The cognition and attitude of non-emergent patients and their family to emergency department crowding about triage emergency medical care system at a Medical Center in Southern

• Main Authors: Shu-Hui Chen, 陳淑惠
• Other Authors: Li-Lin Liang
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2019
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/kv56dg

碩士 === 國立中山大學 === 企業管理學系醫務管理碩士班 === 107 === Background: Overcrowding in emergency departments is one of the emergency medical problems that attract most attention worldwide. Although experts and governments have proposed numerous solutions, few discussed the problem from the perspectives of patients who require emergency care and their families in terms of their level of understanding of emergency department overcrowding. The purpose of this study was to explore views and attitudes of noncritical patients and their family members toward emergency department overcrowding. Methods: The research participants were noncritical patients after triage and their family members in an emergency department of a medical center in southern Taiwan. The data were collected from September 1, 2017 to January 15, 2018. A total of 700 questionnaires were distributed and 602 were returned. After deleting 57 unanswered or incomplete questionnaires and removing those with the same responses to all questions, the number of valid questionnaires was 525. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were conducted. Results: The patients and their family members had obscure impression on emergency department overcrowding and were unsure of when to use emergency resources. They tended to consider the National Health Insurance (NHI) system as a governmental social welfare system. This thought affected their selection of hospitals for emergency care. Therefore, their acceptance of the cooperative mechanism of the hospital transfer system and the emergency medical resources has a considerable room of improvement. The government has established an APP information platform “NHI Mobile APP,” which the patients and their family members are willing to use but know little of its functions. Suggestions: Education affects the public’s medical seeking behavior. Emergency care-related courses should be designed for schools, communities, and work places. Community health care groups should hold forums regarding epidemics to increase the public’s trust in clinics. Hospitals may consider use electronic systems and health education to promote proper use of emergency department resources. Electronic health education should be provided to emergency department patients to help them understand the importance of disease self-care. The government may use television media to promote the NHI mobile APP, which can provide medical information to the public whenever they need it, thereby mitigating the overcrowding of emergency departments.