Anything but basic: Nursing's challenge in meeting patients' fundamental care needs

Adaptation and Validation of the Spanish Version of the Instrument to Evaluate Nurses' Attitudes Toward Communication With the Patient for Nursing Students

Communication is essential to the quality of care and patient satisfaction. It has been linked to positive patient outcomes, increased engagement, improved health outcomes, and safe practices. Given these benefits and the association between attitudes and behaviors, as behaviors can be predicted by studying attitudes, assessing attitudes of nursing students toward patient communication is critical for future nursing professionals. For this purpose, the main aim of this study was to adapt and validate an instrument to measure nurses' attitudes toward communication (ACO) for nursing students. The ACO with patients was analyzed. Then, differences in the dimensions of the instrument (ACO) for nursing students according to an academic course and the correlations were calculated. A cross-sectional study was carried out in a convenience sample of 1,417 nursing students from five universities in the Valencian Community (Spain) during the 2018/2019 academic year and 83.8% (1,187) were women. The reliability was analyzed by using Cronbach's alpha and composite reliability (CR). Analysis of construct validity was performed with exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The instrument adapted from nurses to nursing students was composed of 25 items grouped in three dimensions: affective, cognitive, and behavioral. The psychometric properties suggested that the instrument ACO for nursing students was reliable and valid. The ACO of nursing students was positive with high levels in cognitive and behavioral dimensions, while scores were worst in the affective component. The second-year nursing students showed more positive attitudes in the affective dimension, while in the cognitive and behavioral dimensions, the most positive attitudes were found in the first year. In the correlations, the behavioral and cognitive dimensions showed a significant, positive, and very high correlation. These findings should be considered in developing academic plans to improve the effectiveness of the communication education process of the students to increase the quality of patient care and well-being of nursing students.

'Stolen Time'-Delivering Nursing at the Bottom of a Hierarchy: An Ethnographic Study of Barriers and Facilitators for Evidence-Based Nursing for Patients with Community-Acquired Pneumonia

The research has reported a high prevalence of low-quality and missed care for patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). Optimised nursing treatment and care will benefit CAP patients. The aim of this study was to describe the barriers and facilitators influencing registered nurses’ (RNs’) adherence to evidence-based guideline (EBG) recommendations for nursing care (NC) for older patients admitted with CAP. Semi-structured focus group interviews (n = 2), field observations (n = 14), and individual follow-up interviews (n = 10) were conducted in three medical units and analysed by a qualitative content analysis. We found a main theme: ‘‘stolen time’—delivering nursing at the bottom of a hierarchy’, and three themes: (1) ‘under the dominance of stronger paradigms’, (2) ‘the loss of professional identity’, and (3) ‘the power of leadership’. These themes, each comprising two to three subthemes, illustrated that RNs’ adherence to EBG recommendations was strongly influenced by the individual RN’s professionalism and professional identity; contextual barriers, including the interdisciplinary team, organisational structure, culture, and evaluation of the NC; and the nurse manager’s leadership skills. This study identified central factors that may help RNs to understand the underlying dynamics in a healthcare setting hindering and facilitating the performance of NC and make them better equipped for changing practices.

Compassionate practice in a hospital setting. Experiences of patients and health professionals: A narrative inquiry

AIM

To explore how compassion is received by patients in a hospital setting and how compassion is expressed by health professionals in a hospital setting.

BACKGROUND

Compassion is important to health professionals and patients. Perceived deficits in compassion in healthcare have led increasing concerns about the quality of care for patients. To better understand compassionate practice in a hospital setting we used narrative inquiry to explore the expression of compassion by health professionals and the experience of receiving compassion by patients.

DESIGN

Narrative Inquiry. Reported in line with Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ).

METHODS

Qualitative interviews were conducted with 24 patients and health professionals in Australia. Data were collected between August 2018 and August 2019. Narrative analysis processes were used to develop a thematic framework.

RESULTS

Compassionate practice is presented as an overarching theme and comprises of three themes: (1) Amalgamation of various knowledges and skills (2) Delivery of meaningful actions which alleviate suffering and (3) Meeting individual needs and prevention of further preventable suffering. The expression of compassion by health professionals involved the fusion of many skills and knowledges. Patients received compassion through the actions of the health professional which alleviated their suffering.

CONCLUSION

Compassionate practice is both important, and complex. Presence, skilled and purposeful action and the alleviation of suffering are essential to the expression and receipt of compassion in the hospital setting.

IMPACT

Findings from this study contribute to the growing body of literature on compassionate practice in health settings, specifically in how it is expressed and received in a hospital setting. The complexity of compassion is explained for health professionals. Compassion was shown to be embedded in the caring moments between health professionals and patients. This paper explains the different elements that comprise compassion which can guide health professional practice. The importance of seemingly small acts has a big impact on patients, families and health professionals. There is a need for greater stakeholder value and recognition of this aspect of practice.

Camera-assisted nursing observation of restless patients in an acute care setting, a multi-method feasibility study

AIM

To evaluate the implementation, practicality and acceptability of camera-assisted observation of restless patients in the acute care ward.

DESIGN

A multi-method feasibility study.

METHODS

Data consisted of nurses' written records, a brief survey among all nurses and individual interviews with eight nurses. Data analysis encompassed numerical analyses as well as descriptive content analysis.

FINDINGS

Camera-assisted observation was implemented by 44 patients from 60-95 years old, for 6 months. The practicality was enhanced by equipment that was easy to operate but the nurses were hampered by carrying the institutional mobile phone while caring for other patients. The intervention's acceptability depended on its potential for improved patient safety and the ability to adjust nursing care to meet the patients' needs as this could enhance feelings of confidence and control.

A mentoring programme to meet newly graduated nurses' needs and give senior nurses a new career opportunity: A multiple-case study

AIM

To evaluate the implementation of a multifaceted mentoring programme in a large university hospital and describe its value from the perspectives of newly graduated nurses, experienced nurses and the hospital organisation.

BACKGROUND

Healthcare organisations need long-term competence-planning strategies to retain nurses, prevent their premature departure from the profession and use their competencies. This paper reports a mentoring programme focused on supporting newly graduated nurse' transition to practice and senior nurses' professional development as supervisors.

DESIGN

A multiple-case study.

METHODS

We performed 35 interviews with nurses, supervisors and nurse managers in the five units that implemented the programme, mapped the programme at the hospital level and extracted the nurses' working hours. The interviews were analysed thematically using the theoretical lens of the head-heart-hand model to interpret the results.

RESULTS

Of 46 units in the hospital, 14 had implemented one or several of the components in the mentoring programme. The programme corresponded to the newly graduated nurses' needs, gave senior nurses a new career opportunity and contributed to an attractive workplace. The main theme, Giving new nurses confidence, experienced nurses a positive challenge and the organisation an opportunity to learn, reflects the value of the programme's supervisory model to new and experienced nurses and to the organisation as a whole.

CONCLUSION

The mentoring programme appeared to be a promising way to smooth the transition for newly graduated nurses. The experienced supervising nurses were key to the success of this complex programme, supporting the new nurses at the bedside and being available to respond to their questions and reflections. Embedding the supervisors in the units' daily practice was necessary to the success of the different parts of the programme. Despite the strategic and well-designed implementation of this mentoring programme aimed to solve the everyday challenge of nurse shortages in the hospital, it was a challenge to implement it fully in all the units studied.

Fundamentals of care in the emergency room - An ethnographic observational study

BACKGROUND

There is a strong biomedical focus within emergency care. However, while failure to meet patients' fundamental care needs has severe consequences for the patient, there is limited knowledge on how nursing care is provided in emergency rooms and the related implications for patients.

AIM

This study aims to explore how fundamental care needs of critically ill patients are met in emergency rooms.

METHODS

Non-participant observations at an emergency department in Sweden included 108 observations and field notes (150 h). Data were analysed using descriptive statistics.

RESULTS

Observations showed that registered nurses (RN) identified patients' fundamental care needs and provided nursing care. However, the RNs' focus on the patient decreased over time. When the RN communicated with the patient, the patients' physical needs were met to a greater extent. The organisational structure and physical environment of emergency rooms limit RNs' ability to meet patients' fundamental care needs.

CONCLUSION

Not all patients had their fundamental care needs optimally met. This study highlights the importance of RNs working in an integrated manner; an RN working bedside is crucial for establishing a patient-nurse relationship to meet the patient's physical, psychosocial, and relational needs.

Working with older people: Beginning or end of a nurse's career?

BACKGROUND

The increasing numbers of older people (age 65+) make it important to understand how to attract nurses to work with this population.

METHODS

A secondary analysis using qualitative descriptive methods was used to understand how student nurses' perceptions about older people may influence their desire to work with older people.

RESULTS

Student nurses perceive a generational divide between them and older people, regardless of practice settings. They believe working with older people is heavy work, and not high acuity, and although good to learn skills as a student, not a population they want to work with until they are close to retirement themselves.

CONCLUSIONS

It is important to enhance nursing education so that students understand the older generation, how to communicate with them and the prevalence of older people in healthcare settings, so that they are more likely to choose to work with older people.

An integrative review to identify how nurses practicing in inpatient specialist palliative care units uphold the values of nursing

Background

Caring for individuals and their families with a life-limiting, symptomatic illness and those who are dying has long been an integral role of palliative care nurses. Yet, over the last two decades, the specialty of palliative care has undergone significant changes in technology and medical treatments which have altered both the disease trajectory and the delivery of palliative care. To date, there is little evidence as to the impact of these medical and nursing advancements on the role of nurses working in palliative care and how in clinical practice these nurses continue to uphold their nursing values and the philosophy of palliative care.

Methods

An integrative review was conducted searching seven academic databases from the time period of January 2010 – December 2019 for studies identifying research relating to the role of the palliative care nurse working in specialist palliative care units and hospices. Research articles identified were screened against the inclusion criteria. Data extraction was completed on all included studies and the Crowe Critical Appraisal Tool was utilized to appraise the methodological quality and thematic analysis was performed guided by Braun and Clarke’s framework. The review was conducted and reported in lines with PRISMA guidelines.

Results

The search yielded 22,828 articles of which 7 were included for appraisal and review. Four themes were identified: (1) enhancing patient-centred care (2) being there (3) exposure to suffering and death (4) nursing values seen but not heard. The findings highlight that while palliative care nurses do not articulate their nurse values, their actions and behaviors evident within the literature demonstrate care, compassion, and commitment.

Conclusion

These findings suggest that there is a need for nurses working in specialist palliative care units to articulate, document, and audit how they incorporate the values of nursing into their practice. This is pivotal not only for the future of palliative nursing within hospice and specialist palliative care units but also to the future of palliative care itself. To make visible the values of nursing further practice-based education and research is required.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12904-021-00810-6.

Calling an Oncological Emergency Telephone to Seek Advice: An Interview Study

BACKGROUND

Cancer treatment is increasingly provided on an outpatient basis, which may challenge patients and caregivers coping with illness and adverse effects at home. A telephone consultation is an accepted type of healthcare provision to support patients and prevent adverse outcomes when their capacity to self-manage is inadequate. Whether this option for help sufficiently supports patients needs further investigation.

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to explore patients' and caregivers' experience of calling an oncological emergency telephone.

METHODS

The study applies a phenomenological hermeneutic approach with 12 semistructured interviews. Patients and caregivers who had called the oncological emergency telephone within the last 2 months were included. The interview texts were analyzed by content analysis.

RESULTS

Patients and caregivers perceive the emergency telephone as a lifeline that they consider calling when the patient's condition changes from what they understand as normal to what they perceive as abnormal. They would rather call "one time too many than one time too few" if their resources are inadequate to ensure their safety. The tone, attitude, and professional competency of healthcare providers affect patients' experience of the call.

CONCLUSIONS

The value of calling the oncological emergency telephone depends on the healthcare providers' professional competences and skills to establish a relationship that makes patients feeling accommodated and taken care of.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE

Patients' and caregivers' perceptions of what constitutes a good telephone consultation represent significant knowledge that contributes to a more comprehensive and practice-based understanding of what is required to advise patients and caregivers in an oncological emergency telephone.

The impact of "missed nursing care" or "care not done" on adults in health care: A rapid review for the Consensus Development Project

Aim

To identify outcomes of missed nursing care for adult patients.

Design

A five‐stage rapid review process was conducted as follows: refining the question, retrieving relevant studies, determining the studies to be included, organizing the data and synthesizing the results.

Methods

Papers published between 2010–2020 that focused on the UK, Europe, the USA and Oceania were searched for keywords in the title and abstract in major databases. The articles that identified the impact of missed nursing care on adults in health care were selected.

Results

Seventeen articles met the criteria. Major impacts of missed care in adult settings were increases in mortality, adverse events and failure to maintain. These same studies also identified a range of causative factors linked to ward environment, inadequate staffing levels and skills mix although are inconclusive. Solutions include continuing education, ward and work re‐design, and appropriate skill level.

An evaluation of instruments measuring behavioural aspects of the nurse-patient relationship

The Fundamentals of Care Framework is an evidence-based, theory-informed framework that conceptualises high-quality fundamental care. The Framework places the nurse-patient relationship at the centre of care provision and outlines the nurse behaviours required for relationship development. Numerous instruments exist to measure behavioural aspects of the nurse-patient relationship; however, the literature offers little guidance on which instruments are psychometrically sound and best measure the core relationship elements of the Fundamentals of Care Framework. This study evaluated the quality of nurse-patient relationship instruments by (1) assessing their content development and measurement properties (e.g. dimensionality, targeting, reliability, validity) and (2) mapping instrument content to the Framework's core relationship elements: trust, focus, anticipate, know, and evaluate. Twenty-seven instruments were evaluated. Findings demonstrated that patients and nurses were rarely involved in item development. Most instruments exhibited poor measurement properties, with only one instrument having complete information on all quality indicators. Instrument content focused primarily on nurses getting to know patients and earning their trust, with only 54, 18, and 1 item(s), respectively, measuring 'focus', 'anticipate' and 'evaluate'. Hence, there does not appear to be a robust instrument measuring behavioural aspects of nurse-patient relationships, nor one capturing the relationship elements of the Fundamentals of Care Framework.

Involving people with type 2 diabetes in facilitating participation in a cardiovascular screening programme

BACKGROUND

Knowledge is lacking about how to increase uptake among people with type 2 diabetes (T2D) invited to preventive initiatives like cardiovascular screening.

AIM

To explore how to improve participation of people with T2D in cardiovascular screening using patient and public involvement (PPI).

METHODS

Patient and public involvement was included in a qualitative research design. From April to October 2019, we invited 40- to 60-year-old people with T2D (n = 17) to individual consultative meetings, using an interviewing approach. Before the interviews, participants were asked to read a proposed invitation letter to be used in a cardiovascular screening programme. Inductive content analysis was undertaken.

RESULTS

Participants considered cardiovascular screening important and beneficial from both a personal and social perspective. We found that the relational interaction between the person with T2D and the health-care professional was key to participation and that nudging captured through the design of the screening programme and the wording of the invitation letter was requested.

CONCLUSION

In preventive initiatives perceived as meaningful by the invitee, a focus on recruitment is crucial to facilitate participation. This study contributed with knowledge about how to promote participation by involving health-care professionals in recruitment initiatives and through nudging. This knowledge may assist researchers, policymakers and ethicists' understanding and assessment of the ethical appropriateness and public acceptability of nudging in cardiovascular screening.

PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION

By consulting 17 people with T2D, we are now in a position to suggest how a screening initiative should be altered because tools to improve uptake have been identified.

Addressing Communication Breakdowns during Emergency Care Transitions of Older Adults: Evaluation of a Standardized Inter-Facility Health Care Communication Form

Transitions for older persons from long-term care (LTC) to the emergency department (ED) and back, can result in adverse events. Effective communication among care settings is required to ensure continuity of care. We implemented a standardized form for improving consistency of documentation during LTC to ED transitions of residents 65 years of age or older, via emergency medical services (EMS), and back. Data on form use and form completion were collected through chart review. Practitioners' perspectives were collected using surveys. The form was used in 90/244 (37%) LTC to ED transitions, with large variation in data element completion. EMS and ED reported improved identification of resident information. LTC personnel preferred usual practice to the new form and twice reported prioritizing form completion before calling 911. To minimize risk of harmful unintended consequences, communication forms should be implemented as part of broader quality improvement programs, rather than as stand-alone interventions.

Mealtime and patient factors associated with meal completion in hospitalised older patients: An exploratory observation study

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

To examine mealtime and patient factors associated with meal completion among hospitalised older patients. We also considered contextual factors such as staffing levels and ward communication.

BACKGROUND

Sub-optimum nutrition is a modifiable risk factor for hospital associated decline (HAD) in older patients. Yet, the quality of mealtime experiences can be overlooked within ward routinised practice.

DESIGN

Cross sectional, descriptive observation study.

METHODS

We undertook structured observation of mealtimes examining patient positioning, mealtime set-up and feeding assistance. The outcome was meal completion categorised as 0, 25%, 50%, 75% or 100%. Data were collected on patient characteristics and ward context. We used mixed-effects ordinal regression models to examine patient and mealtime factors associated with higher meal completion producing odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). The study was reported as per STROBE guidelines.

RESULTS

We included 60 patients with a median age of 82 years (IQR 76-87) and clinical frailty score of 5 IQR (4-6). Of the 279 meals, 51% were eaten completely, 6% three quarters, 15% half, 18% a quarter and 10% were not eaten at all. Mealtime predictors with a weak association with less-meal completion were requiring assistance, special diets, lying in bed, and red tray (indicator of nutrition risk), but were not statistically significant. Significant patient-level factors were higher values for frailty (OR 0.34 [0.11-1.04]) and Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (OR 0.22 [0.08-0.62]). The average nurse-to-patient ratio was 1:5.5.

CONCLUSION

Patient factors were the strongest predictors for meal completion, but mealtime factors had a subtle influence. The nursing teams' capacity to prioritise mealtimes above competing demands is important as part of a comprehensive nutrition strategy.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTISE

Nurses are central to optimising nutrition for frail older patients. It requires ward leadership to instil a culture of prioritising assisted mealtimes, improved communication, greater autonomy to tailor nutrition strategies and safe staffing levels.

Disjunction, tension and dissonance within nursing pain care provision for the older hospitalized person: A focused ethnographic insight

AIMS

This study presents an ethnographic insight into the older hospitalized persons' experiences on how nurses provide pain care provision. The older persons' perceptions of culturally mediated barriers and facilitators are presented.

DESIGN

Focused ethnography.

METHODS

Multi-site across eight acute care units within two tertiary referral hospitals on the east coast of Australia collected over a one-year period from 2014 to 2015. Semi-structured interviews (n = 12) of older persons (11 hr). Twenty-three (23) semi-structured interviews with nine (9) registered nurses (12 hr 38 min). Participant observation (1,041 hr) during day, night and evening shifts.

RESULTS

The older person experienced disjunction within pain assessment by the reliance of nurses on objective measurement gained during functional task completion. Tension emerged during pain management when the older person was not included and/or options provided were not deemed effective. For some older persons this meant they undertook a decision to exclude their nurse from involvement in pain management. A thread woven throughout was a lack of communication, continuity of care and input from the older person.

CONCLUSION

This study has implications for the provision of nursing care of the older hospitalized person. Dissonance within pain care provision for the older person occurs during episodes of missed pain care. Understanding and insight is gained into aspects of missed communication opportunities between nurses and the experiences of missed pain care of the older person.

A study protocol to evaluate the implementation and effectiveness of the Clinical Nurse Leader Care Model in improving quality and safety outcomes

Aims

Patients are harmed or die every year because of unsafe, inappropriate or inadequate healthcare delivery. Registered Nurses are a recognized patient safety strategy. However, variability in research findings indicate the relationship is not as simple as “more nurses=better outcomes.” Hence, currently there exists no evidence‐based frontline nursing care model. One emerging model is the Clinical Nurse Leader care model.

Design

This Hybrid Type II Implementation‐Effectiveness study will evaluate the effect of the care model on standardized quality and safety outcomes and identify implementation characteristics that are sufficient and necessary to achieve outcomes.

Methods

This study leverages a natural experiment in 66 clinical care units in nine hospitals across five states in the United States that have implemented the Clinical Nurse Leader care model.

Results

Findings will elucidate Registered Nurse's mechanisms of action as organized into frontline models of care and link actions to improved care quality and safety.

Nursing competencies for family-centred care in the hospital setting: A multinational Q-methodology study

AIM

to identify: (1) nursing competencies for FCC in a hospital setting; and (2) to explore perspectives on these competencies among Dutch and Australian professionals including lecturers, researchers, Registered Nurses and policy makers.

DESIGN

A multinational cross-sectional study using Q-methodology.

METHODS

First, an integrative review was carried out to identify known competencies regarding FCC and to develop the Q-set (search up to July 2018). Second, purposive sampling was used to ensure stakeholder involvement. Third, participants sorted the Q-set using a web-based system between May and August 2019. Lastly, the data were analysed using a by-person factor analysis. The commentaries on the five highest and lowest ranked competencies were thematically analysed.

RESULTS

The integrative review identified 43 articles from which 72 competencies were identified. In total 69 participants completed the Q-sorting. We extracted two factors with an explained variance of 24%. The low explained variance hampered labelling. Based on a post-hoc qualitative analysis, four themes emerged from the competencies that were considered most important, namely: (a) believed preconditions for FCC; (b) promote a partnership between nurses, patients and families; (c) be a basic element of nursing; and (d) represent a necessary positive attitude and strong beliefs of the added value of FCC. Three themes appeared from the competencies that were considered least important because they: (a) were not considered a specific nursing competency; (b) demand a multidisciplinary approach; or (c) require that patients and families take own responsibility.

CONCLUSIONS

Among healthcare professionals, there is substantial disagreement on which nursing competencies are deemed most important for FCC.

IMPACT

Our set of competencies can be used to guide education and evaluate practicing nurses in hospitals. These findings are valuable to consider different views on FCC before implementation of new FCC interventions into nursing practice.

Nurse perspectives in the emergency department: The synergy tool in workload management and work engagement

AIM

To explore emergency nurses' perceptions of how a nurse-driven patient needs assessment tool, the synergy tool, influenced their workload management.

BACKGROUND

Quadruple Aim, particularly the fourth aim of improved staff work experiences, served as the conceptual framework to engage nurses in a participatory action research project. This project took place between 2017 and 2020 in two tertiary care emergency departments in one large Canadian city.

METHOD

This study employed a qualitative descriptive component, focus group interviews and nurse comments on two open-ended survey questions.

RESULTS

Use of the synergy tool heightened nurses' awareness of patients' holistic care needs. Nurses also stated how patient needs assessment data helped them identify unsafe workloads.

CONCLUSIONS

The synergy tool, adapted for emergency department use by nurses, was a means to engage and empower nurses. Patient needs assessment data from the tool identified staffing gaps, resulting in additional nursing staff for both emergency departments.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT

A focus on patient needs assessment can be an effective way to address nurses' workload concerns.

Addressing the psychosocial needs of young people with thalassaemia undergoing bone marrow transplantation

Beta thalassaemia major is an inherited condition that causes severe anaemia. Patients with the condition require regular blood transfusions. One curative treatment option available is bone marrow transplantation, but a bone marrow transplant is a high-risk, painful procedure requiring prolonged hospitalisation. Undergoing such a disruptive treatment can be a source of great anxiety for young people and their families, who will need honest, sensitive and empathetic communication, person-centred care, support to socialise and access education, involvement in decision-making and signposting to financial support. This article discusses the role of children's nurses in addressing the psychosocial needs of young people with thalassaemia who undergo bone marrow transplantation and in supporting young people's families.

A communication model for nursing staff working in dementia care: Results of a scoping review

BACKGROUND

Communication between nursing staff and people with dementia can be challenging. According to the literature, communication is seen as a process of social- and/or informational exchange between a sender and a receiver in a context. Factors related to these elements determine the quality of communication. Insight into the factors involved in the communication process between nursing staff and people with dementia is limited and a comprehensive model of communication in dementia care is lacking.

OBJECTIVES

To identify and visualize factors associated with communication between nursing staff and people with dementia.

DESIGN

A scoping review of scientific literature.

DATA SOURCES

Scientific articles were retrieved from the bibliographic databases of PubMed, CINAHL and PsycINFO.

REVIEW METHODS

The reviewing process was directed by the Joanna Briggs guidelines for scoping reviews. Full-text articles describing the communication process between nursing staff and people with dementia were eligible for inclusion. A data extraction form was used to identify factors associated with communication. Following a directed content analysis approach, factors were categorized in one of three categories: nursing staff; people with dementia; or context. Each category was thematically analysed to identify themes and subthemes. Results were visualized into a communication model.

RESULTS

The review included 31 articles; in total, 115 factors were extracted. Thematic analysis of nursing staff factors (n = 78) showed that communication is associated with professional characteristics, individual experiences, verbal- and non-verbal communication skills, communication approach and values. Factors attributed to people with dementia (n = 22) concerned client characteristics, functional status, behaviour, verbal communication skills and values. Contextual factors (n = 15) related to organization of care, time and situation. Based on these results, the Contac-d model was constructed.

CONCLUSIONS

The Contac-d model gives a comprehensive overview of factors involved in the communication process between nursing staff and people with dementia, providing insight in potential starting points for communication improvement, e.g. respect for needs, identity and privacy of people with dementia, a flexible and adapted communication approach and matching language. Additionally, results suggest that an appealing location, longer duration of the interaction, and music in the surrounding may improve communication in certain situations. However, it was not feasible based on current literature to recommend what works to improve communication in which situations. Future studies should study factors and their interrelatedness in specific care situations. Authors further believe that more attention should be paid to strengths and capabilities of people with dementia and to non-modifiable factors that influence communication.

Registered nurses' experiences of providing respiratory care in relation to hospital- acquired pneumonia at in-patient stroke units: a qualitative descriptive study

Objective

This study aimed to describe registered nurses’ (RNs) experiences of providing respiratory care in relation to hospital acquired pneumonia (HAP), specifically among patients with acute stroke being cared for at in-patient stroke units.

Background

One of the most common and serious respiratory complications associated with acute stroke is HAP. Respiratory care is among the fundamentals of patient care, and thus competency in this field is expected as part of nursing training. However, there is a paucity of literature detailing RNs’ experiences with respiratory care in relation to HAP, specifically among patients with acute stroke, in the context of stroke units. As such, there is a need to expand the knowledge base relating to respiratory care focusing on HAP, to assist with evidence-based nursing.

Design

A qualitative descriptive study.

Method

Eleven RNs working in four different acute stroke units in Southern Sweden participated in the current study. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews, and the transcribed interviews were analysed using inductive content analysis.

Results

Three overarching categories were identified: (1), awareness of risk assessments and risk factors for HAP (2) targeting HAP through multiple nursing care actions, and (3) challenges in providing respiratory care to patients in risk of HAP. These reflected the similarities and differences in the experiences that RNs had with providing respiratory care in relation to HAP among in-patients with acute stroke.

Conclusions

The findings from this study suggest that the RNs experience organisational challenges in providing respiratory care for HAP among patients with acute stroke. Respiratory care plays a vital role in the identification and prevention of HAP, but our findings imply that RNs’ knowledge needs to be improved, the fundamentals of nursing care need to be prioritised, and evidence-based guidelines must be implemented. RNs would also benefit from further education and support, in order to lead point-of-care nursing in multidisciplinary stroke teams.

Fondamentaux des soins : un cadre et un processus pratique pour répondre aux besoins physiques, psychosociaux et relationnels des personnes soignées

Since 2008, an international group has been helping to promote a better response to the fundamental needs of individuals receiving care. This group provides a framework on the fundamentals of care that focuses on the relationship between the nurse, the individual being cared for, and his or her relatives, as well as on the response to the patient’s physical, psychosocial, and relational needs. A practice process supports the concrete application of this framework. The purpose of this discursive article is to present the French translation of the Fundamentals of Care Framework and its Practice Process. To begin with, the translation process will be briefly explained. Next, the Fundamentals of Care Framework and the stages in its Practice Process will be presented. To help the reader better understand the proposal, a clinical illustration will be used to present the situation of Mr. Perron, who is living with Alzheimer’s disease, and his spouse, who is his family caregiver. Finally, the article discusses the usefulness of the Fundamentals of Care Framework and its Practice Process in terms of the four main areas of the discipline of nursing : practice, management, training, and research. This article paves the way for the development of knowledge on the fundamentals of care in the French-speaking world.

Skin injury prevention and treatment in the older person: reframing our approach in the community setting

In the past, maintaining skin integrity has been synonymous with preventing and treating a single skin injury, namely pressure injury. However, there is growing recognition that this single-injury approach overlooks the multitude of skin injuries that may be sustained by older people. This article proposes that reframing the approach to skin integrity care away from the single-injury focus and towards a comprehensive and holistic paradigm is imperative. Guided by the Skin Safety Model, this article presents a case study illustrating comprehensive skin integrity assessment and care planning for an older person in the community setting. It is hoped that the information presented will guide community nurses in addressing skin injuries experienced by older adults in holistic and comprehensive way.

Engagement under difficult conditions: Caring for patients with acute abdominal pain across the acute-care chain: A qualitative study

BACKGROUND

Studies report that patients with acute abdominal pain do not always receive optimal care and can experience poor pain management, safety failures, and emotional harm. Deeper understanding of how health professionals experience care delivery is needed to improve care to patients with acute abdominal pain.

AIM

To explore, from the perspective of registered nurses and physicians, how care is provided for patients with acute abdominal pain in the acute care chain, and to identify barriers that they describe in the delivery of care.

METHOD

Registered nurses and physicians (n = 19) working in ambulance services, emergency departments, and surgical departments at five hospitals in Sweden were interviewed. A content analysis was performed.

RESULTS

Five categories were identified; interaction: a decisive moment, competence and resources: not always available, guidelines: limited use, medical care: a main focus, and feedback and collaboration: limited across acute care chain.

CONCLUSION

This study adds new insights relating to how health professionals reflect on patient needs and obstacles to satisfying them. To deliver high quality care and meet patients' fundamental needs, there is a need of general guidelines and close collaboration in the acute care chain.

Action research as a catalyst for change: Empowered nurses facilitating patient participation in rehabilitation

Based on action research as a practitioner-involving approach, this article communicates the findings of a two-year study on implementing patient participation as an empowering learning process for both patients and rehabilitation nurses. At a rehabilitation facility for patients who have sustained spinal cord injuries, eight nurses were engaged throughout the process aiming at improving patient participation. The current practice was explored to understand possibilities and obstacles to patient participation. Observations, interviews and logbooks, creative workshops and reflective meetings led to the development and testing of four new rehabilitation initiatives aimed at enhancing patient participation. This study suggests that skills of critical reflection from action research toolbox shed light on both the notion of patient participation and caring in nursing rehabilitation. By actively involving nurses in research, the knowledge development stems from practice and the solutions therefore became practice-oriented. In addition, the personal and professional development experienced by the involved nurses points to a secondary gain in the form of an analytical and reflective approach to complex issues in relation to patient participation, rehabilitation in general and the individual nurses' sense of professional pride.

Artificial Intelligence and Robotics in Nursing: Ethics of Caring as a Guide to Dividing Tasks Between AI and Humans

Nurses have traditionally been regarded as clinicians that deliver compassionate, safe, and empathetic health care (Nurses again outpace other professions for honesty & ethics, 2018). Caring is a fundamental characteristic, expectation, and moral obligation of the nursing and caregiving professions (Nursing: Scope and standards of practice, American Nurses Association, Silver Spring, MD, 2015). Along with caring, nurses are expected to undertake ever-expanding duties and complex tasks. In part because of the growing physical, intellectual and emotional demandingness, of nursing as well as technological advances, artificial intelligence (AI) and AI care robots are rapidly changing the healthcare landscape. As technology becomes more advanced, efficient, and economical, opportunities and pressure to introduce AI into nursing care will only increase. In the first part of the article, we review recent and existing applications of AI in nursing and speculate on future use. Second, situate our project within the recent literature on the ethics of nursing and AI. Third, we explore three dominant theories of caring and the two paradigmatic expressions of caring (touch and presence) and conclude that AI-at least for the foreseeable future-is incapable of caring in the sense central to nursing and caregiving ethics. We conclude that for AI to be implemented ethically, it cannot transgress the core values of nursing, usurp aspects of caring that can only meaningfully be carried out by human beings, and it must support, open, or improve opportunities for nurses to provide the uniquely human aspects of care.

The delivery of compassionate nursing care in a tick-box culture: Qualitative perspectives from a realist evaluation of intentional rounding

BACKGROUND

Compassion is integral to professional nursing practice worldwide and a fundamental value in healthcare. Following serious care failures at a healthcare provider in the United Kingdom, a government commissioned report (the Francis Report) made several recommendations for strengthening compassion in nursing care and consequently 'intentional rounding' was incorporated into nursing practice in the United Kingdom. Intentional rounding is a structured process implemented primarily in the United Kingdom, North America and Australia, whereby nurses conduct 1-2 hourly checks on every patient using a standardised protocol and documentation.

OBJECTIVES

To examine the role of intentional rounding in the delivery of compassionate nursing care in England from multiple perspectives.

METHODS

This paper reports qualitative findings from one phase of a realist evaluation of intentional rounding which used a mixed-methods approach. Individual, semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 33 nursing staff, 17 senior nurse managers, 34 patients and 28 family carers from three geographically spread case study hospital sites in England. Interviews elicited detailed reflections on the contexts, mechanisms and outcomes of intentional rounding and how it impacted the interviewee and those around them.

RESULTS

This study found little evidence that intentional rounding ensures the comfort, safety or dignity of patients or increases the delivery of compassionate care. The systematised approach of intentional rounding emphasises transactional care delivery in the utilisation of prescribed methods of recording or tick boxes rather than relational, individualised patient care. It has the potential to reduce the scope of nursing care to a minimum standard, leading to a focus on the fundamentals as well as the prevention of adverse events. Its documentation is primarily valued by nursing staff as a means of protecting themselves through written proof or 'evidence' of care delivered, rather than as a means of increasing compassionate care.

CONCLUSIONS

This large-scale, theoretically-driven study of intentional rounding - the first of its kind - demonstrates that intentional rounding prioritises data collection through tick boxes or a prescriptive and structured recording of care. Thus, intentional rounding neither improves the delivery of compassionate nursing care nor addresses the policy imperative it was intended to target. This study raises questions about the role, contribution and outcomes from intentional rounding and suggests a need for a wider, international debate within the nursing profession about its future use. If an intervention to increase compassionate nursing care is required, it may be better to start afresh, rather than attempting to adapt the system currently implemented.

Health and medical device development for fundamental care: Scoping review

BACKGROUND

The use of technology and health and medical devices as a part of fundamental nursing care is increasing. Although involving users in the device development process is essential, the role of nurses in the process has not yet been discussed.

OBJECTIVES

To examine and map what kind of health and medical devices have been developed specifically for fundamental nursing care and to examine the design and development of the devices, particularly focusing on the role of nurses in the process.

DESIGN

Scoping review.

DATA SOURCES

The Medline, Cinahl, Web of Science, IEEE Explore and ACM DL databases REVIEW METHODS: The databases were searched to identify studies describing health and medical devices developed for fundamental nursing care published between the years 2008-2018 in English language. References of included articles were reviewed for additional eligible studies. Two research team members screened the abstracts and full articles against the predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. The PRISMA-ScR checklist was used.

RESULTS

Of the 7223 reports identified, a total of 19 were chosen for the scoping review. Of these, five were further analysed regarding the development process. Main focus areas of the included reports were patient monitoring, pressure ulcer prevention and patient transfer and mobility. Device development process, divided into three phases, was mainly driven by technological expertise and healthcare personnel were mainly involved in the evaluation phases.

CONCLUSIONS

Health and medical devices are a crucial part of the healthcare today and nurses are increasingly involved with their use. Most of the devices have been developed mainly by using technological expertise although they are directly aimed at fundamental aspects of nursing care. The results of our review suggest that the expertise of the nurses as the end-users of the devices could be much more exploited.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE

A combination of expertise of device development from both nursing professionals and technical experts is necessary to disentangle the requirements of increased quality in nursing care combined with the ever-growing technological requirements.

Instruments measuring behavioural aspects of the nurse-patient relationship: A scoping review

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

To identify and map tools measuring behavioural aspects of the nurse-patient relationship.

BACKGROUND

The behaviours nurses employ to develop relationships with patients form a key part of nursing practice. Systematically measuring these behaviours provides an objective means of assessing and evaluating how nurses establish and maintain relationships with patients in a variety of settings. Whilst tools exist to measure these behaviours, little is known about their aims/scope, structure, method of development and contexts of use. Such knowledge is crucial for understanding the nature of the literature, including in which contexts and for which patient groups existing tools are suited.

DESIGN

Scoping review informed by Joanna Briggs Institute methodology.

METHODS

A database search was undertaken using CINAHL, PsycINFO, Pubmed and Embase. Primary research articles, theses and methodological papers that developed, refined and/or administered tools measuring behavioural aspects of the nurse-patient relationship, in any setting and for any patient group, were included. Tools had to measure actual not hypothetical behaviour (e.g., perceptions regarding importance). Data from included studies and tools were mapped. Results are reported in accordance with PRISMA-ScR guidelines.

RESULTS

One hundred and twenty-seven studies, containing 35 tools, were included. The literature was characterised by substantial variability, stemming from the continued refinement of tools (e.g., reduction to short forms) but also the development of new tools that appeared to duplicate existing work and the inconsistent use of tools across studies.

CONCLUSIONS

The volume of tools available demonstrates the importance of measuring the nurse-patient relationship. However, the existing duplication and variability create challenges in choosing amongst the tools available and show that, as a concept, the nurse-patient relationship remains poorly understood.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE

Research is required to synthesise, and assess the quality of, existing tools, enabling clinicians, leaders/managers, educators and researchers to administer appropriate tools to evaluate the nurse-patient relationship.

A contribution to the ontology of the Fundamentals of Care framework from a wonder-based approach

AIM AND OBJECTIVES

To critically discuss the ontological framework of Fundamentals of Care (FoC), as developed by Uhrenfeldt, et al. (2018), Journal of Clinical Nursing, 27, 3197-3204; to suggest theoretical improvements by taking a wonder-based approach; and to show how this approach can be applied in healthcare sectors.

BACKGROUND

Based on a critical discussion of a discursive study on the ontology of FoC, studies in phenomenology of wonder and two action research projects involving "Wonder Labs," this article discusses whether the ontology and reflective practices behind FoC can be qualified further by an existential phenomenology of wonder and with practices of "Wonder Labs."

DESIGN

This is a discursive study critically discussing Uhrenfeldt et al.'s primary focus on dyadic and relational openness and person-oriented attentiveness in a nurse-patient relationship. This is done by unfolding the phenomenology of wonder and wonder experiences at a hospice and a hospital, and by critically examining the psychologically influenced interpretation of Heidegger.

CONCLUSION

The first attempts by Uhrenfeldt et al. to identify the philosophical roots and ontology of FoC by pointing to existential phenomenology and philosophy are acknowledged. However, in this article, we further elaborate this attempt by focusing on the phenomenology of wonder. We show that Heidegger speaking about "existential homecoming" referred to a philosophical practice focusing on the resonance with being, rather than on interpersonal and psychological relations. In conclusion, the article recognises the importance of integrating these two approaches described on the one hand as a person-oriented and lifeworld-led approach, and on the other hand as a being- and phenomenon-oriented approach to the nurse-patient relationship.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE

To be open to the "musicality" of the being dimension, as the core values of FoC, a wonder-based approach to value clarifications and phenomenological dialogues is pivotal for the presence of openness, trust and attentiveness of the nurse-patient relationship. The practices of the "Wonder Lab" may be an approach for training nurses in hearing the call of this "ontological resonance."

How nurses' use of language creates meaning about healthcare users and nursing practice

Nursing practice occurs in the context of conversations with healthcare users, other healthcare professionals, and healthcare institutions. This discussion paper draws on symbolic interactionism and Fairclough's method of critical discourse analysis to examine language that nurses use to describe the people in their care and their practice. We discuss how nurses' use of language constructs meaning about healthcare users and their own work. Through language, nurses are articulating what they believe about healthcare users and nursing practice. We argue that the language nurses use can contribute to viewing their practice as tasks on bodies that must be accomplished efficiently and objectively within the biomedical model, rather than relational and person-centered. Moreover, the language nurses use can perpetuate a sense of powerlessness within healthcare systems yet paradoxically they are in a position of power over healthcare users. Nurses' compliance with the efficiency and biomedical model results in a lack of emphasis on the full breadth of nursing work, which could be enacted in relational rather than power-laden practices. We conclude by positing that careful use of language among nurses in all settings is essential, if we are to begin to articulate what nursing is to ourselves and to others.

End of life in acute hospital setting-A systematic review of families' experience of spiritual care

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

To systematically review qualitative studies exploring families' experiences of spiritual care at the end of life in acute hospital settings.

BACKGROUND

Although there is a widespread belief that the consideration of spiritual and religious needs is outdated in the context of secularism, from a practical perspective patients and families appear to benefit from spiritual support at the end of life.

METHODS

Six key databases, CINAHL, MEDLINE, EMBASE, Global Health Library, Web of Science and Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts (ASSIA), were searched, and three reviewers independently extracted the data and coded them into themes and subthemes. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) was used as a reporting framework.

RESULTS

Five main themes emerged: anticipating needs; honouring the family by honouring the patient; personal connection; lack of sensitivity; and making space for religious and spiritual practices.

CONCLUSIONS

Families experiencing end-of-life care in acute hospital settings may benefit from spiritual care. While this can also be considered as fundamental care, understanding this through the lenses of spiritual care allows for incorporation of religious and spiritual practices that many seek at this time, irrespective of their faith perspectives.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE

Although hospice care is well established internationally, many families experience end-of-life care in acute hospital settings. Nurses usually get to know families well during this time; however, the demands of the clinical environment place restrictions on family care and perceptions of lack of communication, limited support and/or limited sensitivity can compound families' suffering. Consideration of families' spiritual needs can help to support families during this time. Nurses are ideally placed for this and can anticipate and plan for patient and family needs in this regard, or refer to a specialist, such as the Healthcare Chaplain.

Nursing Communication as a Tool for Patient Satisfaction. A Single Hospital Survey

Background:

Communication is an essential tool for health promotion. Effective healthcare communication has great therapeutic value.

Objective:

The aim of the study is to assess the degree of patient satisfaction related to nursing communication in the various stages of hospital stay.

Methods:

Patients admitted to General University Hospital in medical and surgical department were subjected to this survey using a questionnaire, structured in four sections (acceptance, hospital stay, discharge, pain and new drugs management). Chi-square and multivariate logistic regression models were used to test the association between the outcome of interest defined as the satisfaction of nursing communication and the independent variables.

Results:

One thousand three hundred seventy questionnaires were administered. In acceptance, among patients satisfied with nursing skills related to explaining the department's functioning, most were satisfied with nursing communication (972 vs 87 p <0.005). Also during the hospital stay, among patients satisfied with nursing Skills and Manner relating to communication most were significantly satisfied with the nursing communication (849 vs 74 p <0.005 and 987 vs 55 p <0.001). At the discharge, the number of patients satisfied with nursing communication was greater among patients who considered the length of hospital stay adequate (1020 vs 65 p <0.001). Data are confirmed by the multiple logistic regression analysis.

Conclusion:

Our study shows how nursing communication is the key to establishing a good therapeutic care relationship and how it can be associated with patient satisfaction in various phases of hospital stay.

Adaptation, modification, and psychometric assessment of a Norwegian version of the Basel extent of rationing of nursing care for nursing homes instrument (BERNCA-NH)

Background

To our knowledge, no instrument has been developed and tested for measuring unfinished care in Norwegian nursing home settings. The Basel Extent of Rationing of Nursing Care for Nursing Homes instrument (BERNCA-NH) was developed and validated in Switzerland to measure the extent of implicit rationing of nursing care in nursing homes. The BERNCA-NH comprises a list of nursing care activities in which a care worker reports the frequency to which activities were left unfinished over the last 7 working days as a result of lack of time. The aim of this study was to adapt and modify a Norwegian version of the BERNCA-NH intended for all care workers, and assess the instruments’ psychometric properties in a Norwegian nursing home setting.

Methods

The BERNCA-NH was translated into Norwegian and modified to fit the Norwegian setting with inputs from individual cognitive interviews with informants from the target population. The instrument was then tested in a web-based survey with a final sample of 931 care workers in 162 nursing home units in different parts of Norway. The psychometric evaluation included score distribution, response completeness and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of a hypothesised factor structure and evaluation of internal consistency. Hypothesised relation to other variables was assessed through correlations between the subscale scores and three global ratings.

Results

The Norwegian version of BERNCA-NH comprised four subscales labelled: routine care, ‘when required’ care, documentation and psychosocial care. All subscales demonstrated good internal consistency. The CFA supported the four-factor structure with fit statistics indicating a robust model. There were moderate to strong bivariate associations between the BERNCA-NH subscales and the three global ratings. Three items which were not relevant for all care workers were not included in the subscales and treated as single items.

Conclusions

This study found good psychometric properties of the Norwegian version BERNCA-NH, assessed in a sample of care workers in Norwegian nursing homes. The results indicate that the instrument can be used to measure unfinished care in similar settings.

To stay in touch - intensive care patients' interactions with nurses during mobilisation

BACKGROUND

Minimal sedation has made it possible to communicate and cooperate with intensive care patients and mobilisation can start earlier during their stay in the intensive care unit.

PURPOSE

To investigate the intensive care patient's reaction and interaction to mobilisation.

METHOD

This study used focused ethnography combining observations, interviews and four scores for evaluating awareness, and pain levels were included: Richmond Agitation Sedation Scale Confusion Assessment Method For The Intensive Care Unit, Numeric Rating Scale and Critical Pain Observation Tool. Twelve patients were observed during mobilisation, with subsequent interviews of the involved nurses.

FINDINGS

Nurses run the risk of overlooking the patient's reactions, such as pain, discomfort or needs during mobilisation. Nurses use several different ways of communicating to create contact with the patients. Patients with an impaired awareness level become more aware during mobilisation.

CONCLUSIONS

If the nurse's attention is focused on the technical side of caregiving, there is a risk that she might overlook the patient's reactions and needs. If the nurse is aware of the risk of overlooking the patient's reactions, she may plan the mobilisation to ensure that the patient gets the necessary attention and is included in the process. In that way, the patient might avoid unnecessary discomfort and maintain trust and confidence in the nurse.

Speaking Up for Fundamental Care: the ILC Aalborg Statement

OBJECTIVE

The International Learning Collaborative (ILC) is an organisation dedicated to understanding why fundamental care, the care required by all patients regardless of clinical condition, fails to be provided in healthcare systems globally. At its 11th annual meeting in 2019, nursing leaders from 11 countries, together with patient representatives, confirmed that patients' fundamental care needs are still being ignored and nurses are still afraid to 'speak up' when these care failures occur. While the ILC's efforts over the past decade have led to increased recognition of the importance of fundamental care, it is not enough. To generate practical, sustainable solutions, we need to substantially rethink fundamental care and its contribution to patient outcomes and experiences, staff well-being, safety and quality, and the economic viability of healthcare systems.

KEY ARGUMENTS

We present five propositions for radically transforming fundamental care delivery:Value: fundamental care must be foundational to all caring activities, systems and institutionsTalk: fundamental care must be explicitly articulated in all caring activities, systems and institutions.Do: fundamental care must be explicitly actioned and evaluated in all caring activities, systems and institutions.Own: fundamental care must be owned by each individual who delivers care, works in a system that is responsible for care or works in an institution whose mission is to deliver care.

RESEARCH

fundamental care must undergo systematic and high-quality investigations to generate the evidence needed to inform care practices and shape health systems and education curricula.

CONCLUSION

For radical transformation within health systems globally, we must move beyond nursing and ensure all members of the healthcare team-educators, students, consumers, clinicians, leaders, researchers, policy-makers and politicians-value, talk, do, own and research fundamental care. It is only through coordinated, collaborative effort that we will, and must, achieve real change.

Situational awareness in the outpatient encounter between patients with breast cancer or malignant melanoma and healthcare professionals: Patients' perceptions

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

To explore patients' experiences of situational awareness in the outpatient encounter when they are informed about the diagnosis of breast cancer or malignant melanoma.

BACKGROUND

Patients enter a stressful situation when receiving a diagnosis of breast cancer or malignant melanoma, and research indicates that needs are most prominent at this time. However, healthcare professionals often fail to address these needs adequately. It is unclear how patients experience situational awareness practised to meet their fundamental needs in the encounter when they are informed about the diagnosis of cancer.

DESIGN

This study used a phenomenological hermeneutical approach.

METHODS

Nine semi-structured interviews with patients being diagnosed with breast cancer or malignant melanoma were performed. The interpretation theory of Paul Ricoeur guided the analysis. The study is presented in line with the COREQ checklist.

RESULTS

The analysis resulted in three themes: 1) "Being accompanied" refers to how patients need information to be targeted to them as individuals. 2) "Being seen" points to HCPs' exploration of the patients' perspectives to get an understanding of their preferences. 3) "Being taken care of" indicates that patients feel supported if situational awareness is practised by the healthcare professionals.

CONCLUSION

Practicing situational awareness in the outpatient encounter is essential to patients' experience of feeling accommodated or rejected. Patients feel rejected when their fundamental needs are not met while experiencing situational awareness seems to accommodate fundamental needs and pre-empt an inappropriate patient outcome.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE

HCPs need to acknowledge the importance of using a structured approach to meeting patients' fundamental needs in a stressful situation. Each patient is different and may experience different needs in encounters where they are receiving the diagnosis of breast cancer or malignant melanoma. Therefore, treatment and care must be tailored to the individual patient based on a caring relationship.

Patients' and nurses' experiences of fundamental nursing care: A systematic review and qualitative synthesis

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

To systematically identify, appraise and synthesise patients', residents' and nurses' experiences of fundamental nursing care for nutrition, elimination, mobility and hygiene.

BACKGROUND

The evidence base for effective nursing behaviours to assist people with their fundamental care needs is sparse, hampering the development of effective interventions. Synthesising data on patients' and nurses' experiences of fundamentals of nursing care could contribute to the development of such an intervention.

METHODS

Systematic review and synthesis of qualitative data from qualitative studies on patients' and nurses' experiences of fundamental nursing care behaviours addressing peoples' nutrition, elimination, mobility and hygiene needs. We appraised study quality and relevance and used a narrative approach to data synthesis, fulfilling PRISMA criteria (Appendix S2).

RESULTS

We identified 22,374 papers, and 47 met our inclusion criteria. Most papers were of low quality. Sixteen papers met our quality and relevance criteria and were included for synthesis. Papers were about nutrition (2) elimination (2), mobility (5), hygiene (5) and multiple care areas (2). We found nurses and patients report that fundamental nursing care practices involve strong leadership, collaborative partnerships with patients and cohesive organisational practices aligned to nursing care objectives and actions.

CONCLUSIONS

To improve fundamental care and interventions suitable for testing may require attention to leadership, patient-nurse relationships and organisational coherence plus the fundamentals of care nursing interventions themselves.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE

More rigorous mixed methods research about fundamental nursing care is needed to inform nursing practice and improve patient's experience. Nursing interventions should include effective nurse leadership and nurse-patient collaboration and a focus on fundamental care by the host organisation.

Exploring nursing students' use of the Fundamentals of Care framework in case-based work

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

To explore how nursing students perceive and use the conceptual Fundamentals of Care framework in case-based work in nursing education and furthermore to describe influencing factors on perceptions and use of the framework.

BACKGROUND

The Fundamentals of Care framework has been integrated in core courses in two Schools of Nursing in Region North Denmark in response to studies reporting that nursing students and newly graduated nurses lack the knowledge, skills and competencies to meet the challenges of delivering fundamental care in clinical practice. An integration of the framework in case-based work in nursing education has not previously been studied.

DESIGN AND METHODS

The study design was focused ethnography. Data were collected using participant observations, focus group interviews and individual interviews. Four groups of four to five nursing students participating in case-based work sessions and three faculty members from two Schools of Nursing were included. The study adhered to COREQ.

RESULTS

The results show an uncertainty among the students about how to understand and use the conceptual framework in case-based work. The uncertainties derive from diversities in faculty members' perceptions and curricular planning among others. However, the framework appears to support the students' learning about what nursing is and requires.

CONCLUSIONS

The study indicates that integrating Fundamentals of Care framework in case-based work may be one way of teaching nursing students the complexities of integrated fundamental nursing care. However, there is a need to consider how to support students in articulating Fundamentals of Care, and to draw attention to the influence of role models and curricular planning.

RELEVANCE TO EDUCATIONAL PRACTICE

The study provides knowledge relevant when customising future educational interventions regarding the integration of Fundamentals of Care in nursing education and may provide valuable knowledge of evaluation strategies.

Developing an evidence-based and theory informed intervention to involve families in patients care after surgery: A quality improvement project

Objectives

In the post-surgical setting, active involvement of family caregivers has the potential to improve patient outcomes by prevention of surgical complications that are sensitive to fundamental care. This paper describes the development of a theoretically grounded program to enhance the active involvement of family caregivers in fundamental care for post-surgical patients.

Methods

We used a quality improvement project following a multi-phase design. In Phase 1, an iterative method was used to combine evidence from a narrative review and professionals' preferences. In Phase 2, the logic model underlying the program was developed guided by four steps: (1) confirm situation, intervention aim, and target population; (2) documented expected outcomes, and outputs of the intervention; (3) identify and describe assumptions, external factors and inputs; and (4) confirm intervention components.

Results

Phase 1 identified a minimum set of family involvement activities that were both supported by staff and the narrative review. In Phase 2, the logic model was developed and includes (1) the inputs (e.g. educational- and environmental support), (2) the ultimate outcomes (e.g. reduction of postoperative complications), (3) the intermediate outcomes (e.g. behavioural changes), and (4) immediate outcomes (e.g. improved knowledge, skills and attitude).

Conclusions

We demonstrated how we aimed to change our practice to an environment in which family caregivers were stimulated to be actively involved in postoperative care on surgical wards, and how we took different factors into account. The description of this program may provide a solid basis for professionals to implement the family involvement program in their own setting.

Research awareness among children's nurses: An integrative review

BACKGROUND

Developing nursing research skills, awareness and research utilisation are important for improving healthcare outcomes and are key to ensuring the full understanding and knowledge base necessary for optimal delivery of care. Nevertheless, little is known about research awareness in children's nurses.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

To address this issue, an integrative literature review was conducted for studies published between January 2007 and January 2017 to obtain up-to-date evidence about the extent of research awareness and utilisation among children's nurses.

METHODS

Using PubMed, Cochrane Library, ILISI and CINAHL databases, 21 studies related to children's nurses' research awareness were included in the final review, which was later developed and structured in keeping with PRISMA checklist and guidelines.

CONCLUSIONS

The studies isolated show that nurses' knowledge about and utilisation of research vary and that there are many existent barriers to and facilitators of evidence-based practice in the paediatric setting. Some studies report that introducing a cultural and/or change in clinical practice change to improve research utilisation can have positive impacts on healthcare outcomes and the quality of nursing care of children. It is recommended that structured approaches to improving research utilisation be considered and additional research is needed to explore the benefits of these approaches.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE

Despite more than three decades of the evidence-based practice movement within nursing, barriers still exist among children's nurses in the use of research in practice. If the use of research to improve the delivery of children's nursing care is to become a reality, then nurses' research awareness needs to improve to underpin care delivery with optimal evidence in a cohesive informed manner.

Registered nurse's experiences of continence care for older people: A qualitative descriptive study

AIM

This study aimed to illuminate nurses' experience of continence care for older people receiving home care, either in their own home or in an assisted living facility.

BACKGROUND

Registered Nurses (RNs) have a major role to play in identifying and establishing appropriate actions regarding continence care for older people. However, the crucial nursing care pathway for continence care is commonly described as poor.

METHODS

Interviews were conducted with 11 RNs providing home care, and the transcribed texts were analysed using inductive content analysis.

RESULT

The impressions of RNs were categorised according to four themes: perceptions of continence care, an open approach to continence care, the need for personalised aid fittings and the importance of teamwork in continence care. Key findings were the importance of teamwork; the need for nurses to embrace leadership at the point of care and be more visible in terms of the provision of direct care; substantiation that evidence-based interventions, such as scheduled toileting and prompted voiding, should constitute the norm in continence care within the context of home care; and the need for nurses to support the right of older persons to receive an assessment of their continence problems, deemed to be the minimum standard of quality care.

CONCLUSION

The provision of continence care that is based on key nursing standards, such as evidence-based and person-centred care, as well as individualised continence care that is based on evidenced-based guidelines, would ensure an improvement in the continence care that is presently on offer to older people.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE

Nurses need to embrace leadership at the point of care and to be more visible with the provision of direct care in order to improve continence care for older people receiving home care.

Intentional rounding in hospital wards to improve regular interaction and engagement between nurses and patients: a realist evaluation

© Crown copyright 2013. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0© Queen’s Printer and Controller of HMSO 2019. This work was produced by Harriset al.under the terms of a commissioning contract issued by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. This issue may be freely reproduced for the purposes of private research and study and extracts (or indeed, the full report) may be included in professional journals provided that suitable acknowledgement is made and the reproduction is not associated with any form of advertising. Applications for commercial reproduction should be addressed to: NIHR Journals Library, National Institute for Health Research, Evaluation, Trials and Studies Coordinating Centre, Alpha House, University of Southampton Science Park, Southampton SO16 7NS, UK.20132019Crown copyrightQueen’s Printer and Controller of HMSO

Background

The government response to the care failures at the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust led to the policy imperative of ‘regular interaction and engagement between nurses and patients’ (Francis R.Report of the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Public Inquiry. London: The Stationery Office; 2013. © Crown copyright 2013. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0) in the NHS. The pressure on nursing to act resulted in the introduction of the US model, known as ‘intentional rounding’, into nursing practice. This is a timed, planned intervention that sets out to address fundamental elements of nursing care by means of a regular bedside ward round.

Objectives

The study aims were to examine what it is about intentional rounding in hospital wards that works, for whom and in what circumstances.

Design

A multimethod study design was undertaken using realist evaluation methodology. The study was conducted in four phases: (1) theory development; (2) a national survey of all NHS acute trusts in England; (3) in-depth case studies of six wards, involving individual interviews, observations, retrieval of routinely collected ward outcome data and analysis of costs; and (4) synthesis of the study findings.

Setting

The study was conducted in acute NHS trusts in England.

Participants

A total of 108 acute NHS trusts participated in the survey. Seventeen senior managers, 33 front-line nurses, 28 non-nursing professionals, 34 patients and 28 carers participated in individual interviews. Thirty-nine members of nursing staff were shadowed during their delivery of intentional rounding and the direct care received by 28 patients was observed.

Review methods

A realist synthesis was undertaken to identify eight context–mechanism–outcome configurations, which were tested and refined using evidence collected in subsequent research phases.

Results

The national survey showed that 97% of NHS trusts had implemented intentional rounding in some way. Data synthesis from survey, observation and interview findings showed that only two of the original eight mechanisms were partially activated (consistency and comprehensiveness, and accountability). The evidence for two mechanisms was inconclusive (visibility of nurses and anticipation); there was minimal evidence for one mechanism (multidisciplinary teamwork and communication) and no evidence for the remaining three (allocated time to care, nurse–patient relationships and communication, and patient empowerment). A total of 240 intentional rounds were observed within 188 hours of care delivery observation. Although 86% of all intentional rounding interactions were observed to be documented, fidelity to the original intervention [i.e. the Studer Group protocol (Studer Group.Best Practices: Sacred Heart Hospital, Pensacola, Florida. Hourly Rounding Supplement. Gulf Breeze, FL: Studer Group; 2007)] was generally low.

Limitations

Intentional rounding was often difficult for researchers to observe, as it was rarely delivered as a discrete activity but instead undertaken alongside other nursing activities. Furthermore, a lack of findings about the influence of intentional rounding on patient outcomes in the safety thermometer data limits inferences on how mechanisms link to clinical outcomes for patients.

Conclusions

The evidence from this study demonstrates that the effectiveness of intentional rounding, as currently implemented and adapted in England, is very weak and falls short of the theoretically informed mechanisms. There was ambivalence and concern expressed that intentional rounding oversimplifies nursing, privileges a transactional and prescriptive approach over relational nursing care, and prioritises accountability and risk management above individual responsive care.

Future work

It is suggested that the insights and messages from this study inform a national conversation about whether or not intentional rounding is the optimum intervention to support the delivery of fundamental nursing care to patients, or if the time is right to shape alternative solutions.

Funding

The National Institute for Health Research Health Services and Delivery Research programme.

Exploring person-centred fundamental nursing care in hospital wards: A multi-site ethnography

Objective

To explore how nurses in hospitals enact person‐centred fundamental care delivery.

Background

Effective person‐centred care is at the heart of fundamental nursing care, but it is deemed to be challenging in acute health care as there is a strong biomedical focus and most nurses are not trained in person‐centred fundamental care delivery. We therefore need to know if and how nurses currently incorporate a person‐centred approach during fundamental care.

Design

Focused ethnography approach.

Methods

Observations of 30 nurses on three different wards in two Dutch hospitals during their morning shift. Data were collected through passive observations and analysed using framework analysis based on the fundamentals of care framework. The COREQ guideline was used for reporting.

Results

Some nurses successfully integrate physical, psychosocial and relational elements of care in patient interactions. However, most nurses were observed to be mainly focused on physical care and did not take the time at their patients’ bedside to care for their psychosocial and relational needs. Many had a task‐focused way of working and communicating, seldom incorporating patients’ needs and experiences or discussing care planning, and often disturbing each other.

Conclusions

This study demonstrates that although some nurses manage to do so, person‐centred fundamental care delivery remains a challenge in hospitals, as most nurses have a task‐focused approach and therefore do not manage to integrate the physical, relational and physical elements of care. For further improvement, attention needs to be paid to integrated fundamental care and clinical reasoning skills.

Relevance to clinical practice

Although most nurses have a compassionate approach, this study shows that nurses do not incorporate psychosocial care or encourage patient participation when helping patients with their physical fundamental care needs, even though there seems to be sufficient opportunity for them to do so.

Registered nurses experiences of managing depressive symptoms at care centres for older people: a qualitative descriptive study

BACKGROUND

Depressive symptoms and/or depression are commonly experienced by older people. Both are underdiagnosed, undertreated and regularly overlooked by healthcare professionals. Healthcare facilities for people aged ≥75 years have been in place in Sweden since 2015. The aim of these care centres, which are managed by registered nurses (RNs), is to offer care adjusted to cater to the complex needs and health problems of older people. Although the mental health of older people is prioritised in these centres, research into the experience of RNs of depressive symptoms and/or depression in older people in this setting is limited. Therefore, this study aimed to illuminate RNs, working at care centres for older people, experience of identifying and intervening in cases of depressive symptoms.

METHODS

The data for this qualitative descriptive study were collected through interviews (n = 10) with RNs working at 10 care centres for older people in southern Sweden. The transcribed texts were analysed using inductive content analysis.

RESULTS

The participants' experiences could be understood from four predominant themes: (1) challenging to identify, (2) described interventions, (3) prerequisites for identification, and (4) contextual influences. Key findings were that it was difficult to identify depression as it often manifested as physical symptoms; evidence-based nursing interventions were generally not the first-line treatment used; trust, continuity and the ability of RNs to think laterally; and the context influenced the ability of RNs to manage older people's depressive symptoms and/or depression.

CONCLUSIONS

The process of identifying depressive symptoms and performing an appropriate intervention was found to be complex, especially as older people were reluctant to present at the centres and provided obscure reasons for doing so. A nurse-patient relationship that was built on trust and was characterised by continuity of care was identified as a necessary prerequisite. Appropriate nursing interventions-afforded the same status as pharmacological treatment-are warranted as the first-line treatment of depression. Further research is also needed into efficacious nursing interventions targeting depressive symptoms and/or depression.

Exploration of difficulty accessing the mouths of intubated and mechanically ventilated adults for oral care: A video and photographic elicitation study

AIM

To explore descriptors of difficulty accessing the mouths of intubated and mechanically ventilated adults for oral care, consequences, modifiable antecedents and recommendations for improving care delivery.

BACKGROUND

Nurses report oral access and care delivery difficulty in most mechanically ventilated patients.

DESIGN

A prospective qualitative descriptive design.

METHODS

Data were collected using video and photographic elicitation interviews focused on delivery of oral care. Directed content analysis was used to explore descriptive categories. Reporting used the SRQR guidelines.

SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS

A university-affiliated hospital in Toronto, Canada. Participants included clinicians experienced in accessing the oral space of adults representing nursing, medicine, dentistry and allied health professionals.

FINDINGS

We recruited 18 participants; 9 representing critical care and 9 other specialties frequently accessing the mouth, that is dentistry. Descriptors for observed difficulty accessing the oral cavity were "oral crowding with tubes" and "aversive patient responses", which were considered to result in insufficient oral care. Participants perceived aversive patient responses (e.g. biting, turning head side to side, gagging, coughing) as a consequence of forced introduction of instruments inside a crowded mouth. A key finding identified by participants was the observation of substantial procedural pain during oral care interventions. Potentially modifiable antecedents to difficult oral care delivery identified were procedural pain, oral health deterioration (e.g. xerostomia) and lack of interprofessional team problem-solving. Recommendations to address these antecedents included patient preparation for oral care through verbal and nonverbal cueing, pharmacological and nonpharmacological strategies, and ICU interprofessional education.

CONCLUSIONS

Oral care in mechanically ventilated adults is complex and painful. Visual research methods offer important advantages for oral care exploration including its ability to reveal less visible aspects of the nurse-patient encounter, thereby enabling novel insights and care.

RELEVANCE FOR CLINICAL PRACTICE

Interprofessional education and training in oral health and care interventions tailored to mechanically ventilated patients are recommended.