Women's attitudes, prevalence, related factors, and perceived barriers of birth companionship in Saudi Arabia

BACKGROUND

The World Health Organization recommends companionship as a critical element of respectful maternity care. However, there is paucity of literature regarding women's attitudes, related factors, and barriers of implementation in Saudi Arabia.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to assess women's attitudes toward birth companionship during labor and delivery, related factors, and barriers of implementing labor companionship in Saudi Arabia.

DESIGN/METHODS

This study was carried out in Al Ahsa, Saudi Arabia, using a cross-sectional design. The data collection took place over a period of approximately 6 months, specifically from 16 August 2021 to 20 February 2022. A total of 418 women who had given birth at three governmental hospitals and three private hospitals in Al Ahsa participated in the survey. The study included women between the ages of 18 and 49 years who had delivered during the study period.

RESULTS

The study revealed that while around 82.8% of mothers expressed a desire for companionship during labor, only 43.2% actually had a labor companion present during delivery. The primary obstacle to labor companionship reported by 21.5% of respondents was hospital policies. Other barriers identified included husbands' fear of being present during labor (4.7%) and limited availability of time for companionship (3.8%).

CONCLUSION

The study concludes that birth companionship is highly desired by women in the study area. However, various physical, emotional, and institutional barriers, such as hospital policies and regulations, impede its implementation. Addressing these barriers and promoting supportive policies are essential to facilitate the provision of birth companionship and improve the childbirth experience for women in Al Ahsa.

Enhancing pulmonary function and arterial blood gas readings through immediate chest physiotherapy among extubated patients in ICU

OBJECTIVE

To examine the effect of immediate chest physiotherapy (ICPT) on pulmonary function and arterial blood gases among extubated patients.

METHOD

This prospective study enrolled patients aged 20-60 years who had been intubated for 48 h. They were randomly assigned to either a control or study group. The study group received ICPT by trained critical care nurses and physiotherapists, which included early mobilization, breathing exercises and airway clearance. The control group received standard nursing chest care (positioning, oral and endotracheal suctioning) without ICPT. Researchers evaluated participants using pulmonary function tests, arterial blood gas tests and mechanical ventilation parameters.

RESULTS

The study enrolled 70 patients. There were no significant differences in the sociodemographic characteristics and medical data before intubation between the two groups except for preparatory education. After extubation, the vital capacity was significantly higher in the study group compared with the control group. There were also significant differences between the two groups in other lung function tests and arterial blood gas tests. After extubation, the total lung capacity, functional residual capacity and residual volume were significantly higher in the study group compared with the control group.

CONCLUSION

The use of ICPT improved both pulmonary function and arterial blood gases.

Self-Assessed Capabilities, Attitudes, and Stress among Pediatric Nurses in Relation to Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation

Background

In emergency medicine, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is one of the most stressful scenarios for nurses who conduct both basic and advanced resuscitation methods.

Aim

This study aimed to assess nurses' self-assessed capabilities, attitudes, and stress related to CPR.

Methods

This cross-sectional, observational study was carried out on 748 pediatric nurses at six governmental hospitals. A self-assessed ability questionnaire and a structured stress and attitude questionnaire was used for data collection.

Results

For self-assessed abilities, 45.5% of the nurses had moderate scores. Concerning stress, 48.3% had moderate scores and 63.1% negative attitudes. Also, attitude and self-assessed abilities had a high-frequency negative effect on stress scores (P<0.05).

Conclusion

Attitude scores increased and stress scores decreased significantly with postgraduate educational level, attendance at training courses on pediatric basic life support and automated external defibrillator use, being exposed to >10 cardiac arrest cases in the previous year, and having an advanced life-support license (P<0.05). Positive attitudes and improving self-assessed abilities decreased the nurses' stress levels related to CPR.

Developing Nursing Standards for Maintaining Shift Handover in the Intensive Care Unit: A Methodological and Cross-Sectional Study

Patient handover, which is a method of moving the clinical data of patients to another individual or professional community, is a high-risk area for the safety of patients due to errors which can happen during staff break time, changeover shifts, and when patients are moved in and out of units. Standards for critical care nurses will improve bedside handover due to the presence of clear plans implemented by nurses who are well informed about them. To develop nursing standards for maintaining handover in the intensive care unit. A methodological and cross-sectional study was conducted at Mansoura University Hospital and included 15 experts and 150 staff nurses. Twelve items were excluded from the tool because their CVR ratio was less than 0.7. Therefore, after eliminating 12 items, the number of tool items produced was 66. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin value = 0.713, with the recommended value being 0.6 or above. The cut-off score for the analysis model was 0.3, and the KMO value criterion was greater than 1, which defined eight-factor loadings as the best fit for the results, accounting for 69.5% of the variance. The aim of this study was satisfactorily achieved, with 0.9055 validity and reliability for the handover instrument, which consisted of 60 items with a total reliability score.

Effect of Clustering Nursing Care on Spreading COVID-19 Infection Among Nurses: A Retrospective Study

Background

The nurse’s first and most important responsibility is to protect themselves from contracting or spreading COVID-19.

Purpose

Investigate the effect of applying clustering nursing care on spreading COVID-19 infection and fatigue level among nurses who provide nursing care for COVID-19 patients.

Methods

Retrospective case–control study, where cases had a COVID-19 infection in the previous six months and controls were free. Internet-based survey sent to nurses at eight hospitals.

Findings

A total of 100 cases and 250 controls. About 36.8% of nurses who did not apply clustering care suffered from COVID-19 infection. Meanwhile, 83.3% and 93.3% of those who clustered three and four procedures, were free of COVID-19 infection.

Discussion

Applying clustering for nurses’ care decreases spreading of infection among nurses and decreases fatigue level related to work. Female nurses, increased fatigue, and a lack of training are all factors that may contribute to the spread of CVID-19 infection among nurses.

Predictive factors affecting stress among nurses providing care at COVID-19 isolation hospitals at Egypt

AIMS

To examine predictive factors affecting stress among nurses providing care at COVID-19 Isolation Hospitals at Egypt.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study conducted in five Isolation governmental hospitals for COVID-19. 374 nurses included at the study. Characteristic forms, factors affecting nurses' stress and Nursing Stress Scale (NSS) were used to collect data.

RESULTS

(52.1%) of studied nurses had moderate level of total nursing stress scale. Also, (26.2%) of them had severe level, while (13.4% & 8.3%) of them had mild and normal level, respectively. Mean SD score of studied nurses regarding to total nursing stress scale was 99.47 ± 10.671.

CONCLUSIONS

Training for COVID-19, availability of PPE, educational level and attention of hospital administration were negative predictor factors for nurses' stress, while having children, people showed that COVID-19 is stigma, fears of infection, workplace, fear of transmission infection for family and nurse to patient ratio were positive predictors.