Browsing by Author "Lang M"

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    Exploring the role of nurses in after-hours telephone services in regional areas; A scoping review
    (PLOS, 2020-08-24) Baldwin A; Willis E; Harvey C; Lang M; Hegney D; Heard D; Heritage B; Claes J; Patterson D; Curnow V; Ashkenaz I
    INTRODUCTION: The management of patients who need chronic and complex care is a focus of attention internationally, brought about by an increase in chronic conditions, requiring significantly more care over longer periods of time. The increase in chronic conditions has placed pressure on health services, financially and physically, bringing about changes in the way care is delivered, with hospital avoidance and home-based care encouraged. In this environment, nurses play an important role in co-ordinating care across services. This review formed one part of a funded project that explored the nurse navigator role within a proposed 24-hour telephone-call service in one regional area that has a diverse population in terms of cultural identity and geographical location in relation to service access. AIM: The review reports on the extant literature on the nurse's role in the provision of afterhours telephone services for patients with chronic and complex conditions. The specific aim was to explore the effectiveness of services for patients in geographically isolated locations. METHODS: The methodological approach to the review followed the Preferred Reporting System for Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. A thematic analysis was used to identify themes with chronic care models underpinning analysis. RESULTS: Three themes were identified; nurse-led decision making; consumer profile; and program outcomes. Each theme was divided into two sub-themes. The two sub-themes for decision making were: the experience of the staff who provided the service and the tool or protocol used. The two sub-themes for consumers profile were; the geographic/demographic identity of the consumers, and consumer satisfaction. The final theme of outcomes describes how the effectiveness of the service is measured, broken into two sub-themes: the economic/workforce outcomes and the consumer outcomes. DISCUSSION: The provision of an after-hours telephone service, in whatever model used should align with a Chronic Care Model. In this way, after-hours telephone services provided by experienced nurses, supported by ongoing professional development and relevant protocols, form part of the ongoing improvement for chronic and complex care management as a health priority.
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    The use of telephone communication between nurse navigators and their patients
    (Public Library of Science (PLoS), 2020) Heritage B; Harvey C; Brown J; Hegney D; Willis E; Baldwin A; Heard D; Mclellan S; Clayton V; Claes J; Lang M; Curnow V
    Background Hospitals and other health care providers frequently experience difficulties contacting patients and their carers who live remotely from the town where the health service is located. In 2016 Nurse Navigator positions were introduced into the health services by Queensland Health, to support and navigate the care of people with chronic and complex conditions. One hospital in Far North Queensland initiated an additional free telephone service to provide another means of communication for patients and carers with the NNs and for off-campus health professionals to obtain details about a patient utilising the service. Calls made between 7am and 10pm, seven days per week are answered by a nurse navigator. Aim To report utilisation of the service by navigated clients and remotely located clinicians compared to use of navigators’ individual work numbers and direct health service numbers. We report the reason for calls to the free number and examine features of these calls. Methods Statistical analysis examined the call reason, duration of calls, setting from where calls originated and stream of calls. Interactions between the reasons for calls and the features of calls, such as contact method, were examined. Results The major reason for calls was clinical issues and the source of calls was primarily patients and carers. Clinical calls were longer in duration. Shorter calls were mainly non-clinical, made by a health professional. Setting for calls was not related to the reason. The most frequent number used was the individual mobile number of the NN, followed by the hospital landline. Although the free number was utilised by patients and carers, it was not the preferred option. Conclusion As patients and carers preferred to access their NN directly than via the 1800 number, further research should explore options best suited to this group of patients outside normal business hours.