ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: This study aims to determine the availability of geriatrics-friendly protocols, pieces of equipment, and physical environments alongside potential opportunities of improvement in the emergency departments of our country. METHODS: This prospective, cross-sectional study was conducted between the 1st and 29th of February, in the year 2024, within the AI, AII, B group- and university hospitals in Turkey. A questionnaire form consisting of three subdivisions in which general pieces of information, information regarding appropriate personnel/management for geriatrics-friendly emergency departments, equipment/materials, and the presence of physical environments was presented online to the participants and the responses that were provided online were evaluated. RESULTS: The study was conducted with a total of 175 participants from hospital emergency departments. The number of hospitals with monthly older patient application amounts of 500 and above was 133 (76.0%). It was observed that personnel/management knowledge was, relative to guideline suggestions, at low levels. When the appropriateness of personnel/management knowledge and total equipment/materials were compared to hospital roles, it was determined that university hospitals adhered closest to the guideline and that inter-group differences were significant (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: It was determined that the compliance of emergency departments in Turkey with the criteria specified in the geriatric emergency department guidelines is at very low levels.
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Emergency services are the first places where victims and/or perpetrators of different types of violence are brought for medical treatment. Emergency service nurses are the first health workers who first encounter with the forensic case, first communicate and are in an important position in the rapid and accurate continuation of the forensic process. In this study, it was aimed to determine the level of knowledge of emergency department nurses regarding the management of forensic cases. METHODS: The study was a cross-sectional, descriptive. Ninety-eight emergency nurses working in the emergency departments of three different public hospitals in the same province participated in the study. Study data were collected with the "Nurse Personal Information Form" and the "Knowledge Levels of Nurses related to the Approaches to Forensic Cases Questionnaire". RESULTS: 70.4 % of the nurses participating in the study were women, their mean age was (X ± SD = 27.36 ± 5.21). It is seen that 87.8 % of the nurses have a total working time in the emergency unit between 1 and 5 years and 11.2 % have received training on forensic nursing. "Total Knowledge Score" of undergraduate graduate nurses The mean score was higher and there was a significant difference between the groups (p > 0.05). The nurses who received in-service training and forensically evaluated all cases admitted to the emergency department had a higher mean score in the "Knowledge Score Regarding the Duties of Nurses Regarding Forensic Cases" mean was higher and there was a significant difference between the groups (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: We recommend the use of institutional guides/protocols together with in-service training for emergency nurses to provide medically and legally correct forensic care and to have sufficient knowledge.
