Use of Online Communities among People with Type 2 Diabetes: A Scoping Review

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

People with diabetes require continuous self-monitoring and face numerous decisions in their day-to-day lives. Therefore, on many occasions, they need more support than that provided by health professionals. In this context, peer support in online diabetes communities could be a useful tool. The purpose of the review is to describe, analyze and synthesize the available evidence on the use and health out-comes of online communities for people with type 2 diabetes mellitus. A scoping review was conducted in accordance with the Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines. Searches were performed PubMed, Web of Science, CINHAL, Scopus and Cochrane databases.

RECENT FINDINGS

From 1821 identified documents, 6 articles were included. These studies explored the characteristics of diabetes online communities and the population features. Besides, the results were classified according to whether they were clinical, psychosocial, or addressed people's experiences with the online community. The analysis underscores their value in facilitating communication, improving diabetes management, and enhancing psychosocial well-being. Future investigations should prioritize longitudinal assessments to elucidate the sustained impact of community engagement and optimize user participation for enhanced patient outcomes. The growing relevance of new technologies has led to a significant number of individuals with chronic illnesses seeking peer support. Online health communities have emerged as virtual spaces where individuals with shared health interests interact and form relationships. Within these digital spaces, individuals can engage in peer interaction, observe behaviors, and mutually benefit, potentially leading to improved attitudes toward the disease.

Efficacy of educational interventions in adolescent population with feeding and eating disorders: a systematic review

BACKGROUND

Educational interventions are a key element in the care of young patients with feeding and eating disorders, forming part of the majority of therapeutic approaches. The aim of this review is to evaluate the impact of educational interventions in adolescents with feeding and eating disorders.

METHODS

Following the PRISMA recommendations electronic databases were searched up to 29 June 2023. Studies related to educational interventions in young population diagnosed with feeding and eating disorders (anorexia nervosa, avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder, bulimia nervosa, pica and ruminative disorders and binge- eating disorder) in Spanish and English language, without temporal limitation, were located in the databases: PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, PsycINFO, CUIDEN, DIALNET, and ENFISPO. A search in the databases of grey literature was performed in OpenGrey and Teseo. The review protocol was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42020167736).

RESULTS

A total of 191 articles were selected from the 9744 citations screened. Ten publications were included. The results indicated variability between educational programs, including individual and group interventions, learning techniques and various research methodologies. Variables such as learning, attitudinal and perceptual changes, anthropometric parameters, symptom improvement, normalization of eating patterns, evaluation of the program and cognitive flexibility were identified. The risk of bias was high due to the low methodological quality of a large number of studies analyzed.

CONCLUSION

The results indicate that educational interventions can influence the improvement of knowledge level and have a positive effect on health outcomes. Although education is a common practice in the treatment of these pathologies, high-quality studies were not identified. Thus, this review concludes that additional evidence is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of educational programs, with further research studies, especially randomized controlled trials, to confirm these results.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Level I: Systematic review.

Effectiveness of Digital Health on the Quality of Life of Long-Term Breast Cancer Survivors: A Systematic Review

OBJECTIVES

To identify, critically appraise, and synthesize the available evidence on the effectiveness of digital health interventions to improve the quality of life or any of its four dimensions (physical, psychological, social, and spiritual) in women survivors of breast cancer who are in the extended or permanent survival stage.

DATA SOURCES

Systematic review-Four databases were searched: PubMed, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and Web of Science.

CONCLUSION

The clinical evidence shows a positive relationship or association between eHealth use and improved quality of life in breast cancer survivors at extended or permanent survival stage. However, the findings point to a deficit in the assessment of the social and spiritual domains that play a fundamental role in the quality of life of survivors.

IMPLICATION FOR NURSING PRACTICE

The findings found reflect implications of great value for nursing practice because these professionals are the main users of digital health tools to provide them to patients. Using these digital tools contributes to improving evidence-based practice and providing greater efficiency and effectiveness in the care of long-term cancer survivors.

Proposal of nursing diagnosis "adult disuse syndrome": A conceptual derivation and integrative review

PURPOSE

To develop a nursing diagnosis proposal derived from the concept of "disuse syndrome" based on an integrative review.

METHODS

The conceptual derivation technique, proposed by Walker and Avant, was used in the following phases: an integrative review of the literature was carried out, applying the parameters of Whitermore and Knalf, where 43 articles were selected that covered the existence of the concept in the nursing discipline and other health sciences, the concepts were subsequently analyzed, and the new concept was redefined following the middle-range theory of causality and validation of nursing diagnoses proposed by Oliveira-Lopes et al.

FINDINGS

The proposal of the new nursing diagnosis was developed, including the following elements: diagnostic label adult disuse syndrome, the corresponding definition, 25 defining characteristics, eight related factors, eight risk populations, and 14 associated problems.

CONCLUSIONS

The concept of the proposed new diagnosis describes adult disuse syndrome as a phenomenon that transcends the physiological component and should be viewed from a multidimensional view, expressing a clinical judgment related to a series of nursing diagnoses that appear together.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE

The results of this study will help nursing professionals to identify the phenomenon of adult disuse syndrome in any setting and in turn guide optimal care interventions that decrease the consequences of adult disuse syndrome.

Assessing the Reliability and Validity of the Spanish Version of the Actual Scope of Nursing Practice Scale

Nursing workforce shortage is one of the main challenges for healthcare organizations and it is important to determine if nurses are fulfilling their full scope of practice. There is a questionnaire that measures the activities carried out by nurses, but there is no version available for the Spanish context. The purpose of this study was to develop a cross-cultural adaptation of the "Actual Scope of Nursing Practice" questionnaire by D'Amour et al., and to assess the psychometric characteristics of the Spanish version. An exploratory sequential research design was used. The cross-cultural adaptation was performed using translation, back-translation, review, and pre-testing. Psychometric properties were assessed to determine its construct validity and internal consistency. Among the 501 eligible nurses from the three main hospitals in the region, the first 310 nurses to respond to an online questionnaire were included in our study. The response rate was 61.9%. They were invited via email and completed the survey using the SurveyMonkey platform. The Spanish version of the questionnaire was obtained. A final scale with twenty items and two factors was confirmed with an adequate fit, with the item scores demonstrating that all items were optimally related to their respective latent construct. The alpha coefficients for the Spanish ASCOP scale were robust and revealed good internal consistency. This study showed that the Spanish version of the scale, "Scope of Nursing Practice", has a good degree of validity and reliability. This questionnaire can support nurse managers in realising nursing activities within their organisations and in promoting desirable work outcomes among nurses.

Density of nurses and midwives in sub-Saharan Africa: Trends analysis over the period 2004-2016

AIM

To analyse the trends of density rates of nurses and midwives per population in sub-Saharan Africa over the period from 2004 to 2016.

BACKGROUND

Nursing, the largest health care workforce, is actively contributing to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. The African continent is one of the most affected areas by the differences in the density of nurses and midwives indicator.

METHODS

Joinpoint regression analysis was applied to identify significant changes in trends of the density of nurses and midwives from the 50 countries of sub-Saharan Africa.

RESULTS

From 2004 to 2013, the density of nurses and midwives in sub-Saharan Africa increased significantly from 5.6 to 12.44 per 10,000 population, although it exhibited a increasing trend of a magnitude of 8.3% until 2013 that does not continue from that year.

CONCLUSIONS

Only seven countries show an increasing trend, although in the case of the rest, they do not present any trend that suggests a change in this indicator in the short term.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT

From a macrolevel nursing management point of view, our study shows the importance of implementing actions that contribute to the increase of the nursing workforce in Africa, essential to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

Analysis of mental health effects among nurses working during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review

WHAT IS KNOWN ON THE SUBJECT?: Working on the frontline during the pandemic has had a negative impact on the mental health of health professionals. A significant proportion experienced anxiety, insomnia, posttraumatic stress or depression. WHAT THE PAPER ADDS TO EXISTING KNOWLEDGE?: Analysis and synthesis of the evidence of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of nurses based on their work context. There exists a gap in the literature as no studies were found that analysed the effects on nurses' mental health according to the level of care they worked in (hospital-primary care-nursing home). WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE?: There is an urgent need to assess and respond to the impact of COVID-19 on the physical and mental well-being of nurses, and to monitor international policies for the improvement of nurses' working conditions. ABSTRACT: Introduction Health professionals have suffered negative consequences during the COVID-19 pandemic. No review has specifically addressed the impact of the pandemic on the mental health of nurses exclusively according to the work context. Aim To analyse the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of nurses who have worked in hospitals, primary care centres and social health centres. Method PubMed, CINAHL, PsychINFO and Cochrane databases were searched (Prospero number: CRD42021249513). Out of 706 papers, 31 studies (2020-2021) were included in the systematic review. A qualitative synthesis method was used to analyse the data. Results Most studies were conducted in hospitals or frontline settings. The prevalence of moderate-to-severe symptoms was for anxiety 29.55%, depression 38.79%, posttraumatic stress disorder 29.8%, and insomnia 40.66%. Discussion This review highlights the mental health effects among nurses working in acute hospital settings. It also evidences a data gap on mental health effects among nurses working in primary health care and in nursing homes. Implications for practice In the post phase of the pandemic, there is an urgent need to assess and respond to the impact on the mental well-being of nurses, and to monitor international policies for the improvement of nurses' working conditions.

Web-Based Personalized Intervention to Improve Quality of Life and Self-Efficacy of Long-Term Breast Cancer Survivors: Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial

Long-term breast cancer survivors (>5 years free of disease) may suffer late sequelae of cancer that impact on their quality of life. The use of telehealth for cancer care is recommended but little is known about the effectiveness of digital interventions for long-term cancer survivors. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a web-based personalized intervention based on artificial intelligence instead of usual primary health care to improve the quality of life of long-term survivors of breast cancer and self-efficacy for the management of late sequelae. A randomized controlled trial will be conducted. The sample will consist of long-term breast cancer survivors recruited from primary health centers. Women will be randomly assigned to the intervention group to receive a web-based personalized intervention or to the control group to receive standard primary health care by nurses. Data on quality of life of cancer survivors and self-efficacy for the management of late sequelae of cancer will be collected and assessed at preintervention, and at 3, 6, and 9 months. It is expected that, at the end of the programme, the experimental group will have improved quality of life and improved self-efficacy for the management of late sequelae of cancer.

Continuity of Care Challenges for Professional Nursing Practice

The transformation of health systems to meet the needs of chronic and multi-pathological patients has turned continuity of care into one of the mainstays of care programs and the design of new resources to care for these patients and their families. In this context, nurses’ professional practice poses challenges for the three dimensions of continuity of care: relational, informational, and managerial. Faced with these challenges, nursing research is essential for the profession and necessary to promote innovative quality care.

The Spanish Version of the Child Medical Fear Questionnaire: Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Validation

Having valid and reliable tools that help health professionals to assess fear in children undergoing medical procedures is essential to offer humanised and quality of care in the paediatric population. The aim of this study was to develop the cross-cultural adaptation and the evaluation of the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the "Child Medical Fear Scale" in its shortened version (CMFS-R). The design consisted of two phases: first, of cross-cultural adaptation and second, of the psychometric validation of the CMFS-R with a sample of 262 children from Spain, applying a cross-sectional design. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to assess construct validity and the Cronbach's alpha and the adjusted item-total score correlation coefficients were performed to study reliability. The results confirmed internal consistency and construct validity of the Spanish version of the CMFS-R, indicating that the scale has an acceptable level of validity and reliability. Therefore, this study brings a new version of the scale to assess fear related to medical procedures for use in the Spanish paediatric population.

Construction and validation of the CAPA questionnaire of Nutritional Knowledge among Adolescents diagnosed with Feeading and Eting disorders

Feeding and eating disorders represent a serious problem especially in young population. Nutritional education is essential in its treatment and prevention.

Conceptual development and validation of the nursing diagnosis "Disturbed thought process"

PURPOSE

To validate the content of the nursing diagnosis proposal Disturbed thought process.

METHODS

With an exploratory and descriptive design, the content validation for each component of the diagnosis proposal was pursued, based on a previous broad conceptual work, through consulting experts, applying Fehring's Diagnosis Content Validation Model. The modified Delphi technique was used by sending out three rounds of questionnaires electronically to seek consensus among the experts.

FINDINGS

The nursing diagnosis version validated in this study includes the diagnosis label Disturbed thought process, the corresponding definition, 15 defining characteristics, and 13 related factors. The resulting diagnosis total Diagnosis Content Validation score was 0.99, implying its content validation.

CONCLUSIONS

The validated diagnosis proposal describes a human response for which nursing professionals can autonomously assess and prescribe interventions leading to improvement of this health problem and/or alleviate its consequences, preserving the patient's autonomy and helping them to address their situation. It will be included in the next edition of the nursing diagnosis classification NANDA-I 2021-2023.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE

The results of this study will help nursing professionals reduce the potential impact among patients who suffer from an alteration in cognitive functioning in its executive function dimension, as the validated diagnosis proposal will make it possible to identify and report this problem precisely.

Integrative Review of Emotional Care Following Perinatal Loss

Emotional care is an important part of the holistic labor and should be considered when providing care to people affected by perinatal losses. To synthesize the findings from recently published scientific evidence on the emotional care needed following perinatal loss, a search in PubMed, CINAHL, SCOPUS, and Web of Science was carried out in January 2020 yielding 22 studies which met the inclusion criteria and were analyzed following Whittemore and Knafl's (2005) methodology. One category on "offering emotional care" was identified: "Aspects influencing the psychosocial well-being of women after perinatal loss," comprising eight themes: risk of complicated grief, cultural values, perinatal losses in multiple pregnancies, experience of subsequent pregnancies, need of information, contact with the deceased baby, impact on relatives, and strategies for emotional care. In conclusion, the evidence highlights the need of specific emotional grief care.

Design and evaluation of a prototype of augmented reality applied to medical devices

BACKGROUND

According to current legislation, medical devices have to incorporate all the necessary information to eliminate or greatly minimise any problem associated with their use. However, the physical capacity of the actual device's packaging may frequently not be enough to contain all this information. To address this limitation, this study aimed to design and evaluate a prototype app for mobile devices applying augmented reality technology. The main feature of this kind of technology is combining virtual images with images from the real world.

METHODS

This work, carried out in Spain, was developed in three different phases. 1) Assessment of users' needs: Through a focus group and an online questionnaire, information was obtained about the following aspects: type of medical devices likely to be included in the app, relevant information that should be included and format in which this information should be presented. 2) Development of the prototype: Considering all the functional features identified in the previous phase, the software was developed by a team of professionals specialised in AR technology and applying a user-centred model. 3) Evaluation of the software: functionality and usability were assessed by means of the think-aloud method.

RESULTS

1) Assessment of users' needs: a total of 11 nurses participated in the focus group and 280 healthcare professionals answered the questionnaire. Their findings showed that users consider that information about the following aspects of medical devices should be included in the app: instructions for use, indications for use, brief description of the device, special precautions and biocompatibility, image of the content with its components and meaning of icons. 2) Description of the prototype: Once the app has been launched, when the user scans the medical device with the mobile device camera, access to the home screen is activated, where three sections can be found: name of the medical device, image of the device and four icons which provide access to: a brief description of the device, a detailed description of it, the packaging iconography and a video about use of the device. 3) Evaluation of the software: the app was defined by users as "very intuitive". They highlighted, as one of its main positive aspects, the chance to obtain information about the medical device just by scanning the object. Additionally, the evaluation performed through the think-aloud method identified potential improvements in the app. These improvements were subsequently implemented to make the prototype more functional.

CONCLUSION

Working with potential prototype users made it possible to identify information considered relevant for these users and to delve into the format which they consider more appropriate to show this information in the prototype. Our results show that AR technology can be used as support for clinical practice.