Emergency department nurses' knowledge, skills, and comfort related to caring for patients with intellectual...

Individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) are more likely to visit the emergency department (ED) more frequently than their counterparts without ID. Nurses play an integral role in caring for all patients in the ED, including those with ID, although training to work with this population is limited. The aim of this study was to examine the self-perceived knowledge, skills, and comfort of ED nurses when caring for a patient with ID.

Questionnaires were returned from 151 nurses from a total of six EDs within Ontario, Canada. The questionnaire contained fourteen items related to knowledge, comfort, practice and skills, readiness for change, prior exposure to patients with ID, and awareness of strategies to identify patients in this population.

Although the majority of nurses reported an interaction with a patient with a suspected ID in the past year, only 28% of respondents reported awareness of strategies to help identify if a patient may have an ID, and only half reported feeling skilled in adapting their communication and approach.

ED nurses are the first point of contact in caring for patients with ID, thus it is crucial that they understand how to provide accessible and inclusive care for this population.