Canadian journal of rural medicine : the official journal of the Society of Rural Physicians of Canada = Journal canadien de la médecine rurale : le journal officiel de la Société de médecine rurale du Canada
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Barriers to patient care in southwestern Ontario rural emergency departments: physician perceptions.
We sought to determine the perceptions of physicians staffing rural emergency departments (EDs) in southwestern Ontario with respect to factors affecting patient care in the domains of physical resources, available support and education. ⋯ Our survey results reveal that physicians practising emergency medicine in southwestern Ontario perceive crowding as the greatest barrier to providing patient care. Conversely, the survey identified that rural ED physicians perceive information sharing within the hospital, the availability of emergent laboratory studies and access to medications within the ED as having a strongly positive impact on patient care. Interestingly, our findings suggest that physicians in rural EDs view their access to education as adequate, as responses were either positive or neutral in regard to access to training and ability to maintain relevant skills.
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This study explored experiences of waiting to access specialized health care among young women living in selected rural communities on the south shore of Nova Scotia. We asked women about the challenges they faced during wait times and how they perceived the impact of these experiences on their health. ⋯ Our results support previous research indicating that young rural women's caregiving roles and support networks influence their experiences with wait times. Our research indicates that waiting to access specialized care can be financially costly for some women and may also affect their health.
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During resuscitation, the Broselow tape (BT) is the standard method of estimating pediatric weight based on body length. The First Nations population has a higher prevalence of obesity and experiences more injury than the non-First Nations population. The prevalence of obesity has raised the concern that the BT may not accurately estimate weight in this population. The purpose of this study was to validate the BT in 8 First Nations communities. ⋯ The BT was often not accurate at estimating the weight of children in 8 First Nations communities; it underestimated their weight almost half of the time.