Clinician’s perspectives on the feasibility of patient controlled analgesia in emergency departments: A qualitative descriptive study

Abstract

Background

Despite pain being the most common reason for patients to visit the emergency department (ED), conventional pain management methods are often inadequate. Patient controlled analgesia (PCA), which allows patients to self-administer intravenous analgesia, is widely used across many hospital wards, however, is not routinely used in ED. We aimed to identify clinicians’ perceptions of PCA use in the ED setting.

Methods

A qualitative descriptive approach was employed using semi-structured individual interviews conducted with ED clinicians from two hospitals in Western Australia. Interviews were recorded and transcribed. Data was analysed using qualitative content analysis.

Results

Data saturation was achieved after 20 participant interviews. Five themes emerged from the interview data: sustainability and choosing the right patient; time; safety concerns and side effects; anticipating the patient’s perspective (staff perception); facilitating PCA use in ED.

Conclusion

Most participants perceived that patients would experience several benefits from PCA use in ED. Several perceived barriers and facilitators were also identified. To facilitate the use of PCA in ED, there is a need for staff education on PCA use, patient selection guidelines and effective change management strategies. Further research about the time it takes to administer analgesia via PCA compared with conventional methods is needed.