Literature Review: Factors Influencing Emergency Department Nurses’ Ability in Managing Head Injury Patients

Abstract

Head injury is a traumatic event that causes morphological damage to the structures of the human head due to external force and requires appropriate, rapid, safe, and effective medical management to save patients’ lives. Emergency Department (ED) nurses play a critical role in the initial management of head injury patients, and their ability is influenced by various individual and professional factors. This study employed a literature review design. Scientific articles were obtained from Google Scholar and PubMed databases published between 2015 and 2020. Relevant articles were manually selected based on predefined inclusion criteria. A total of nine journals published within the last five years and relevant to the research questions were included in the review. The findings indicate that several factors influence the ability of ED nurses in managing head injury patients. Based on the nine reviewed journals, ED nurses generally demonstrated good knowledge of early head injury management, had more than ten years of work experience, showed fast response times, possessed adequate clinical skills, administered oxygen therapy accurately, had high levels of triage knowledge, and performed head injury management in accordance with established procedures. Knowledge, clinical skills, work experience, and response time are key factors influencing ED nurses’ ability to manage head injury patients. Hospitals are therefore expected to provide regular emergency care training, particularly for newly assigned ED nurses, to improve knowledge and strengthen nurses’ competencies in head injury management.