The Quality of Nursing Care and Some Related Factors in the Emergency Department of a Psychiatric Teaching Hospital: A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

Background: Understanding the various aspects of nursing care quality in psychiatric emergencies across different contexts facilitates the achievement of optimal care for patients with acute mental conditions. Objectives: This study aimed to assess the quality of nursing care (QNC) and related factors in the emergency department of a psychiatric teaching hospital in Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the emergency department of a psychiatric teaching hospital affiliated with Zanjan University of Medical Sciences (ZUMS) in Iran between July 6 and December 29, 2021. Data from 200 psychiatric patients were gathered using demographic and clinical characteristics questionnaires, along with the Quality of Psychiatric Emergency Nursing Care Scale (QPsychENCS). To analyze the collected data, the 24th version of SPSS was utilized. The significance level was considered to be less than 0.05 for all variables. Results: According to the results, patients had a mean age of 36.83 ± 12.35 years and a mean psychiatric illness duration of 12.18 ± 9.47 years. The majority were male (74.5%), single (50.5%), unemployed (47.7%), and had a primary education (53%). The findings from the observation of patients showed that the total QNC and its subscales — except for the implementation of the discharge plan — were 97.5% and 95 - 96.5% desirable, respectively. The patient discharge plan implementation met desirable quality standards for only 49% of patients. Data analysis revealed that factors related to QNC included sex, occupation, emotions, and causes of patients’ hospitalization, along with patients’ admission times based on nurses’ shifts (P Conclusions: It is suggested that, in order to provide high-quality care in the psychiatric emergency department, factors related to QNC should be carefully considered in addition to institutionalizing continuous care programs through an appropriate discharge plan.