Powerlessness: Dissatisfied patients' and relatives' experience of their emergency department visit

The aim of this study was to disclose the meaning of patients and relatives lived experience of dissatisfaction when visiting an emergency department.

Even though most patients are pleased with the emergency department care, there are areas that dissatisfy them, for example lack of communication and unoccupied wait time. However, there are few studies that describe both patients and relatives experience of dissatisfaction.

This explorative study uses a phenomenological hermeneutic approach where patients and relatives were interviewed.

Patients and relatives meaning of dissatisfaction mainly contain powerlessness, struggling for control over the situation, lacking knowledge and information, receiving and providing support.

The results showed that the experiences of dissatisfaction were similar among patients and relatives. They suffer in the same way when being treated like objects during their visits. Nursing rounds are one way to decrease dissatisfaction by making patients and relatives participating in the care continually updated with information.