Journal of Caring Sciences
Volume:12 Issue: 4, Dec 2023

 Endotracheal intubation and mechanical ventilation are the most frequently used life-sustaining interventions in critical care. Prolonged intubation can lead to post-extubation dysphagia, affecting the individual’s nutritional level and communication ability. Thereupon, this study aims to assess the effectiveness of swallowing and oral care interventions in resuming oral intake and increasing salivary flow in post-extubation patients.

 A randomized controlled trial was conducted in critical care units of a tertiary care setting, where 92 post-extubation patients who had undergone intubation for≥48 hours were enrolled. The intervention group received swallowing and oral interventions, including safe swallowing education (SSE), toothbrushing, salivary gland massage, oral cavity, and swallowing exercises. In contrast, the control group received standard oral care every 8th hour. Oral intake was assessed daily with the Functional Oral Intake Scale, and the salivary flow measurement was assessed with oral Schirmer’s test on the 1st, 3rd, and 7th day after extubation.

 The baseline demographic and clinical characteristics showed that the groups were homogenous. The intervention group achieved total oral intake two days earlier than the control group. Findings also showed that the participants in the intervention group had a significant increase in salivary flow than in the control group on the 3rd and 7th days of the intervention.

 Swallowing and oral care interventions help post-extubation patients resume early oral intake and increase salivary flow after prolonged intubation. Hence, it improves the patient’s outcome toward a healthy life.

 Nursing students often experience stress due to their educational demands and developmental stage. This study focuses on nursing students to investigate the relationship between their attitudes toward seeking psychological help and their levels of perceived self-stigma and social stigma.

 This was a descriptive correlational study, in which 791 nursing students participated through convenience sampling between April and May 2022. Data were collected using the Attitude Towards Seeking Psychological Help Scale-R (ASPH-R), the Stigma Scale for Receiving Psychological Help (SSRPH), and the Self-Stigma of Seeking Help (SSOSH). The data were analyzed using Pearson correlation and multiple linear regression analysis. The article adheres to the STROBE checklist in its organization and presentation.

 Positive attitudes towards seeking psychological help were negatively correlated with self-stigma (r=-0.39, P<0.01) and social stigma perceptions (r=-0.17, P<0.01), while negative attitudes were positively correlated with self-stigma (r=0.50, P<0.01) and social stigma (r=0.47, P<0.01). Variables of sex, age, self-stigma, and social stigma significantly contributed to explaining attitudes towards seeking psychological help.

 Social stigma and particularly self-stigma significantly influence nursing students’ attitudes towards seeking psychological help. Therefore, it is recommended that authorities develop psychoeducational interventions aimed at enhancing nursing students’ mental health awareness and reducing self-stigma.

 Infant colic, causing excessive crying, poses anxiety for parents and a challenge for pediatricians and nurses. The Infant Colic Scale (ICS) serves to assess the severity and causal factors of colic. Despite its significance, the psychometric properties of ICS have not been evaluated in the Iranian population. This study seeks to address this gap by assessing the psychometric properties of ICS in Iran.

 A sample of 220 mothers with 2–16-week-old term infants diagnosed with infantile colic was selected through convenience sampling. Following forward and back-translation, the face validity, content validity, and construct validity of ICS were systematically evaluated. Reliability was examined through both internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha) and test-retest stability methods.

 Content validity index (CVI) and content validity ratio (CVR) values for ICS were 0.94 and 0.81, respectively. The good fit indices confirmed the validity of the five-factor structure. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) were 0.71 and 0.94, respectively.

 The Persian version of ICS is a valid and reliable tool, suitable for assessing infantile colic in the Iranian population. Future studies and clinical practice can utilize this tool to identify major causes of this disorder in the Iranian context.

 Angiography stands as the paramount and definitive diagnostic method for coronary artery disease. However, akin to various other invasive procedures, it may carry a multitude of complications. This study sought to assess the incidence of vascular complications post-arterial sheath removal, comparing the use of a ClampEase device against manual compression.

 This quasi-experimental clinical trial involved patients undergoing angiography at the post-angiography ward in Isfahan, Iran. A total of 91 patients were selected through convenience sampling and randomly assigned to either the manual compression or ClampEase device groups. Monitoring common vascular complications like hemorrhage, hematomas, and ecchymosis occurred up to 24 hours post-arterial sheath removal. Data were collected using a digital scale model DM3, a transparent flexible ruler, and a questionnaire named ‘vascular complications after angiography.’ Analysis was performed using SPSS software version 13.

 Statistical analysis revealed that, when compared to the manual method, compression with the ClampEase device led to fewer vascular complications in patients and a quicker return to homeostasis.

 The findings underscore that the ClampEase method is a safer alternative with fewer vascular complications than the manual compression method. This discovery has implications for reducing hospital costs and length of stay. The ClampEase device is associated with a swifter time to hemostasis, contributing to enhanced patient comfort and acceptance.

 Ethical issues are among the first concerns and important issues in the daily care of nurses, so that nurses always try to maintain and observe them in order to provide better and more basic care to patients. Moral intelligence (MI) can provide a framework for the proper functioning of nurses. The main purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between patient safety culture and the MI of nurses working in hospitals in Iran, Guilan province.

 In the present study which was descriptive and correlational research, the sample was 400 nurses from Iran. Data were collected by a standardized and modified questionnaire “Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (HSOPSC)”, and “Lennick & Kiel’s Moral Intelligence Scale”. The collected data were analyzed by Spearman correlation and Friedman test via SPSS software version 13.

 The findings of the study showed that the relationship between the patient safety culture and MI, was significant, and the total MI score (P<0.0001 and r=0.30).

 There is a positive correlation between MI of nurses and patient safety culture. Therefore, planning to increase the MI of nurses can lead to improve patients’ safety culture.

 The critical coronavirus pandemic presents a global challenge with dimensions yet unknown, underscoring the essential need to comprehend the lived experiences, especially for vulnerable groups. This study delves into the childbirth experiences of mothers dealing with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

 Employing hermeneutic phenomenology, this qualitative research was conducted at Mashhad University of Medical Sciences (Iran). Purposeful sampling involved 16 mothers with maximum variation. Unstructured telephone interviews collected data, analyzed using the Diekelman approach.

 Unveiling the theme “Novel Memories of Motherhood,” four central themes emerged: “The Missing Link in Quality Care,” “Coronavirus Stigma,” “A lonely mother in quarantine,” and “Cascade of Psychological Trauma.”

 COVID-19 acts as an intervening factor, distorting routine care and delivery programs. The focus for service providers attending to mothers in labor should extend beyond physical care, encompassing the elimination of coronavirus-related stigma and prioritizing psychological attention. This holistic approach is crucial for maintaining quality care standards.

 COVID-19 is a new disease infecting a large number of people, and undoubtedly have psychological impacts on healthcare workers. Among healthcare staff, nurses are the most involved ones in fighting against COVID-19. Therefore, this study aimed to explore nurses’ experiences of psychological consequences during caring patients with COVID-19.

 The present qualitative study was conducted using the conventional content analysis approach (Graneheim and Lundman) Iran. Participants in this study included 15 nurses working with patients with COVID-19, selected by purposive sampling. Data were collected using in-depth interviews. The rigor of data was assessed using the criteria proposed by Guba and Lincoln.

 Nurses reported the four following psychological consequences of COVID-19 pandemic on caring patients with COVID-19: post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, physical exhaustion, and aggressive behaviors.

 The data showed that nurses experienced a variety of psychological consequences during caring patients with COVID-19. Therefore, it is necessary to monitor nurses’ psychological problems and implement interventions to improve their mental health.