Waiting and hoping: a phenomenographic study of the experiences of boarded patients in the emergency department

Aims and objectives To understand the experiences and concerns of patients in the emergency department during inpatient boarding. Background Boarding in the emergency department is an increasingly common phenomenon worldwide. Emergency department staff, patients and their families become more stressed as the duration of boarding in the emergency department increases. Yet, there is limited knowledge of the experiences and concerns of boarded patients. Design The qualitative approach of phenomenography was used in the study. Methods The phenomenographic study was conducted in one emergency department that treats approximately 15,000 patients each month. Twenty emergency department boarding patients were recruited between July–September 2014. Semi‐structured interviews were used for data collection. The seven steps of qualitative data analysis for a phenomenographic study – familiarisation, articulation, condensation, grouping, comparison, labelling and contrasting – were employed to develop an understanding of participants’ experiences and concerns during their inpatient boarding in the emergency department. Results The perceptions that emerged from the data were collected into four categories of description of the phenomenon of emergency department boarding patients: a helpless choice; loyalty to specific hospitals and doctors; an inevitable challenge of life; and distrust of the healthcare system. The outcome space for the emergency department boarding patients was waiting and hoping for a cure. Conclusion The experiences and concerns of emergency department boarding patients include physical, psychological, spiritual and health system dimensions. It is necessary to develop an integrated model of care for these patients. Relevance to clinical practice Understanding the experiences and concerns of patients who are placed on boarding status in the ED will help emergency healthcare professionals to improve the quality of emergency care. There is a need to develop a care model and associated intervention measures for emergency department patients during the boarding process. The results of this study will help health regulatory authorities to develop an appropriate emergency department boarding system so that patients receive better emergency care.