Key result
Nurses working in aged care expressed concern about warfarin use in the elderly and identified multiple barriers to its use, while feeling they had limited capacity to intervene in its management.
Nurses working in aged care are concerned about warfarin use in the elderly but feel underutilised and lack the capacity to intervene in its management.
May warrant strategies to boost nurse capacity in aged care warfarin management; hypothesis-generating for targeted interventions.
OBJECTIVE: To explore the barriers to warfarin use from the perspective of nurses working in aged care. DESIGN: A qualitative study, involving a semi-structured group interview, during March-April 2001. SETTING AND SUBJECTS: Eleven nurses, employed within the catchment of the Northern Sydney Area Health Service, who were involved in the care of elderly warfarinised patients. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Identification, via thematic analysis, of the main themes underpinning the nursing perspective on warfarin use in this setting, with regard to their perceived role/s, experiences with patients, and potential strategies for managing the therapy. RESULTS: Five main themes were identified: perceived patient attitude toward warfarin; barriers to the use of warfarin; expressed lack of confidence in the processes involved; nurses' role in warfarin use; and strategies to improve warfarin use. Nurses were concerned about warfarin use in the elderly, but felt they had a limited capacity to intervene. CONCLUSION: Nurses are potentially underutilised as a resource and support for both patients and prescribers, in the management of warfarin therapy.
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Bajorek et al. (2006) studied Nurses caring for elderly warfarinised patients (n=11). Warfarin use in the elderly was evaluated on Identification of main themes underpinning the nursing perspective on warfarin use. Nurses working in aged care expressed concern about warfarin use in the elderly and identified multiple barriers to its use, while feeling they had limited capacity to intervene in its management.
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