Elderly nursing home residents are often malnourished or at risk of malnutrition. Family members often visit residents during mealtimes, which might be an ideal opportunity for interventions targeted ...at improving the nutritional status of older residents. Therefore, this study aimed to explore motivations behind family member visits with nursing home residents during mealtime in Taiwan.
This phenomenological study was conducted with family members of residents from four nursing homes in Taiwan. Participants were purposively sampled. Data were collected with individual face-to-face interviews from 18 family members. Data from transcribed audio-recorded interviews were analyzed using the approach of van Manen.
Analysis of the interview data identified the essence of motivations underlying family members' visits to nursing home residents during mealtimes, which we termed "tailoring homely meals." This referred to providing food tailored to residents' needs, providing a comforting family atmosphere, assisting residents during mealtime, and monitoring food consumption.
The motivations of family members to visit during mealtime could guide healthcare professionals working with East Asian populations in developing interventions to reduce the possibility of malnutrition, while also improving their quality of life. We recommend providing the following for nursing home residents: a nutritious and balanced diet, supporting their independence and ability to feed themselves, and encouraging involvement of family members during mealtimes.
This four-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study investigated the effects of
PS128 (PS128) on boys with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) aged 7-15 in Taiwan. All subjects fulfilled ...the criteria for ASD diagnosis of DSM-V and the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R). Questionnaires used for the primary outcome measure include the Autism Behavior Checklist-Taiwan version (ABC-T), the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). The Swanson, Nolan, and Pelham-IV-Taiwan version (SNAP-IV) and the Clinical Global Impression-improvement (CGI-I) were used for the secondary outcome measure. The results showed that PS128 ameliorated opposition/defiance behaviors, and that the total score of SNAP-IV for younger children (aged 712) improved significantly compared with the placebo group. Additionally, several elements were also notably improved in the PS128 group after 28-day consumption of PS128. Further studies are needed to better clarify the effects of PS128 for younger children with ASD on broader symptoms.
Aims and objectives
To explore and compare nurses’ and patients’ viewpoints of disrespectful behaviours that threaten patient dignity during hospitalised care.
Background
Patient's dignity is an ...important ethical consideration for nursing care practice. In clinical settings, nurse–patient interactions can generate behaviour considered disrespectful and undignified, often due to a disruptive hospital atmosphere and emotional frustrations of nurses and patients. How behaviours and attitudes threaten patient dignity in Indonesian clinical care settings has not been well studied.
Design
Qualitative descriptive study.
Methods
This multi‐site study purposively recruited nurses and inpatients from six public hospitals in four districts in Eastern Java, Indonesia. Individual, face‐to‐face semi‐structured interviews were conducted with 35 inpatients and 40 registered nurses from medical and surgical wards. Data from verbatim transcriptions of digital audio recordings were analysed with inductive content analysis. The COREQ checklist for qualitative research was used for reporting this study.
Results
Five categories emerged which described disrespectful behaviours that threaten patient dignity. Three categories were important for both nurses and patients: negligence, impoliteness and dismissal. Descriptions of the behaviours were comparable for both groups. The forth category, inattentiveness, was highlighted by nurses, while the fifth category, discrimination, was highlighted by patients.
Conclusions
Examining behaviours considered to be disrespectful in an Indonesian healthcare setting expand on perspectives towards dignity in care. The comparable viewpoints of nurses and patients provide knowledge of how undignified behaviours could be reduced in cross‐cultural healthcare settings. Behaviours perceived as undignified primarily by nurses or patients might result from differences in social roles and responsibilities.
Relevance to clinical practice
Understanding nurses’ and patients’ perspectives of undignified care is an important step in reducing behaviours that violate patient dignity in clinical practice. Nurses’ commitment to patient‐centred care should include being responsive, compassionate, communicative and attentive, which could ameliorate instances of undignified behaviours.
•Lactobacillus paracasei PS23 reverses corticosterone-induced depressive behaviors.•PS23 improves corticosterone-reduced hippocampal protein levels of MR, GR and BDNF.•Live PS23 reverses ...corticosterone-reduced 5-HT levels.•Heat-killed PS23 reverses corticosterone-reduced dopamine levels.•PS23 improves fecal microflora in corticosterone-treated mice.
Emerging evidence indicates that ingestion of specific probiotics, known as “psychobiotics”, confer beneficial effects on mental health. This study investigated antidepressant-like effects and possible underlying mechanisms of Lactobacillus paracasei PS23 (PS23), live or heat-killed, in a mouse model of corticosterone-induced depression using fluoxetine as standard drug. PS23 were orally gavaged to mice from day 1 to 41 or fluoxetine from day 17 to 41 and injected with corticosterone from day 17 to 37. After the last corticosterone treatment, anxiety- and depression-like behaviors were tested within 4 days. On day 42, serum and brain tissue were collected 24 min after forced swim stress. Abnormal behavioral changes induced by corticosterone were ameliorated by treatment with live PS23 in open field and sucrose preference tests, with heat-killed PS23 in open field, forced swim and sucrose preference tests, and with fluoxetine in open field and forced swim tests. Furthermore, both live and heat-killed PS23 and fluoxetine reversed corticosterone-reduced protein levels of brain-derived neurotropic factor, mineralocorticoid, and glucocorticoid receptors in the hippocampus. In addition, live PS23 also reverses corticosterone-reduced serotonin levels in hippocampus, prefrontal cortex and striatum; whereas heat-killed PS23 reverses corticosterone-reduced dopamine levels in hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. And fluoxetine normalized reduced corticosterone level in serum. These studies showed that both live and heat-killed PS23 can reverse chronic corticosterone-induced anxiety- and depression-like behaviors and that may provide insights into the mechanism and a potential psychobiotic for depression management.
To classify hemodialysis patients into subgroups via cluster analysis according to the Somatic Symptoms Disturbance Index, Taiwanese Depression Scale, and Herth Hope Index scores. Patient demands in ...each cluster were also examined.
Overall patient demands among hemodialysis patients have been demonstrated in numerous reports; however, variables among subgroups have not been explored.
Data were analyzed from a cross-sectional survey of 114 hemodialysis patients recruited from dialysis centers in Northern Taiwan. Hope, depression, and symptom disturbance were used as parameters for clustering because they have been shown to be important factors affecting patient demands. A two-step cluster analysis was performed to classify participants into clusters. Patient demands in each cluster were analyzed.
Among the 114 participants, there was a negative correlation between hope and depression as well as between hope and symptom disturbance; there was a positive correlation between depression and symptom disturbance. Two clusters were identified: Cluster 1 (n = 49) included patients with moderate levels of hope and symptom disturbance, and high levels of depression; and Cluster 2 (n = 65) included patients with low levels of depression and symptom disturbance and high levels of hope. Demographic profiles differed between the two clusters. Regarding patient demands, medical demand showed the highest average score; whereas, occupational demand exhibited the lowest average score. Psychological and occupational demands differed significantly between the two clusters. The two clusters were defined as subgroups: Cluster 1 was labeled "resting"; Cluster 2 was labeled "active".
Cluster analysis may further classify hemodialysis patients into distinct subgroups base on their specific patient demands. A better understanding of patient demands may help health professionals to provide a holistic individualized treatment to improve patients' outcomes.
Aim and Objectives
To develop a Delirium Care Critical‐Thinking Scale for nurses caring for patients in the intensive care unit and examine the scale's psychometric properties.
Background
There is a ...tool to evaluate nurses' critical thinking skills to determine nursing competency when delirium care is required.
Design
This cross‐sectional, mixed‐methods study.
Methods
The Delphi method was applied for collection and analysis of data during conceptualization and item generation of the tool (Phase I). Item analysis, assessment of validity and reliability of the scale (Phase II) involved 318 nurses recruited by convenience sampling from nine adult intensive care units in medicine and surgery at one medical centre. Confirmatory factor analysis assessed construct validity. Internal consistency and 2‐week test–retest stability measured reliability. A Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory Scale examined concurrent validity.
Results
After three rounds, the Delphi method resulted in 31 scale items. Item analysis demonstrated construct reliability ranged from 9.23 to 16.18. Confirmatory factor analysis eliminated one item and extracted five factors: applying knowledge, confirming the problem and accuracy of information, reasoning logically, choosing appropriate strategies and remaining open‐minded. Average variance extracted values of all factors indicated good convergent validity. Cronbach's α for internal consistency was .96 with good test‐retest reliability. The correlation coefficient for concurrent validity was .301.
Conclusion
The new Delirium Care Critical‐Thinking Scale for intensive care nurses was demonstrated to be a reliable and valid tool for evaluating their ability to assess patients with delirium.
Relevance to Clinical Practice
This new scale could be used to assess outcomes of education interventions and the effectiveness of nursing care quality involving patients with delirium in intensive and critical care units.
Reporting Method
The COSMIN checklist was used as the reporting guideline for this study.
Patient or Public Contribution
None.
Purpose
This study aimed to examine correlates of caregiver burden and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among primary family caregivers of individuals with schizophrenia in inpatient ...psychiatric rehabilitation facilities.
Methods
A cross-sectional study was conducted with 157 Taiwanese primary family caregivers of individuals with schizophrenia residing in inpatient psychiatric facilities. Measures included socio-demographic questionnaires and clinical information, Mutuality Scale, Family Crisis-Oriented Personal Evaluation Scales, Zarit Burden Interview, and World Health Organization Quality of Life-brief version. To describe the degree of caregiver burden and domains of HRQoL, descriptive statistics were computed. Independent sample
t
test, one-way analysis of variance, and Pearson’s correlation analysis followed by multiple regression analyses were performed to determine correlations and relationships between characteristics of patients and primary family caregivers with caregiver burden and domains of HRQoL.
Results
Primary family caregivers experienced mild to moderate caregiver burden and poor HRQoL. Primary family caregivers who were older and unemployed, caring for patient’s severe psychiatric symptoms, and had low monthly incomes, decreased mutuality, and fewer family coping strategies were associated with greater caregiver burden and poor HRQoL. Greater mutuality and family coping strategies of reframing and seeking spiritual support were the most significant factors in improving caregiver burden and all domains of HRQoL, respectively.
Conclusion
Family-focused interventions for caregivers of institutionalized persons with schizophrenia that include psychological support and peer support groups are recommended to enhance mutuality and family coping strategies, reduce caregiver burden, and improve HRQoL.
Aim
To gain an understanding towards the perspectives of hospitalized inpatients in Indonesia regarding maintaining dignity during clinical care.
Background
Dignity is a basic human right that is ...crucial for an individual's well‐being. Respect for a person as a valuable human is a concept that is comparable to treating a person with dignity. Maintaining patient's dignity is an ethical goal of nursing care. Nevertheless, the concept is highly dependent on cultural context. This issue has not been well studied in Indonesia.
Design
This study used a qualitative descriptive design.
Methods
Thirty‐five participants were recruited by purposive sampling from medical to surgical wards of six public hospitals in Eastern Java, Indonesia. Data were collected in 2016 through individual face‐to‐face semi‐structured interviews. Inductive content analysis was applied to the data.
Findings
Four major categories which described qualities of nursing care essential for maintaining a patient's dignity in clinical care settings were revealed: (1) responsiveness; (2) respectful nurse–patient relationships; (3) caring characteristics and (4) personalized service.
Conclusions
Our findings provide a cultural viewpoint of dignity for care recipients in Indonesia. The findings provide empirical support for linking dignified care and person‐centred care principles with regards to cultural sensitivity. Nurses must not only be clinically competent but also culturally competent. The ability to provide culturally competent care is important for nurses as a strategy to maintain patient dignity during hospitalized care.
This study aimed to explore anesthesia nurses' (ANs) perceptions of roles, competencies, and attitudes towards patient safety culture, along with predictive factors for patient safety culture.
The ...2021 guidelines from the International Council of Nurses aim to ensure global access to safe surgical and anesthesia care by 2030. However, in Taiwan, the roles and competencies of ANs are still evolving. Many have a limited understanding, posing potential risks to patient safety.
A cross-sectional study was conducted, involving ANs from five hospitals within a healthcare foundation. ANs' self-perceived roles and competencies were assessed using a structured questionnaire based on the CanMEDS framework from the International Federation of Nurse Anesthetists. Additionally, data were collected using the Chinese version of the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire. Reporting followed the STROBE guideline.
Among 200 ANs, a consensus emerged favored all roles and competencies, with positive attitudes toward patient safety culture. Remarkably, self-perceived competencies, working in regional hospitals, and working in medical centers significantly predicted ANs' attitude toward patient safety culture.
The study results can assist ANs in gaining a deeper understanding of their roles and competencies. Considering predictive factors, strengthening ANs' competencies may contribute to enhancing patient safety culture.
Our results informed nursing leaders and policymakers in Taiwan and other countries regarding ANs' perceptions of roles and competencies. Nurse managers could consider the specific factors influencing ANs' attitudes toward patient safety culture and make great efforts to develop strategies aimed at enhancing their competencies.
Aims. The aim of this study was to explore the socialisation experiences of new graduate baccalaureate nurses to practising nurses.
Background. How nurses contend with the stress of their ...professional role has been of interest to both researchers and healthcare administrators over the past 30 years. Work stress of clinical nurses comes mainly from organisational and professional factors. However, few studies have explored the professional and organisational socialisation experiences of new graduate nurses.
Design. A qualitative descriptive approach was adopted.
Methods. Participants were graduates of a baccalaureate nursing programme and employed full time at four medical centres in Taiwan, their first full‐time work experience. Data were collected through semi‐structured, open‐ended, in‐depth interviews, which were transcribed verbatim and analysed by content analysis. Three themes were identified: overwhelming chaos, learning by doing and being an insider.
Results. Although the professional socialisation process was hard for the new graduate nurses, they needed much time to increase their knowledge and clinical skills to fulfil clinical needs. However, the hardest work was the organisational socialisation process, which involved fitting into the bureaucratic system, such as maintaining interpersonal relationships with colleagues and familiarising themselves with the ward rules and culture. Neophyte nurse participants were also frustrated by the conflict between professional and organisational values.
Conclusions. The study findings show that the transition from new graduate nurse to practising nurse was stressful for these participants, particularly due to the clash between the professional value of patient‐oriented nursing care and the organisational value of task‐oriented nursing.
Relevance to clinical practice. Senior clinical nurses can consider this study’s descriptions of new graduate nurses’ experiences to help them become insiders and provide quality care.
PDF
