Nursing Practice Today
Volume:10 Issue: 4, Autumn 2023

Breach awareness in relation to types, mitigation, and reporting should be a routine part of infection prevention training. Understanding breaches can reduce the risk of disease transmission to staff and communities when contextualized to the infectious disease, environment, and situation. At a large-scale Australian COVID-19 quarantine facility, this study examined the core personal protective equipment and infection prevention breaches new quarantine workers identified during their site orientation to inform future breach training.

Methods & Materials: 

Through the application of a qualitative approach, the project implemented a descriptive thematic analysis to identify the different types of breaches staff presented. An additional summative content analysis method was applied to determine if the breaches staff identified were breaching and if the risk level staff allocated to the breach was mapped to the risk of disease transmission. Data were collected from 30 orientation sessions and included 603 breach risk responses for analysis.

There were five core breach areas identified: donning and doffing of personal protective equipment, failure of personal protective equipment or lack of equipment, environmental factors, staff behaviors, and resident behaviors. The breach allocations by staff demonstrated knowledge deficits across health and non-health staff in disease transmission, particularly in the actual level of risk for transmission.

 Breaches awareness in relation to types, mitigation, and reporting should be a routine part of infection prevention training. The five areas of breaches present an adaptable foundation to base infection prevention breach training for any health facility. When contextualized to the communicable disease, environment, and situation, understanding breaches can reduce the risk of disease transmission to staff and communities.

Vaccination is the most efficient strategy to tackle the COVID-19 epidemic, and it is important in many ways. Additionally, healthcare workers represent an important vaccine information source for the general population. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the COVID-19 vaccine acceptance rate among healthcare workers.

Methods & Materials:

 This study was conducted based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guideline, and the protocol of this study was registered in PROSPERO with the registration number CRD42023402082. Searches were conducted up to 20 October 2023 in data resources, including PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. The random-effects model was used for meta-analysis, and the I2 index was used to evaluate heterogeneity among studies. The STATA software (version 14) was used for data analysis.

During the initial search, 6132 articles were selected. After the screening, study selection, and quality assessment, 93 studies entered the meta-analysis process, and a total of 196235 healthcare workers were examined. The overall vaccine acceptance rate among healthcare workers was reported as 68.56% (95% confidence interval (CI) =18.7-99.7; I2 = 99.750%; p< 0.001).

The overall acceptance rate of the COVID-19 vaccine in healthcare workers was lower than expected. Also, some determining factors were identified. The analysis of the vaccine acceptance rate and the factors affecting it can help healthcare officials and policymakers with proper healthcare planning.

Type 2 diabetes accounts for 95% of all diabetes cases worldwide, and its prevalence continues to rise. The constant management of blood glucose levels can be burdensome, further deteriorating patients' quality of life. This study aims to determine the effect of transitional nursing care on the quality of life among adults with type 2 diabetes.

Methods & Materials: 

We conducted a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to determine the effectiveness of transitional nursing care on the quality of life of adults with type 2 diabetes. We searched for published Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) on PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, and the Cochrane Library. The process of study selection spanned from March 2023 to April 2023. Data synthesis was performed using Review Manager 5.4 to generate pooled effect size estimates.

A total of six studies were included in our analysis. Our results showed that transitional care significantly improved the quality of life of adults with type 2 diabetes (SMD= 0.55, 95% CI: 0.15, 0.95, Z= 2.72, p= 0.007). Compared to usual care, transitional care also significantly lowered HbA1c levels (MD= -0.39, 95% CI: -0.70, -0.07, Z= 2.41, p= 0.02).

Our research identified that transitional nursing care significantly improved the quality of life among adults with type 2 diabetes. Nurses should take into account our positive findings when implementing this care model for these patients. We suggest that future researchers carry out more studies with a focus on transitional nursing care for patients with type 2 diabetes to investigate its impacts further.

The emergence of COVID-19 has created fears, worries, and anxiety among individuals worldwide. This study aimed to describe the prevalence of mental health problems (fear, stress, anxiety, depression, and insomnia) and their contributing factors among undergraduate nursing students in Oman two years after the start of the pandemic.

Methods & Materials: 

A cross-sectional study was employed for this study. The questionnaire was distributed electronically via Qualtrics® Online survey software. It consisted of items relating to detailed demographics, background history, and standard scales, including the Fear of COVID-19 Scale, the Perceived Stress Scale, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and the Insomnia Severity Index.

The sample comprised 548 nursing students. The participants had a mean FVC-19 score of 16.39, with a standard deviation of 6.04. The overall prevalence of stress, anxiety, depression, and insomnia among nursing students was 94%, 70%, 53%, and 38%, respectively. There was a significant relationship between fear of COVID-19 (p< 0.05) and stress, anxiety, depression, and insomnia.

Fear of COVID-19, stress, anxiety, depression, and insomnia pose notable challenges for undergraduate nursing students. Identifying these mental health issues early is crucial as well as introducing preventive and supportive interventions tailored to the specific contributing factors. This is essential to mitigate the potential for more severe psychological consequences among nursing students.

Clinical recommendations for ventilation management in patients with COVID-19 acute respiratory distress syndrome suggest the use of the prone position as a complementary therapy, however, there is wide variability in its use. The purpose of this study is to identify the predictor factors for using the prone position for patients hospitalized in intensive care units with COVID-19 acute respiratory distress syndrome.

Methods & Materials:

 A Cross-sectional study was carried out, including adult patients with COVID-19 acute respiratory distress syndrome hospitalized in intensive care units of four hospitals in Colombia. A multiple logistic regression model was constructed in which the main outcome was the prone position in intensive care, and the independent variables included sociodemographic characteristics, history, health status, progress, and treatment.

A total of 473 patients were included in this study; 59.8% (n=283) received prone position therapy within 24-96 hours of hospitalization in intensive care. Out of the total of eligible variables in the logistics-regression model, factors in favor of the prone position were PCR>10mg/L (OR=3.33), private healthcare network (OR=1.99), hypertension (OR=1,76), cough or dyspnea symptoms at intensive care admission (OR=2.69 and OR=1.91), oxygen saturation <90% (OR=1.84). Factors against the prone position were heart disease (OR=0.34), FiO2>50% (OR=0.32), and TP>13 seconds (OR=0.53).

Patients with COVID-19 acute respiratory distress syndrome with a higher probability of prone position in intensive care were those with PCR>10mg/L, cough, dyspnea, and private healthcare network. The predictors identified in this study could help standardize the prone position therapy.

Professionalism is a multidimensional and dynamic concept that can be understood and interpreted differently in time, job position, or culture. Our study investigated how nurse managers interpret and understand professionalism in the Slovak sociocultural context.

Methods & Materials: 

This qualitative study adopted an interpretive design. The sample consisted of seven nurse managers working in the selected university hospital in Slovakia. Data were collected between November and December 2021 using semi-structured interviews. Data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis.

The reflexive thematic analysis resulted in developing six key themes specified in twenty-one sub-themes: Developing and maintaining professionalism; Challenges and problems of professionalism in nursing; Teamwork; Violation of professionalism; Requirements to become a nurse professional; Social status of nurses. These themes represent the perception of nurse managers of professionalism as a complex phenomenon grounded in the background and attitudes of nurses, socialization, quality of teamwork, profession requirements wrestling with the shortage of nurses, dominance of medicine, and lack of respect for the profession of nurses.

Together with other healthcare managers, nurse managers should continuously support and guide novice nurses and nursing students, share knowledge and skills, overcome stereotypes, support teamwork through strengthening nurse-patient collaboration or building collegian relationships, and improve the social status and recognition of nurses in society.

Aging leads to bodily changes and impairment of functional capacity in older adults. The objective was to analyze the association between socio-demographic and health data, cognitive impairment, and risk of sarcopenia with functional capacity in older adults enrolled in the Family Health Strategies in the rural area of the municipality of Picos, Piauí, Brazil.

Methods & Materials: 

 This is a quantitative and cross-sectional study that was developed with 320 older adults attending the Family Health Strategies located in the rural area of Picos, Piauí, Brazil. The participants were people 60 years old, registered in the Family Health Strategies, and living in a rural area. Data was collected in the older adults’ homes using the following instruments: Demographic profile, Self-reported illnesses, Mini-Mental State Examination, Barthel Index, Lawton and Brody Scale, and SARC-F.

It was found that 70% had cognitive impairment, 53.8% were at risk of sarcopenia, with a mean of 93.72 (SD=11.84) points for basic activities daily living, and 77.8% with partial dependence for instrumental activities daily living with a mean of 16.79 (SD=3.79) points. In the multivariate multiple regression, it was identified that there was an association between Basic Activities of Daily Living and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living with age (p<0.001), number of children (p=0,025), education (p=0.003), monthly income (p=0.018), number of diseases (p<0.001), sarcopenia (p<0.001) and cognitive status (p<0.001).

A high prevalence of functional disability was identified in elderly people living in the rural area of ​​Picos, Piauí, Brazil. Therefore, it is important to pay attention to factors associated with dependence on daily activities.

Teamwork represents a fundamental prerequisite for providing quality and safe care. This study aimed to determine the level of teamwork and the factors that influence the level of teamwork in selected hospitals in the Slovak Republic.

Methods & Materials:

 The descriptive cross-sectional study included 207 nurses from 12 departments of three district hospitals in the Slovak Republic. Data were collected between November 2022 and February 2023 using a questionnaire that evaluated nursing teamwork, the Nursing Teamwork Survey. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics.

Nurses evaluated the level of teamwork as (3.74± 0.64), which means ideal less than 75% of the time during the last working shift. The best-rated subscale was the Shared mental model (4.17± 0.49), while the worst-rated subscale was Team orientation (2.47± 0.85). Differences in teamwork level were found based on unit type, education, number of hours worked, number of overtime hours, and perceived staff adequacy (p≤ 0.05). The correlation analysis revealed associations between teamwork and job satisfaction, teamwork satisfaction, subjective quality evaluation, and patient safety, as well as with the number of patients in the last shift, including the number of admitted and discharged patients.

By regularly determining teamwork levels, it is possible to identify the strengths and weaknesses of nursing teams. Analyzing team weaknesses and implementing targeted measures can lead to strengthening teamwork and improving team functioning.