[Person-Centered Relational Care Experienced by Critical Care Nurses: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis Study]

Exploring Healthcare Providers' and Women's Perspectives of Labor Companionship during Childbirth: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis Study

A labor companion of choice during childbirth is crucial for improving women's birth experience and confidence to give birth. Labor companions provide various benefits, including enhanced communication, emotional support, non-pharmacological pain relief, and better healthcare. However, little is known about the supportive actions of labor companions with respect to women's needs during labor and birth, as well as healthcare providers' perceptions of labor companions. Therefore, this study was conducted to explore the perceptions of healthcare providers and women regarding labor companions. The study utilized an interpretative phenomenology research design. Data collection involved conducting semi-structured interviews with 14 participants. The sample consisted of mothers, physicians, and nurses, ensuring a diverse range of perspectives. An interpretative phenomenological analysis was conducted for data analysis. Five themes were identified: (a) impact of companionship, (b) benefits for healthcare providers, (c) companion roles, (d) loneliness and alienation of mothers, and (e) challenges of implementation. The findings indicated that the presence of a companion reduces the need for unnecessary medical interventions and eases the workload of healthcare providers. Without a companion, mothers often feel lonely and disconnected during the birthing process. The presence of companions is often hindered by space limitations in delivery rooms, the absence of clear policies, and lack of childbirth education programs for companions. Clear policies, education programs, and adequate space are essential for implementing and promoting labor companionship during childbirth.

Framework of humanistic care for patients in the ICU: A preliminary study

BACKGROUND

Humanistic care involves caring, concern, paying attention to people's individuality, meeting their needs and respecting their rights, which is the core concept and central task of nursing. Effective care can enhance patients' ability to deal with stress and promote patient recovery. Implementing humanistic care in the intensive care unit (ICU) is particularly important for health care providers.

AIM

This study aims to develop a framework of the humanistic care in the ICU.

STUDY DESIGN

The qualitative research followed Strauss' procedural grounded theory approach. Purposive sampling and theoretical sampling were used to select 12 nurses in the Department of Critical Medicine, 16 patients, and eight family members for semi-structured interviews from October 2020 to April 2021. Results were summarized and analysed through three-level coding based on grounded principles.

RESULTS

Sixteen subcategories and six main categories were extracted after three-level coding, and the final ICU humanistic care framework was formed with home, activity, visit, environment, nursing and safety ("HAVENS") as the core.

CONCLUSIONS

This study provides an explanatory theory of humanistic care in the ICU that can guide nurses' practice in ICU clinical work.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE

This theory provides guidance for nurses to implement humanistic care in critical care practice to improve the ICU stay experience of critically ill patients.

The impact of family care visitation programme on patients and caregivers in the intensive care unit: A mixed methods study

AIMS

To track changes in the haemodynamic and respiratory indicators of patients and evaluate families' caring experiences via the visitation programme in the intensive care unit (ICU).

BACKGROUND

Although most people recognise the importance of family care visitation programme in the ICU, objective research results on the effect on patients and caregivers are still insufficient.

DESIGN

Mixed methods.

METHODS

In this a quasi-experimental investigation and qualitative study, after executing the programme with families of ICU patients in a general hospital in South Korea from June to July 2019, changes in haemodynamic and respiratory indicators for control (n = 28) and experimental groups (n = 28) were analysed; the experimental group families' experiences were analysed through in-depth interviews; the qualitative study's reporting rigour was checked against the COREQ guidelines and TREND checklist for a quasi-experimental study. Qualitative and quantitative data were examined using content analysis and repeated-measures analysis of variance, respectively.

RESULTS

There was a significant change in systolic and diastolic blood pressure in the haemodynamic indicator, and the respiratory indicator in both groups increased slightly over time and then gradually stabilised; there were no significant differences or interactions between groups regarding time of systolic blood pressure. The respiratory rate significantly decreased only in the experimental group. There was a significant increase in oxygen saturation over time, as well as interactions between time and group and between groups. Four themes were extracted from families' experiences.

CONCLUSION

The haemodynamic and respiratory indicators of the group using patient- and family-centred care (PFCC) showed a stable effect on critically ill patients, which increased families' satisfaction. In future, interventions should encourage family participation in the ICU for successful PFCC.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE

The findings provided evidence for the importance of PFCC through changes in objective haemodynamic and respiratory indicators.

Person-centred care among intensive care unit nurses: A cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVE

Practising person-centred care is crucial for nurses in the intensive care unit, as patients have high physical and psychological care needs. We aimed to identify the predictors of person-centred care among nurses working in intensive care settings.

METHODS

In this cross-sectional study, 188 intensive care unit nurses at four tertiary hospitals in two cities of South Korea were included. They completed self-reported questionnaires on emotional intelligence, compassion satisfaction, secondary traumatic stress, burnout, and person-centred care. Emotional intelligence was measured using the Korean version of the Wong and Law's emotional intelligence scale. Compassion satisfaction, secondary traumatic stress, and burnout were measured by the Professional Quality of Life questionnaire (version 5). Person-centred care was measured using the person-centred critical care nursing scale.

RESULTS

Multiple regression identified compassion satisfaction (β = 0.49, p <.001) as the most powerful predictor of person-centred care, followed by emotional intelligence (β = 0.21, p =.004) and intensive care unit career length (β = 0.17, p =.021). These three variables accounted for 31.0 % of the variance in person-centred care.

CONCLUSIONS

This study highlights the importance of career length, emotional intelligence, and compassion satisfaction in the promotion of person-centred care among intensive care unit nurses. Nursing management should contemplate specific measures to reduce turnover among experienced intensive care unit nurses and to enhance the factors that promote person-centred care, such as compassion satisfaction and emotional intelligence.

Nurse Spiritual Care Therapeutics Scale: Validation Among Nurses Who Care for Patients With Life-Threatening Illnesses in South Korea

Although clinical and empirical literature documents the variety of spiritual care interventions available to palliative care clinicians, the frequency with which they are provided is rarely and inadequately measured. Given the growing interest in implementing spiritual care across Asia, including South Korea, this study sought to cross-culturally validate the Korean version of the Nurse Spiritual Care Therapeutics Scale (NSCTS-K), a scale initially developed in the United States. The World Health Organization process for cross-cultural adaptation of scales and Polit and Yang's process for evaluating validation were implemented. With data from a sample of 252 Korean nurses providing care to patients with life-threatening illnesses, various statistical procedures for evaluating validity and reliability were applied during this cross-sectional, observational study. Exploratory factor analysis for the structural validity of the Korean scale generated 3 factors that accounted for 69.40% of the variance. The Cronbach α was 0.95. The NSCTS-K is one of the few scales available to determine the impact of nurse-provided spiritual care frequency on patient outcomes. Thus, this tool can quantify the frequency of spiritual care better and be used in quality improvement initiatives or palliative care research.

Effective Teaching Behaviors of Clinical Nursing Teachers: A Qualitative Meta-Synthesis

Objectives

To identify, appraise, and synthesize the available evidence exploring the effective teaching behaviors of clinical nursing teachers.

Design

The Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) guidelines were followed, and a meta-synthesis was conducted.

Review Methods

Following databases were searched for relevant qualitative studies published in English and reporting primary data analysis, including experiences and perceptions of nursing students: PubMed, EBSCOhost, OVID, etc. Qualitative Assessment and Review Instrument were used to pool the qualitative research findings. Through the repeated reading of the original literature, the similar findings were combined and sorted into new categories, and then summarized into different synthesized themes.

Results

A total of nine articles were included. The review process produced 29 subcategories that were aggregated into seven categories. The categories generated three synthesized findings: good teaching literacy, solid professional competence, and harmonious faculty-student relationship.

Conclusions

The effective teaching behaviors of clinical nursing teachers are the driving force for the progress and growth of nursing students. In order to improve the effectiveness of clinical nursing teaching, nursing teachers should be fully aware of effective teaching behaviors for nursing students to master nursing theories and skills.

The Effect of a Multifaceted Family Participation Program in an Adult Cardiovascular Surgery ICU

OBJECTIVES

To develop and implement a patient- and family-centered care program for patients in a cardiovascular surgery ICU.

DESIGN

Prospective, pre- and postintervention evaluations were conducted.

SETTING

The cardiovascular surgery ICU was located in a tertiary hospital.

PARTICIPANTS

Participants included 56 family members of patients in cardiovascular surgery ICU between May and July 2019.

INTERVENTIONS

Providing personalized treatment plans for patients by: 1) providing an ICU diary, 2) communicating with the medical staff, 3) providing personal care using ICU visitation kit, and 4) guiding bedside range of motion exercises. The experimental group received a guided ICU diary and education program from a nurse, including the application of a family participation visitation program. Family members were provided with customized information from the ICU diary and communicated with the medical staff for approximately 10 minutes. Family members were instructed on how to perform personal care using an "ICU visitation kit" during visitation hours when permitted to participate in bedside activities for approximately 10-minute intervals.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS

Scores for satisfaction with the provided care and information increased significantly for the experimental group compared with the control group (t = 8.62; p < 0.001). Anxiety levels decreased significantly after intervention in both groups (t = -7.05; p < 0.001 and t = -12.94; p < 0.001) with a significant association observed between group and time point (F = 20.50; p < 0.001). However, no significant change was observed in satisfaction with decision-making following intervention in either group, and no significant association was noted between groups and time points for this variable (F = 0.24; p = 0.626).

CONCLUSIONS

This set of implemented family participation processes significantly improved satisfaction and reduced anxiety in family members of critically ill patients.

Critical care nurses' communication experiences with patients and families in an intensive care unit: A qualitative study

This study evaluated the communication experiences of critical care nurses while caring for patients in an intensive care unit setting. We have collected qualitative data from 16 critical care nurses working in the intensive care unit of a tertiary hospital in Seoul, Korea, through two focus-group discussions and four in-depth individual interviews. All interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim, and data were analyzed using the Colaizzi’s method. Three themes of nurses’ communication experiences were identified: facing unexpected communication difficulties, learning through trial and error, and recognizing communication experiences as being essential for care. Nurses recognized that communication is essential for quality care. Our findings indicate that critical care nurses should continuously aim to improve their existing skills regarding communication with patients and their care givers and acquire new communication skills to aid patient care.