>.043) and prehypertension (<italic>P&lt;</italic>.01); were less aware of definitions for hypertension (<italic>P&lt;</italic>.001); reported more difficulty in caring for patients who are asymptomatic (<italic>P=</italic>.007); required financial compensation to refer (<italic>P=</italic>.048); and perceived that BP referrals are influenced by the medical director (<italic>P&lt;</italic>.001). Medical doctors reported more skills to refer (<italic>P=</italic>.008) and time as a barrier (<italic>P=</italic>.038). Physician assistants were more likely to report patients are not aware of health benefits (<italic>P=</italic>.035), doubted their concern for their BP (<italic>P</italic>=.023), and felt emotionally uncomfortable when referring (<italic>P=</italic>.025). Despite these differences, there was no significant difference between provider type and referral rates.</p> </abstract>