Regions: North Slave Region
| Principal Investigator: | Scott, Shannon D (7) |
| Licence Number: | 15099 |
| Organization: | University of Alberta |
| Licensed Year(s): |
2012
|
| Issued: | Jun 20, 2012 |
| Project Team: | David Pontin, Lisa Given |
Objective(s): To determine the knowledge needs of healthcare providers working in general emergency departments (EDs) through an established partnership with 32 general EDs across Canada.
Project Description: The purpose of this study is to determine the knowledge needs of healthcare providers working in general emergency departments (EDs) through an established partnership with 32 general EDs across Canada. Study Design: This will be a descriptive, multi-centre, cross-sectional survey. Questionnaire Development: The needs assessment survey was developed in collaboration with experts in the area of pediatric emergency medicine and leaders in the development of evidence-based knowledge. Pilot testing of the questionnaire has been done with health care professionals and revisions made to the questions. Inclusion Criteria: Participants must be employed in one of the institutions where the data is being collected and be one of the following healthcare professionals: physician, attending physician, medical resident, medical fellow, registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, registered dietician, social worker, pharmacist, occupational therapist, physiotherapist, or respiratory therapist or an ED administrator. Exclusion Criteria: Any staff that are not involved in direct care/treatment of patients (e.g. unit clerks, admissions personnel etc.). Physicians who are only present in the ED on a consultative basis will be excluded and all students (e.g. medical, nursing, and allied healthcare). Sample Size: As this is an initial sampling of 32 EDs across Canada the research team are seeking to have all eligible staff at each of the EDs participate in the electronic survey. This is an exploratory, descriptive study thus the goal is to achieve as much information as possible. Due to the variability in the number of staff at each of the urban, rural, and community-based general EDs, an average of 100 participants are being anticipated at each of the 32 sites for a total of 3200 participants nationally. These numbers were based on an informal gathering of current staff at the participating sites, and the number of 3200 participants across Canada will be achievable based on this information. Statistical Methods and Planned Data Analysis: Frequencies and measures of central tendency (e.g., mean, median, and mode) will be completed on the variables at the end of the data collection period. Correlations and Chi-square statistics will be completed where possible (e.g., exploring information need preferences by health care professional type). Each of the community hospital's participating will be contributing to what is known about the knowledge needs of ED staff in general hospitals in Canada. This information will contribute to the development of more effective knowledge translation networks for pediatric emergency medicine. The results of this national study will be published in a leading journal that will be communicated to the staff at Stanton Territorial Hospital. The fieldwork for this study will be conducted from May 15, 2012 to December 31, 2012.
