A qualitative approach to nurse staffing challenges in Nova Scotia's rural emergency departments

Abstract

In Nova Scotia, rural residents experience access barriers to health care linked to unplanned temporary emergency department closures. Nurse staffing challenges are a persistent and complex reason behind these closures. This qualitative study aims to understand nurse staffing challenges in rural emergency departments in Nova Scotia's Western Zone. The study takes a qualitative approach to inquiry inspired by phenomenological methods and uses the experiences of emergency department managers to define and better understand staffing challenges. The findings of this study illuminated the importance of the management role and provided a better understanding of the complexities involved in staffing challenges, along with an examination of potential solutions.