The Relationship Between Evidence-Based Practices and Emergency Department Managers' Perceptions on Quality of Care for Self-Harm Patients

OBJECTIVE: To understand the extent to which implementation of evidence-based practices affects emergency department (ED) nurse managers' perceptions of quality of care provided to deliberate self-harm patients. METHOD: ED nursing leadership from a nationally representative sample of 513 hospitals completed a survey on the ED management of deliberate self-harm patients, including the quality of care for deliberate self-harm patients on a 1 to 5 point Likert-type scale. Unadjusted and adjusted analyses, controlling for relevant hospital characteristics, examined associations between the provision of evidence-based practices and quality of care. RESULTS: The overall mean quality rating was 3.09. Adjusted quality ratings were higher for EDs that routinely engaged in discharge planning (beta = 0.488) and safety planning (beta = 0.736) processes. Ratings were also higher for hospitals with higher levels of mental health staff (beta = 0.368) and for teaching hospitals (beta = 0.319). CONCLUSION: Preliminary findings suggest a national institutional readiness for further implementation of evidence-based practices for deliberate self-harm patients.