Consensus-based clinical research priorities for emergency nursing in Australia

Introduction: Research is vital to responding to contemporary challenges of providing safe, high quality emergency nursing care, yet the research priorities for emergency nursing practice in Australia are unknown. This study aimed to establish research priorities for emergency nursing in Australia. Methods: A two-stage descriptive, exploratory study was conducted. First, research themes were identified through a survey of 232 emergency nurses the Delphi Technique (2 rounds) was used to rank and prioritise the research themes. Results: There were five research themes with a CVI ≥ 0.90: (i) recognising and responding to deteriorating ED patients; (ii) effect of access block on clinical care of admitted ICU patients; (iii) effects of ED overcrowding on clinical care; (iv) scope of practice of specialist emergency nurses; and (v) effect of access block on clinical care of admitted ward patients. These are reflected in four broad research priority areas: professional issues, patient safety, emergency care of vulnerable populations, and healthcare system issues. Conclusion: Future research should focus on these priority areas in partnership with other emergency disciplines to enable safe, high quality emergency care, and, to inform the practice of emergency nursing in Australia.