Communication in Hong Kong Accident and Emergency Departments: The Clinicians' Perspectives. (26th March 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Chandler, Eloise; Slade, Diana; Pun, Jack; Lock, Graham; Matthiessen, Christian M. I. M.; Espindola, Elaine; Ng, Carman
• Is Part Of: Global qualitative nursing research. Volume 2(2015)
• Publication Date: 2015-03-26
• Subjects: emergency care -- communication, health care professionals -- health care, interprofessional -- relationships, health care -- empathy -- interviews, semi-structured; Nursing -- Research -- Periodicals; Qualitative research -- Periodicals; Nursing Research; Qualitative Research; Nursing -- Research; Qualitative research; Periodicals; Periodicals; 610.73
• DOI: 10.1177/2333393615576714
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2333-3936

Abstract

In this article, we report findings from the first qualitatively driven study of patient–clinician communication in Hong Kong Accident and Emergency Departments (AEDs). In light of the Hong Kong Hospital Authority's policy emphasis on patient-centered care and communication in the public hospitals it oversees, we analyze clinicians' perceptions of the role and relevance of patient-centered communication strategies in emergency care. Although aware of the importance of effective communication in emergency care, participants discussed how this was frequently jeopardized by chronic understaffing, patient loads, and time pressures. This was raised in relation to the absence of spoken interdisciplinary handovers, the tendency to downgrade interpersonal communication with patients, and the decline in staff attendance at communication training courses. Participants' frequent descriptions of patient-centered communication as dispensable from, and time-burdensome in, AEDs highlight a discrepancy between the stated Hong Kong Hospital Authority policy of patient-centered care and the reality of contemporary Hong Kong emergency practice.