Patients' perception of privacy and confidentiality in the emergency department of a busy obstetric unit

Privacy and confidentiality are central components of patient care and are of particular importance in obstetrics and gynaecology, where clinical situations of a sensitive nature regularly occur. The layout of the emergency department (ED) in maternity units is often not conducive to maintaining pri...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:BMC health services research 2018-12, Vol.18 (1), p.978-978, Article 978
Main Authors: Hartigan, Lucia, Cussen, Leanne, Meaney, Sarah, O'Donoghue, Keelin
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Confidential communications
Confidentiality
Confidentiality - psychology
Emergency department
Emergency medical care
Emergency Service, Hospital - standards
Female
Gynecology
Health services
Hospital Design and Construction - standards
Hospitals
Humans
Information management
Interior Design and Furnishings - standards
Maternity unit
Midwifery
Miscarriage
Obstetrics
Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, Hospital - standards
Patient Satisfaction
Patients
Perception
Perceptions
Personal information
Physicians
Polls & surveys
Pregnancy
Pregnancy loss
Privacy
Privacy - psychology
Questionnaires
Surveys
Surveys and Questionnaires
University colleges
Womens health
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Summary:Privacy and confidentiality are central components of patient care and are of particular importance in obstetrics and gynaecology, where clinical situations of a sensitive nature regularly occur. The layout of the emergency department (ED) in maternity units is often not conducive to maintaining privacy. Our study aimed to discover if changing the environment could improve patients' experiences in the ED. We surveyed patients and asked specific questions about their perception of privacy in the ED. We then repeated the survey following renovations to the ED which involved replacing curtained patient areas with walled cubicles. There were 75 pre-renovation surveys and 82 post-renovation surveys completed. Before the renovations took place, only 21% (n = 16) found their privacy to be adequate during their visit to the ED. However this rose to 89% (n = 73) post-renovation. Our study showed that patients' perception of privacy and confidentiality significantly improved following refurbishment of the ED.
ISSN:1472-6963
1472-6963
DOI:10.1186/s12913-018-3782-6