A Study of Stroke Nurse Coordinator Roles

Abstract

This descriptive study aimed to investigate the stroke nurse coordinator roles using the Delphi technique. The informants consisted of 19 experts involved with stroke coordinator nurses, with an average experience of 26 years, categorized into 5 groups. The research process was conducted in three rounds: 1) expert interviews conducted to elicit opinions regarding the roles of stroke nurse coordinator; 2) the data obtained from the interviews were subjected to content analysis and subsequently used to construct a questionnaire for experts to rate the level of importance; and 3) the data derived from the importance-rating questionnaire were computed to determine the median and interquartile range, and the questionnaire was redistributed to the same panel of experts for opinion confirmation.

The findings revealed that the roles of stroke nurse coordinator encompassed 6 domains comprising of 55 sub-items: 1) clinical nurse leader, 2) stroke case manager, 3) evidence-based quality improvement leader, 4) multidisciplinary collaboration coordinator, 5) patient and family counselor and empowerment facilitator, and 6) transitional care manager. All six role domains were rated at highest level of importance (Mdn ≥ 4.50) with expert consensus (IQR < 1.50) (Mdn = 4.67 - 4.75, IQR = .25 - .42). This study highlights stroke nurse coordinator roles and provides a framework for nursing administrators, professional councils to utilize in task delegation, practice development, role delineation, and training curriculum development for stroke nurse coordinators.