Journal Article

Experiences of health professionals caring for people presenting to the emergency department after taking crystal methamphetamine ("ICE")

Abstract

Globally addiction to 'ICE' (crystal methamphetamine) is increasing presenting emergency health care services personnel with a number of challenges. This paper reports the first of two major themes arising from a qualitative study investigating health professionals' experiences managing people presenting to the Emergency Department (ED) after taking 'ICE'. The theme 'Caring for people who use "ICE" when presenting to EDs' comprises five subthemes. These are: (i) expecting the unexpected: 'they are just off their heads'; (ii) complexity of care: 'underlying trauma and emotional dysregulation'; (iii) connecting and relationships: 'engaging in a calm and helpful way'; (iv) coordinating care and teamwork: 'keeping them quiet and away from everybody'; and (v) learning and reflection: 'we need to rethink our treatment options'. These findings highlight the complexity and resource-intensity associated with providing emergency care to persons affected by ICE, and the need for thoughtful strategies that can further develop the capacity and capability of health professionals to provide optimal care to people using ICE.

Attached files

Authors

Cleary, Michelle
Jackson, Debra
Woods, Cindy
Kornhaber, Rachel
Sayers, Jan
Usher, Kim

Oxford Brookes departments

Faculty of Health and Life Sciences\Department of Nursing

Dates

Year of publication: 2016
Date of RADAR deposit: 2016-12-15

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License

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Related resources

This RADAR resource is the Accepted Manuscript of Experiences of health professionals caring for people presenting to the emergency department after taking crystal methamphetamine ("ICE")