@article{ref1,
title="Staff perceptions of barriers to self-harm care in the emergency department: a cross-sectional survey study",
journal="Australasian emergency care",
year="2023",
author="Richards, Hannah and Rajaram, Gowri and Lamblin, Michelle and Knott, Jonathan and Connolly, Owen and Hetrick, Sarah and Robinson, Jo",
volume="ePub",
number="ePub",
pages="ePub-ePub",
abstract="BACKGROUND: Emergency departments (EDs) are often the first point of contact for people with self-harm; however, they do not always receive optimal care. The study objective was to examine the perspectives of ED staff who respond to self-harm presentations, perceived barriers to providing optimal, guideline-concordant care, and staff's familiarity with existing guidelines. <br><br>METHODS: An online cross-sectional survey comprising purpose-designed questions concerning self-harm in the ED was completed by 131 staff (83.2% nurses) from two hospitals in Victoria, Australia. Survey results were analysed using Stata version 16 and frequencies and percentages were calculated. <br><br>RESULTS: Respondents reported knowledge of how to appropriately manage a person presenting with self-harm. However, lack of space (62.3%) and time (78.7%) to conduct the appropriate assessments, lack of self-harm training (71.8%), and limited awareness of or access to guidelines and recommendations for self-harm management within the ED (63.6%), were identified as primary barriers to their ability to appropriately manage these presenters. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: Improvements to the ED environment and processes, as well as the provision of regular self-harm specific education and training for all ED staff are needed. Implementation of best-practice standards should prioritise guideline-concordant care, with a particular focus on the education needs of nursing staff.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="2589-1375",
doi="10.1016/j.auec.2023.07.002",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.auec.2023.07.002"
}