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What are research nurses' experiences of obtaining consent from or for patients participating in emergency care research? A qualitative review
Author(s) -
Brown Pauline,
Hewison Alistair,
Newham Roger
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of clinical nursing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.94
H-Index - 102
eISSN - 1365-2702
pISSN - 0962-1067
DOI - 10.1111/jocn.14984
Subject(s) - qualitative research , informed consent , nursing , medicine , quality (philosophy) , set (abstract data type) , psychology , health care , clinical trial , medical education , alternative medicine , political science , social science , philosophy , epistemology , pathology , sociology , computer science , law , programming language
If studies are to be valid, recruitment of representative samples is essential. In 2012, 28% of UK emergency departments met the 80% standard for recruitment to trials set by the National Institute for Health Research. Research nurses play a vital role in the conduct of high‐quality research, and it has been argued that dedicated research nurses are needed if clinical trials are to recruit successfully to target. Review question What are research nurses' experiences of obtaining consent from or for patients participating in emergency care research? A qualitative evidence review. Methods A qualitative integrative literature review with a narrative synthesis of the evidence. PRISMA guidelines for reporting systematic qualitative reviews (Appendix S1) were followed. A search of five electronic databases was performed in December 2018 along with a hand search which yielded 125 citations: 10 papers and one PhD thesis met the review eligibility criteria. Methodological quality of the selected studies was evaluated, and data were extracted and synthesised. Results Three themes were identified: Access, Organisation and Timing. Research nurses encountered both general and specific barriers when seeking to obtain consent for participation in research. In particular, it was found there was lack of experience among staff of working in emergency research and with securing deferred consent. The distinction between nurse researchers with a clinical role and those dedicated to solely to research only is often not clear and warrants further investigation. Conclusion Nurse researchers with and without a clinical role can make a positive difference in recruitment to trials in emergency care. The involvement of dedicated research nurses in the consent process can increase recruitment to emergency care research. Experience of recruiting to clinical trials in nonemergency settings does not seem to help when recruiting for trials in emergency care. Relevance to clinical practice There is a need for greater understanding of the experiences of dedicated research nurses in emergency care settings and in particular with regard to deferred consent.