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Identifying Social-Behavioral Health Needs of Adults with Sickle Cell Disease in the Emergency Department.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Smith, SK; Johnston, J; Rutherford, C; Hollowell, R; Tanabe, P
Published in: Journal of emergency nursing
September 2017

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a complex illness with many social-behavioral co-morbidities. The aim of this project was to describe unmet social-behavioral health needs for adults with SCD who presented to the emergency department for treatment of vaso-occlusive episodes (VOEs).A descriptive study using 1:1 interviews during an ED visit for a VOE was conducted; a brief social behavioral health screening interview guide was used. A convenience sample of adults with SCD treated in the emergency department for a VOE were eligible for inclusion.We conducted 147 interviews over 14 months. Patients reported transportation and/or scheduling difficulties with clinic appointments in one third of the interviews. Four major themes emerged: clinic appointment barriers, medication barriers, other care barriers, and social-behavioral issues. A majority of patients (53%) reported being brought to the emergency department by a family member at their current visit. Patients cited having insurance coverage issues in more than one quarter (27%) of the interviews. Difficulties in obtaining prescriptions were cited as a result of a financial copay (17%), transportation (11%), and pharmacy (9%) issues. Almost one third of patients (29%) reported feeling depressed, and 20% reported feeling anxious.Many patients with SCD who are treated in the emergency department have social or behavioral health risk factors. Emergency departments have an opportunity to screen and refer patients for follow-up. Future research should investigate referral outcomes and their effect on ED and hospital use.

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Published In

Journal of emergency nursing

DOI

EISSN

1527-2966

ISSN

0099-1767

Publication Date

September 2017

Volume

43

Issue

5

Start / End Page

444 / 450

Related Subject Headings

  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Risk Factors
  • Prospective Studies
  • Nursing
  • Humans
  • Emergency Service, Hospital
  • Emergency Nursing
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Anemia, Sickle Cell
  • 4205 Nursing
 

Citation

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ICMJE
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Smith, S. K., Johnston, J., Rutherford, C., Hollowell, R., & Tanabe, P. (2017). Identifying Social-Behavioral Health Needs of Adults with Sickle Cell Disease in the Emergency Department. Journal of Emergency Nursing, 43(5), 444–450. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jen.2017.04.009
Smith, Sophia K., Julia Johnston, Carlton Rutherford, Rachel Hollowell, and Paula Tanabe. “Identifying Social-Behavioral Health Needs of Adults with Sickle Cell Disease in the Emergency Department.Journal of Emergency Nursing 43, no. 5 (September 2017): 444–50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jen.2017.04.009.
Smith SK, Johnston J, Rutherford C, Hollowell R, Tanabe P. Identifying Social-Behavioral Health Needs of Adults with Sickle Cell Disease in the Emergency Department. Journal of emergency nursing. 2017 Sep;43(5):444–50.
Smith, Sophia K., et al. “Identifying Social-Behavioral Health Needs of Adults with Sickle Cell Disease in the Emergency Department.Journal of Emergency Nursing, vol. 43, no. 5, Sept. 2017, pp. 444–50. Epmc, doi:10.1016/j.jen.2017.04.009.
Smith SK, Johnston J, Rutherford C, Hollowell R, Tanabe P. Identifying Social-Behavioral Health Needs of Adults with Sickle Cell Disease in the Emergency Department. Journal of emergency nursing. 2017 Sep;43(5):444–450.
Journal cover image

Published In

Journal of emergency nursing

DOI

EISSN

1527-2966

ISSN

0099-1767

Publication Date

September 2017

Volume

43

Issue

5

Start / End Page

444 / 450

Related Subject Headings

  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Risk Factors
  • Prospective Studies
  • Nursing
  • Humans
  • Emergency Service, Hospital
  • Emergency Nursing
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Anemia, Sickle Cell
  • 4205 Nursing