Clinical competency and psychological empowerment among ICU nurses caring for COVID-19 patients: A cross-sectional survey study

Aim

This study aimed to determine clinical competency and psychological empowerment among ICU nurses caring for COVID‐19 patients.

Background

Nurses need clinical competency (skills pertaining to knowledge, reasoning, emotions and communication) and psychological empowerment (regard for one's organisational role and efforts) to deliver quality care.

Methods

This cross‐sectional study was conducted with 207 nurses working in ICUs in Iran. A clinical competency survey instrument consisting of basic demographic questions and the Spreitzer psychological empowerment questionnaire was completed online. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data in SPSS software version 13 to address the primary research question.

Results

There was a significant positive relationship between clinical competency and psychological empowerment (r = .55, p < .001). Clinical competency had a significant positive relationship with work experiences (r = .17, p = .01).

Conclusion

Clinical competency has been tied to nurse health and quality of care. Given the significant positive relationship between clinical competency and psychological empowerment, attention must be given to ways to psychologically empower nurses.

Implications for Nursing Management

Nursing managers can consider the promotion of psychological empowerment related to its significant positive relationship to clinical competency. Psychological empowerment can be bolstered through the promotion of servant leadership, organisational justice and empowering leadership practices.

The experience of informal caregivers in providing patient care in hospitals in low- and middle-income countries: A qualitative meta-synthesis

OBJECTIVE

In low- and middle-income countries, informal caregivers frequently stay in hospitals and perform patient care tasks typically performed by nurses in other contexts. This article reviews qualitative research on these informal caregivers, to gain insight and understanding of their experiences.

METHODS

We undertook a qualitative meta-synthesis. Relevant literature was identified through searches of electronic databases in 2021. Thematic analysis was conducted to facilitate the identification of conceptual relationships to formulate synthesised findings.

RESULTS

Twenty-four studies met the inclusion criteria - 13 from Sub-Saharan Africa, five from Bangladesh, two from India, two from Iran, one from Brazil and one from Peru. Three themes were generated from the meta-synthesis: (1) The unwelcome but tolerated guest, (2) Enduring personal sacrifice and (3) Fulfilling familial obligations. These themes emphasised the significant burden associated with the hospital caregiving experience and highlighted the implicit reliance on informal caregivers in low- and middle-income countries.

CONCLUSIONS

Informal caregivers perform an essential caregiving role, yet occupy a peripheral and voluntary space in hospitals. There is a clear need to support informal caregivers so that they can safely perform their tasks.

Global data analysis and risk factors associated with morbidity and mortality of COVID-19

This review was focused on global data analysis and risk factors associated with morbidity and mortality of coronavirus disease 2019 from different countries, including Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Central Eastern Europe, Egypt, India, Iran, Pakistan, and South Asia, Africa, Turkey and UAE. Male showed higher confirmed and death cases compared to females in most of the countries. In addition, the case fatality ratio (CFR) for males was higher than for females. This gender variation in COVID-19 cases may be due to males' cultural activities, but similar variations in the number of COVID-19 affected males and females globally. Variations in the immune system can illustrate this divergent risk comparatively higher in males than females. The female immune system may have an edge to detect pathogens slightly earlier. In addition, women show comparatively higher innate and adaptive immune responses than men, which might be explained by the high density of immune-related genes in the X chromosome. Furthermore, SARS-CoV-2 viruses use angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) to enter the host cell, and men contain higher ACE2 than females. Therefore, males may be more vulnerable to COVID-19 than females. In addition, smoking habit also makes men susceptible to COVID-19. Considering the age-wise distribution, children and older adults were less infected than other age groups and the death rate. On the contrary, more death in the older group may be associated with less immune system function. In addition, most of these group have comorbidities like diabetes, high pressure, low lungs and kidney function, and other chronic diseases. Due to the substantial economic losses and the numerous infected people and deaths, research examining the features of the COVID-19 epidemic is essential to gain insight into mitigating its impact in the future and preparedness for any future epidemics.

Transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) to animals: an updated review

COVID-19 caused by a novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) originated in Wuhan (Hubei province, China) during late 2019. It has spread across the globe affecting nearly 21 million people with a toll of 0.75 million deaths and restricting the movement of most of the world population during the past 6 months. COVID-19 became the leading health, economic, and humanitarian challenge of the twenty-first century. In addition to the considerable COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths in humans, several cases of SARS-CoV-2 infections in animal hosts (dog, cat, tiger, lion, and mink) have been reported. Thus, the concern of pet owners is increasing. Moreover, the dynamics of the disease requires further explanation, mainly concerning the transmission of the virus from humans to animals and vice versa. Therefore, this study aimed to gather information about the reported cases of COVID-19 transmission in animals through a literary review of works published in scientific journals and perform genomic and phylogenetic analyses of SARS-CoV-2 isolated from animal hosts. Although many instances of transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 have been reported, caution and further studies are necessary to avoid the occurrence of maltreatment in animals, and to achieve a better understanding of the dynamics of the disease in the environment, humans, and animals. Future research in the animal–human interface can help formulate and implement preventive measures to combat the further transmission of COVID-19.