Women's experience of early pregnancy care in the emergency department: A qualitative study

Abstract

Summary Background Women who have problems in early pregnancy frequently present to the emergency department (ED). The aim of this qualitative study was to describe the experience of early pregnancy care in the ED from the perspective of women. Methods This study used a qualitative design involving semi-structured interviews with women who attended five hospital EDs in Hunter New England Area Health Service during late 2009 and early 2010. Out of 200 letters sent, 16 women agreed to be interviewed to describe their experience of care in the ED. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the interview transcripts. Results Privacy, dignity, compassion and respect were important to participants. Many women reported that they were not given a private room in the ED and were distressed by the constant traffic of people nearby. Overall, participants reported that ED staff treated them with compassion and respect, though this was sometimes limited by the busy environment. Most participants wanted more information such as pamphlets and few were offered follow-up support or a counselling referral. Conclusions The findings of this study suggest that EDs should enhance their management of women with problems in early pregnancy including allocating them to beds with sufficient privacy, providing them with access to written information and referrals to counselling.