Acceptability of emergency department triage nurse's advice for patients to attend general practice: A cross‐sectional survey

Objectives Demand for ED care is increasing at a rate higher than population growth. Strategies to attenuate ED demands include diverting low‐acuity general practice‐type ED attendees to alternate primary healthcare settings. The present study assessed the ED attendees' receptiveness to accept triage nurse's face‐to‐face advice to explore alternate options for medical care and what factors influence the level of acceptance. Methods The ED attendees of four major public hospital EDs in Brisbane were surveyed between August and October 2018, using a questionnaire informed by Health Belief Model's cues to action. Results Of the 514 valid responses, 81% of respondents were very likely/likely to accept the triage nurse's advice to see a general practitioner. Self‐perceived urgency of presenting condition/s (odds ratio [OR] 0.87, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.78–0.97), not having confidence in general practitioner (OR 0.37, 95% CI 0.21–0.66) and having a medical record at the hospital (OR 0.60, 95% CI 0.36–0.99) were negatively associated with the likelihood of accepting the advice. For every point increase in perceived seriousness, the odds of accepting the advice decreased by 16% (95% CI 6–25%). Conclusion Most of the participants believed that EDs were for emergent care and they attended the ED because they perceived their presenting condition/s to be serious and/or urgent. The acceptability of face‐to‐face advice by triage nurse to seek help in general practice was influenced by perceived threats of the illness, and the underlying beliefs about availability, accessibility, suitability and affordability of the service. Easing demand for ED care requires a deep understanding of the patients' needs and perceptions. Offering advice to patients to seek primary care at the time of triage may be acceptable to most patients if aligned with their perceptions and beliefs. Accepting the advice is associated with the perceived threats of the illness, and the underlying beliefs about availability, accessibility, suitability and affordability of primary care.