Coping Behaviors and Collaboration Between Nurses and Physicians during Norovirus Infection Outbreaks

DOI: 10.5176/2315-4330_WNC18.176

Authors: Takae Machida, Kyoko Sato, Hiroe Yanahara, Eiko Suzuki, Sachie Tomita, Akiko Maruyama, Chihiro Asakura

Abstract:

In December 2012 a norovirus infection outbreak occurred in the Orthopedic Surgery Ward of Hospital A in Japan. This study aims to establish details of coping behaviors used by nurses and physicians of the facility, and examine the issues involved in infection control as well as the ways employed to deal with the infections. Participants in this study were twenty-two nurses and four physicians who were working in the facility at the time the infection outbreak occurred, and who were still working there when the interviews were conducted. Interviews were conducted from January to April 2015, and the data from the interviews were analyzed using the “Trend Search 2008” text mining software. As a result of the analysis it was found that the nurses primarily communicated information by passing messages to the nurses who took over the duty at shift changes, but did not pass on the information to other staff or to the ward as a whole. The nurses clearly remembered that the ward was closed and it was a difficult experience, but did not remember details of the patients they were in charge of. The physicians clearly remembered individual patients they were in charge of, but they were not aware of the situation and state throughout the ward. The findings suggest that this difference is due to the differences in the occupational nature and sense of values of the staff involved.

Keywords: norovirus infection outbreaks; text mining; collaboration