Background
Compassion is considered the cornerstone of nursing practice. However, the recent failures in delivering high‐quality compassionate nursing care in the UK's National Health Service have ...brought the topic of compassion to the attention of the public, service providers, policy makers and academics.
Aim
The aim of this study was to explore the nurses’ views and experiences of a number of compassion‐related issues in nursing and describe similarities and differences at an international level as well as from the different nursing roles of the participating nurses.
Methods
An exploratory, cross‐sectional descriptive study, using the International Online Compassion Questionnaire. A total of 1323 nurses from 15 countries completed the questionnaire.
Results
The majority of participants (59.5%) defined compassion as “Deep awareness of the suffering of others and wish to alleviate it” but definitions of compassion varied by country. Of participants, 69.6% thought compassion was very important in nursing and more than half (59.6%) of them argued that compassion could be taught. However, only 26.8% reported that the correct amount and level of teaching is provided. The majority of the participants (82.6%) stated that their patients prefer knowledgeable nurses with good interpersonal skills. Only 4.3% noted that they are receiving compassion from their managers. A significant relationship was found between nurses’ experiences of compassion and their views about teaching of compassion.
Conclusion
Our study is unique in identifying the views and experiences of nurses from 15 different countries worldwide. The findings reveal that compassion is neither addressed adequately in nursing education nor supported in the practice environment by managers.
Limitations
Self‐report bias was inherent to our survey study design. Furthermore, the individual cultural differences and similarities in the findings are difficult to extrapolate owing to the fact that our analysis was at country level, as well as at the level of the participating nurses.
Implications for nursing policy
Understanding the influence of culture on nurses’ views about compassion is critical in the current multicultural healthcare environment and merits further research. This will potentially drive changes in nursing education (ensuring that compassion is taught to nurses) and in the way healthcare leaders and managers foster a compassionate culture within their organizations (e.g. by leading by example and compassionate to their staff).
Aim
To explore nursing and midwifery managers’ views regarding obstacles to compassion‐giving across country cultures.
Background
The benefit of compassionate leadership is being advocated, but ...despite the fact that health care is invariably conducted within culturally diverse workplaces, the interconnection of culture, compassion and leadership is rarely addressed. Furthermore, evidence on how cultural factors hinder the expression of compassion among nursing and midwifery managers is lacking.
Methods
Cross‐sectional, exploratory, international online survey involving 1 217 participants from 17 countries. Managers’ responses on open‐ended questions related to barriers for providing compassion were entered and thematically analysed through NVivo.
Results
Three key themes related to compassion‐giving obstacles emerged across countries: 1. related to the managers’ personal characteristics and experiences; 2. system‐related; and 3. staff‐related.
Conclusions
Obstacles to compassion‐giving among managers vary across countries. An understanding of the variations across countries and cultures of what impedes compassion to flourish in health care is important.
Implications for nursing practice and policy
Nursing mangers should wisely use their power by adopting leadership styles that promote culturally competent and compassionate workplaces with respect for human rights. Policymakers should identify training and mentoring needs to enable the development of managers’ practical wisdom. Appropriate national and international policies should facilitate the establishment of standards and guidelines for compassionate leadership, in the face of distorted organizational cultures and system‐related obstacles to compassion‐giving.
As Artificial Intelligence and social robots are increasingly used in health and social care, it is imperative to explore the training needs of the workforce, factoring in their cultural background.
...Explore views on perceived training needs among professionals around the world and how these related to country cultures.
Cross-sectional, descriptive, mixed-methods international online survey.
Descriptive statistical analysis explored the ranking across countries and relationships with three Hofstede cultural dimensions. Thematic analysis was conducted on the open-ended text responses.
A sample of N = 1284 participants from eighteen countries. Knowing the capabilities of the robots was ranked as the top training need across all participating countries and this was also reflected in the thematic analysis. Participants' culture, expressed through three Hofstede's dimensions, revealed statistically significant ranking differences.
Future research should further explore other factors such as the level of digital maturity of the workplace.
Training needs of health and social care staff to use robotics are fast growing and preparation should factor in patient safety and be based on the principles of person- and culture-centred care.
The dynamics of multiple Plasmodium infections in asymptomatic children living under intense malaria transmission pressure provide evidence for a density-dependent regulation that transcends species ...as well as genotype. This regulation, in combination with species- and genotype-specific immune responses, results in nonindependent, sequential episodes of infection with each species.
The Methane Remote Sensing Lidar Mission (MERLIN), currently in phase B, is a joint cooperation between France and Germany on the development, launch and operation of a methane (CH4) monitoring ...satellite. MERLIN is focused on global measurements of the spatial and temporal gradients of atmospheric CH4, the second most anthropogenic gas, with a precision and accuracy sufficient to constrain Methane fluxes significantly better than with the current observation network. For the first time, measurements of atmospheric composition will be performed from space thanks to an IPDA (Integrated Path Differential Absorption) LIDAR (Light Detecting And Ranging). This payload is under the responsibility of the German space agency (DLR), while the platform (MYRIADE Evolutions product line) is developed by the French space agency (CNES). The IPDA technique relies on DIAL (Differential Absorption LIDAR) measurements using a pulsed laser emitting at two wavelengths, one wavelength accurately locked on a spectral feature of the methane absorption line, and the other wavelength free from absorption to be used as reference. This technique enables measurements in all seasons, at all latitudes. It also guarantees almost no contamination by aerosols or water vapour cross-sensitivity, and thus has the advantage of an extremely low level of systematic error on the dry-air column mixing ratio of CH4.
A diode-pumped, single-frequency laser system emitting at 935 nm has recently been developed to serve as the transmitter for water vapor differential absorption lidar (DIAL) measurements. This laser ...uses Nd:YGG (Y
3
Ga
5
O
12
) as the active medium and emits radiation directly at 935 nm without the need of additional frequency conversion processes. The system was diode-pumped at 806 nm and was built up in a master-oscillator-power-amplifier configuration. It generates more than 30 mJ of pulse energy at 100 Hz repetition rate with a beam quality (
M
2
) of better than 1.4. Since water vapor DIAL demands for stringent requirements of the spectral properties those were carefully investigated in the scope of this paper. Single-frequency operation is achieved by injection seeding and active length control of the oscillator cavity. The range of continuously tunable single-frequency radiation extends to ∼0.4 nm centered around 935.31 nm. Values of the spectral purity of >99.996% were determined using long-pass absorption measurements in the atmosphere exceeding the requirements by a large margin. Finally, for the first time water vapor DIAL measurements were performed using a Nd:YGG laser. The reported results show much promise of these directly pumped lasers at 935 nm for future spaceborne but also airborne water vapor lidar systems.
The malaria vaccine Combination B comprises recombinant Plasmodium falciparum ring-infected erythrocyte surface antigen and 2 merozoite surface proteins (MSP1 and MSP2) formulated in oil-based ...adjuvant. A phase 1-2b double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial in 120 children (5–9 years old) in Papua New Guinea demonstrated a 62% (95% confidence limits: 13%, 84%) reduction in parasite density in children not pretreated with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine. Vaccinees had a lower prevalence of parasites carrying the MSP2-3D7 allelic form (corresponding to that in the vaccine) and a higher incidence of morbid episodes associated with FC27-type parasites. These results demonstrate functional activity of Combination B against P. falciparum in individuals with previous malaria exposure. The specific effects on parasites with particular msp2 genotypes suggest that the MSP2 component, at least in part, accounted for the activity. The vaccine-induced selection pressure exerted on the parasites and its consequences for morbidity strongly argue for developing vaccines comprising conserved antigens and/or multiple components covering all important allelic types.
A diode-pumped Q-switched and injection-seeded single-frequency laser, generating tunable laser radiation at 935 nm, is presented. Using Nd:YGG (Y
3
Ga
5
O
12
) as the active medium, the laser that ...was developed to serve as a transmitter for water–vapor lidar measurements. The configuration consists of a stable resonator in rod geometry that is injection seeded by a narrowband diode laser and stabilized by the ramp-and-fire technique. Energy scaling was done in a power amplifier in slab geometry. Both oscillator and amplifier crystal were diode pumped at 806 nm. More than 30 mJ pulse energy at 100 Hz repetition rate with a beam propagation factor of M
2
<1.4 and pulse duration of 52 ns in single-frequency mode were generated. To our knowledge this is the first direct generation of 935 nm Q-switched pulses from Nd:YGG suitable for water–vapor measurements. The reported results show great promise of this laser in applications where high efficiency and reduced complexity is indispensable, such as for spaceborne or airborne water–vapor lidar instruments.
Many individuals at risk of malaria also have micronutrient deficiencies that may hamper protective immunity. Vitamin A is central to normal immune function, and supplementation has been shown to ...lower the morbidity of some infectious diseases. We investigated the effect of vitamin A supplementation on malaria morbidity.
This randomised double-blind placebo-controlled trial of vitamin A supplementation took place in a
P falciparum endemic area of Papua New Guinea. Of 520 potentially eligible children aged 6–60 months, 480 were randomly assigned high-dose vitamin A (n=239) or placebo (n=241), every 3 months for 13 months. Malaria morbidity was assessed through weekly community-based case detection and surveillance of patients who self-reported to the health centre. Cross-sectional surveys were also done at the beginning, middle, and end of the study to assess malariometric indicators. Analyses were by intention to treat.
The number of
P falciparum febrile episodes (temperature ≥37 5°C with a parasite count of at least 8000/μL) was 30% lower in the vitamin A group than in the placebo group (178 vs 249 episodes; relative risk 0·70 95% Cl 0·57–0·87, p=0·0013). At the end of the study
P falciparum geometric mean density was lower in the vitamin A than the placebo group (1300 907–1863 vs 2039 1408–2951) as was the proportion with spleen enlargement (125/196 64% vs 148/207 71%); neither difference was significant (p=0·093 and p=0·075). Children aged 12–36 months benefited most, having 35% fewer febrile episodes (89 vs 141; relative risk 0·65 14–50, p=0·0023), 26% fewer enlarged spleens (46/79 58% vs 67/90 74%, p=0·0045), and a 68% lower parasite density (1160 95% Cl 665–2022 vs 3569 2080–6124, p=0·0054). Vitamin A had no consistent effect on cross-sectional indices of proportion infected or with anaemia.
Vitamin A supplementation may be an effective low-cost strategy to lower morbidity due to
P falciparum in young children. The findings suggest that clinical episodes, spleen enlargement, and parasite density are influenced by different immunological mechanisms from infection and anaemia.
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