Measuring the Impact of the Home Health Nursing Shortage on Family Caregivers of Children Receiving Palliative Care.
Meaghann S Weaver, Brittany Wichman, Sue Bace and 4 others
PMID 29910692WHAT IT FOUND
Families reported a 40-hour weekly gap between approved and received home nursing, three times more often at night, and discharge delays averaging 15 days when home nursing could not be arranged.
Key findings
01Families reported approved home nursing hours of 103 per week and received hours of 63 per week, a mean gap of 40 hours per week; the gap was reported three times more often during night shifts than day shifts.
02Twenty-one families, reported as 81%, perceived a need for more nursing hours than they were receiving and could not access necessary nursing staff.
03Nine of 23 families reported discharge delays due to lack of home nursing coverage, with an average 15 days beyond biomedical clearance.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The survey included 38 families from one freestanding children's hospital in the Midwest, so the experience may not match other settings. Only 38 of 60 families responded. Some findings rest on small numbers, such as discharge delays reported by 9 of 23 families. The authors note the nursing shortage may translate differently across the United States. Diagnosis counts include possible coexisting conditions, so they cannot be read as one diagnosis per child.
Declared interests
The authors report no conflicts of interest to disclose.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the 40-hour weekly gap or 15-day discharge delay as applying to every family. These are averages from 38 families at one hospital, and discharge delays were reported by only 9 of 23 families.