Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gvvz8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T22:59:06.706Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Non-Pediatric Nurses’ Willingness to Provide Care to Pediatric Patients during a Disaster: An Assessment of Pediatric Surge Capacity in Four Midwestern Hospitals

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 March 2021

Terri Rebmann ,
Rachel L. Charney ,
Rebecca L. Eschmann  and
M. Colleen Fitzpatrick
Terri Rebmann*
Affiliation:
Institute for Biosecurity, College for Public Health and Social Justice, Saint Louis University, Saint Louis, MO, US
Rachel L. Charney
Affiliation:
Pediatrics, Saint Louis University, Saint Louis, MO, US
Rebecca L. Eschmann
Affiliation:
Institute for Biosecurity, College for Public Health and Social Justice, Saint Louis University, Saint Louis, MO, US
M. Colleen Fitzpatrick
Affiliation:
Northwell Health, Cohen Children’s Hospital, New Hyde Park, NY, US
*
Corresponding author: Terri Rebmann, Email: terri.rebmann@slu.edu.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Objective:

To assess non-pediatric nurses’ willingness to provide care to pediatric patients during a mass casualty event (MCE).

Methods:

Nurses from 4 non-pediatric hospitals in a major metropolitan Midwestern region were surveyed in the fall of 2018. Participants were asked about their willingness to provide MCE pediatric care. Hierarchical logistical regression was used to describe factors associated with nurses’ willingness to provide MCE pediatric care.

Results:

In total, 313 nurses were approached and 289 completed a survey (response rate = 92%). A quarter (25.3%, n = 73) would be willing to provide MCE care to a child of any age; 12% (n = 35) would provide care only to newborns in the labor and delivery area, and 16.6% (n = 48) would only provide care to adults. Predictors of willingness to provide care to a patient of any age during an MCE included providing care to the youngest-age children during routine duties, reporting confidence in calculating doses and administering pediatric medications, working in the emergency department, being currently or previously certified in PALS, and having access to pediatric-sized equipment in the unit or hospital.

Conclusion:

Pediatric surge capacity is lacking among nurses. Increasing nurses’ pediatric care self-efficacy could improve pediatric surge capacity and minimize morbidity and mortality during MCEs.

Keywords

surge capacitypediatricsnursingdisasteremergency management
Type
Original Research
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 16 , Issue 3 , June 2022 , pp. 1053 - 1058
Copyright
© Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc. 2021

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Hardin, AP, Hackell, JM, Committee on Practice and Ambulatory Medicine. Age limits of pediatrics. Peds. 2017;140(3):e20172151.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ketterhagen, TM, Dahl-Grove, DL, McKee, MR. National survey of institutional pediatric disaster preparedness. Am J Disaster Med. 2018;13(3):153–160.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Burke, RV, Iverson, E, Goodhue, CJ, Neches, R, Upperman, JS. Disaster and mass casualty events in the pediatric population. Semin Pediatr Surg. 2010;19(4):265–270.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
American Academy of Pediatrics. The youngest victims: Disaster preparedness to meet children’s needs. https://www.aap.org/en-us/advocacy-and-policy/aap-health-initiatives/Children-and-Disasters/Pages/Pediatric-Preparedness-Resource-Kit.aspx2019. Accessed August 14, 2019.Google Scholar
AlHarbi, TM, AlGarni, A, AlGamdi, F, Jawish, M, Wani, TA, Abu-Shaheen, AK. The accuracy of Broselow tape weight estimate among pediatric population. Biomed Res Int. 2016;2016:1–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hanlon, P. Managing the pediatric airway. J Respir Care Prac. 2014;27(11):26–29. https://rtmagazine.com/public-health/pediatrics/pediatric-care/managing-pediatric-airway/.Google Scholar
Roberson, C. Supporting children and adolescents in disasters. Alabama Nurse. 2017;44(3):15–16. https://www.nursingald.com/publications/1562.Google Scholar
Wizemann, T, Reeve, M, Altevogt, B. Institute of Medicine. Preparedness, Response, and Recovery Considerations for Children and Families. Washington, DC: National Academices Press; 2014.Google Scholar
National Advisory Committee on Children and Disasters. Healthcare Preparedness for Children in Disasters: A Report of the NACCD Healthcare Preparedness Working Group: 2015. https://www.phe.gov/Preparedness/legal/boards/naccd/Documents/healthcare-prep-wg-20151311.pdf2015. Accessed May 4, 2017.Google Scholar
Ferrer, RR, Ramirez, M, Sauser, K, Iverson, E, Upperman, JS. Emergency drills and exercises in healthcare organizations: Assessment of pediatric population involvement using after-action reports. Am J Disaster Med. 2009;4(1):23–32.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brice, JH, Gregg, D, Sawyer, D, Cyr, JM. Survey of hospital employees’ personal preparedness and willingness to work following a disaster. South Med J. 2017;110(8):516–522.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Charney, RL, Rebmann, T, Flood, RG. Hospital employee willingness to work during earthquakes versus pandemics. J Emerg Med. 2015;49(5):665–674.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ray, KN, Olson, LM, Edgerton, EA, et al. Access to High pediatric-readiness emergency care in the United States. J Pediatr. 2018;194:225–232.e1.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Burkle, FM Jr, Williams, A, Kissoon, N; Task Force for Pediatric Emergency Mass Critical Care. Pediatric emergency mass critical care: The role of community preparedness in conserving critical care resources. Pediatr Crit Care Med. 2011;12(6 Suppl):S141–S151.Google ScholarPubMed
Tegtmeyer, K, Conway, EE Jr, Upperman, JS, Kissoon, N, Task Force for Pediatric Emergency Mass Critical Care. Education in a pediatric emergency mass critical care setting. Pediatr Crit Care Med. 2011;12(6 Suppl):S135–S140.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Remick, K, Gausche-Hill, M, Joseph, MM, et al. Pediatric readiness in the emergency department. Ann Emerg Med. 2018;72(6):e123–e136.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pham, PK, Behar, SM, Berg, BM, Upperman, JS, Nager, AL. Pediatric online disaster preparedness training for medical and non-medical personnel: A multi-level modeling analysis. Prehospital and Disaster Medicine. 2018;33(4):349–354.Google ScholarPubMed
Goodhue, CJ, Burke, RV, Ferrer, RR, Chokshi, NK, Dorey, F, Upperman, JS. Willingness to respond in a disaster: A pediatric nurse practitioner national survey. J Pediatr Health Care. 2012;26(4):e7–e20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goldman, MP, Wong, AH, Bhatnagar, A, Emerson, BL, Brown, LL, Auerbach, MA. Providers’ perceptions of caring for pediatric patients in community hospital emergency departments: A mixed-methods analysis. Acad Emerg Med. 2018;25(12):1385–1395.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed