Monitoring vital signs: development of a modified early warning scoring (MEWS) system for general wards in a developing country.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

The aim of the study was to develop and validate, by consensus, the construct and content of an observations chart for nurses incorporating a modified early warning scoring (MEWS) system for physiological parameters to be used for bedside monitoring on general wards in a public hospital in South Africa.

Methods

Delphi and modified face-to-face nominal group consensus methods were used to develop and validate a prototype observations chart that incorporated an existing UK MEWS. This informed the development of the Cape Town ward MEWS chart.

Participants

One specialist anaesthesiologist, one emergency medicine specialist, two critical care nurses and eight senior ward nurses with expertise in bedside monitoring (N = 12) were purposively sampled for consensus d

SUBMITTER: Kyriacos U 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3901724 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature