A Cross-Sectional Study on Emergency Department Nurses' Knowledge, Practices and Factors Affecting About Triage

Objective: The study aimed to evaluate the knowledge and practices of emergency nurses working in adult emergency departments of two public hospitals serving as tertiary care in the same city and the factors associated with them. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional and descriptive study was conducted with 82 emergency service nurses. The research data were obtained with a three-part questionnaire form consisting of questions about some personal characteristics of emergency nurses, the theoretical knowledge of nurses about triage and their practices about triage. Results: Nurses' triage knowledge and triage application scores were above the average score. Additionally, emergency nurses' theoretical knowledge about triage score averages was higher than their practice score averages. However, it was noteworthy that there was a lack of information and incorrect practices on some subjects of triage. There was no significant difference in the nurses' gender, educational level triage training status and their triage knowledge and practices (p >0.05). 78.0% of the nurses stated that they practiced triage in the emergency department, but 42.7% of them did not consider themselves sufficient in triage, and 59.8% stated that patient density was the most important factor in ensuring effective triage. Conclusion: Emergency department nurses have deficiencies in triage knowledge and practice and deficiencies in transforming their knowledge into practice. According to the results of the study, it is recommended that professional education should be improved, and information should be updated with continuous in-service training in order to prevent knowledge deficiencies and incorrect triage practices in emergency nursing.