Psychosocial care for seriously injured children and their families: A qualitative study among Emergency Department nurses and physicians

Abstract

Background Approximately one in five children who sustain a serious injury develops persistent stress symptoms. Emergency Department nurses and physicians have a pivotal role in psychosocial care for seriously injured children. However, little is known about staff's views on this role. Objective Our aim was to investigate Emergency Department staff's views on psychosocial care for seriously injured children. Methods We conducted semi-structured interviews with 20 nurses and physicians working in an Australian Paediatric Emergency Department. We used purposive sampling to obtain a variety of views. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and major themes were derived in line with the summati..