Doctors’ experiences of referring and admitting patients to the intensive care unit: a qualitative study of doctors’ practices at two tertiary hospitals in Malawi
Objective To explore doctors’ experiences of referring and admitting patients to the intensive care unit (ICU) at two tertiary hospitals in Malawi.Design This was a qualitative study that used face-to-face interviews. The interviews were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim into English. The data wer...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMJ Publishing Group
2023-04-01
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| Series: | BMJ Open |
| Online Access: | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/13/4/e066620.full |
| _version_ | 1797839221193441280 |
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| author | Tim Baker Rodwell Gundo Beatrice Gundo Raphael Kazidule Kayambankadzanja, Deliwe Chipeta Singatiya Stella Chikumbanje |
| author_facet | Tim Baker Rodwell Gundo Beatrice Gundo Raphael Kazidule Kayambankadzanja, Deliwe Chipeta Singatiya Stella Chikumbanje |
| author_sort | Tim Baker |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objective To explore doctors’ experiences of referring and admitting patients to the intensive care unit (ICU) at two tertiary hospitals in Malawi.Design This was a qualitative study that used face-to-face interviews. The interviews were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim into English. The data were analysed manually through conventional content analysis.Setting Two public tertiary hospitals in the central and southern regions of Malawi. Interviews were conducted from January to June 2021.Participants Sixteen doctors who were involved in the referral and admission of patients to the ICU.Results Four themes were identified namely, lack of clear admission criteria, ICU admission requires a complex chain of consultations, shortage of ICU resources, and lack of an ethical and legal framework for discontinuing treatment of critically ill patients who were too sick to benefit from ICU.Conclusion Despite the acute disease burden and increased demand for ICU care, the two hospitals lack clear processes for referring and admitting patients to the ICU. Given the limited bed space in ICUs, hospitals in low-income countries, including Malawi, need to improve or develop admission criteria, severity scoring systems, ongoing professional development activities, and legislation for discontinuing intensive care treatments and end-of-life care. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T15:53:29Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ddb28402f4a846e79704bec62a0a06e9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2044-6055 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T15:53:29Z |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | BMJ Publishing Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMJ Open |
| spelling | doaj.art-ddb28402f4a846e79704bec62a0a06e92023-04-26T00:30:07ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open2044-60552023-04-0113410.1136/bmjopen-2022-066620Doctors’ experiences of referring and admitting patients to the intensive care unit: a qualitative study of doctors’ practices at two tertiary hospitals in MalawiTim Baker0Rodwell Gundo1Beatrice Gundo2Raphael Kazidule Kayambankadzanja,3Deliwe Chipeta4Singatiya Stella Chikumbanje5Clinical Research, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UKSchool of Nursing, Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, Lilongwe, Malawi2Paediatric Department, Kamuzu Central Hospital, Lilongwe, MalawiPublic Health, Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, Blantyre, MalawiMalawi Ministry of Health, Lilongwe, MalawiQueen Elizabeth Central Hospital, Blantyre, MalawiObjective To explore doctors’ experiences of referring and admitting patients to the intensive care unit (ICU) at two tertiary hospitals in Malawi.Design This was a qualitative study that used face-to-face interviews. The interviews were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim into English. The data were analysed manually through conventional content analysis.Setting Two public tertiary hospitals in the central and southern regions of Malawi. Interviews were conducted from January to June 2021.Participants Sixteen doctors who were involved in the referral and admission of patients to the ICU.Results Four themes were identified namely, lack of clear admission criteria, ICU admission requires a complex chain of consultations, shortage of ICU resources, and lack of an ethical and legal framework for discontinuing treatment of critically ill patients who were too sick to benefit from ICU.Conclusion Despite the acute disease burden and increased demand for ICU care, the two hospitals lack clear processes for referring and admitting patients to the ICU. Given the limited bed space in ICUs, hospitals in low-income countries, including Malawi, need to improve or develop admission criteria, severity scoring systems, ongoing professional development activities, and legislation for discontinuing intensive care treatments and end-of-life care.https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/13/4/e066620.full |
| spellingShingle | Tim Baker Rodwell Gundo Beatrice Gundo Raphael Kazidule Kayambankadzanja, Deliwe Chipeta Singatiya Stella Chikumbanje Doctors’ experiences of referring and admitting patients to the intensive care unit: a qualitative study of doctors’ practices at two tertiary hospitals in Malawi BMJ Open |
| title | Doctors’ experiences of referring and admitting patients to the intensive care unit: a qualitative study of doctors’ practices at two tertiary hospitals in Malawi |
| title_full | Doctors’ experiences of referring and admitting patients to the intensive care unit: a qualitative study of doctors’ practices at two tertiary hospitals in Malawi |
| title_fullStr | Doctors’ experiences of referring and admitting patients to the intensive care unit: a qualitative study of doctors’ practices at two tertiary hospitals in Malawi |
| title_full_unstemmed | Doctors’ experiences of referring and admitting patients to the intensive care unit: a qualitative study of doctors’ practices at two tertiary hospitals in Malawi |
| title_short | Doctors’ experiences of referring and admitting patients to the intensive care unit: a qualitative study of doctors’ practices at two tertiary hospitals in Malawi |
| title_sort | doctors experiences of referring and admitting patients to the intensive care unit a qualitative study of doctors practices at two tertiary hospitals in malawi |
| url | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/13/4/e066620.full |
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