Highlights • There are limited data about dysgeusia, oral mucositis and xerostomia outcomes available for HNC patients. • There is a lack of well-designed clinical trials and multicenter-prospective ...cohort studies. • There are few studies that focus on more than one symptom at the same time, and consensus on a “gold standard” symptom assessment is missing.
Background
Cancer is recognized as a family illness as many head and neck cancer (HNC) patients after treatment require assistance from a family caregiver throughout the rest of their life. The ...purpose of this study was to explore the lived experience of primary family caregivers of HNC patients dealing with laryngectomy regarding their complex supportive role.
Methods
Phenomenological study based on individual interviews of twelve primary caregivers of HNC patients, recruited by purposeful sampling. Interview contents were analyzed in depth, in accordance with Colaizzi’s descriptive analysis framework, to explore and identify significant themes and subthemes.
Results
Analysis evidenced three main topics and subthemes embracing various aspects of the caregiver’s lived experiences: (1) experiencing disease and the pathway of care, (2) handling changes to everyday life, and (3) support received by others.
Conclusion
Given the essential role the caregiver has in the patient’s post-treatment recovery, future planning of HNC patient care must consider the caregivers’ needs. In order to guarantee an appropriate and effective health professional care, it is important to consider caregivers’ issues and needs as part of HNC patient care planning from the diagnosis to the follow-up.
A cross-sectional study was conducted with a convenience sample (N = 3,093) of Finnish and Italian registered nurses to identify differences related to generation, country, gender, and educational ...level in their perceptions and opinions about workplace-related dimensions of nursing and their managers’ leadership practices. The Multidimensional Nursing Generations Questionnaire (MNGQ) and two subscales of the Transformational Leadership Scale (TLS), “Feedback and Rewards” and “Professional Development,” were used as survey tools. Data were analyzed with descriptive and inferential statistics. Statistically significant (p < .05) generational and country differences emerged in the MNGQ components “Conflicts between generations,” “Patient safety view,” “Relationships between generations,” “Working as a multigenerational team,” “Orientation to change,” “Intention to leave,” and “Flexibility and availability.” Generational and country differences also emerged for the two TLS subscales. Generational differences existed between registered nurses of different generations and countries, and should be considered in leading multigenerational nurses’ workforces.
Future nurses should possess the knowledge and competences necessary to ensure patient safety. However, little evidence is available on the way in which students learn patient safety-related ...principles over time. This study explored the progress of a cohort of Italian undergraduate nursing students as they acquired patient safety knowledge and competences from time of enrolment to graduation.
A longitudinal study carried out between 2015 and 2018 enrolled a cohort of 90 nursing students from two Italian Bachelor of Nursing Science Degree Courses at the Udine University, Italy. The students were followed-up on an annual basis and data collection was performed three times: at the end of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd years. The validated Italian version of the Professional Education in Patient Safety Survey tool was used to collect data.
At the end of the 1st year, students reported an average 4.19 out of 5 patient safety knowledge acquired in classrooms (CI 95%, 4.11-4.28), which was stable at the end of the 2nd (4.16; CI 95%, 4.06-4.26) and 3rd years (4.26; CI 95%, 4.16-4.32) and no statistical differences emerged over the years. With regard to the competences acquired in clinical settings, at the end of the 1st year the students reported an average 4.28 out of 5 (CI 95%, 4.20-4.37), which decreased significantly at the end of the 2nd year (4.15; CI 95%, 4.07-4.23; p=0.02) and increased at the end of the 3rd year (4.37; CI 95%, 4.27-4.47; p<0.01).
Nursing students' competences in patient safety issues increases over time, while their knowledge remains stable. Students are more vulnerable at the end of the 1st year, when they seem to be overconfident about patient-safety issues.
Aims
The aim of this study was to describe and summarize workplace characteristics of three nursing generations: Baby Boomers, Generations X and Y.
Background
Generational differences affect ...occupational well‐being, nurses’ performance, patient outcomes and safety; therefore, nurse managers, administrators and educators are interested increasingly in making evidence‐based decisions about the multigenerational nursing workforce.
Design
Mixed‐method systematic review.
Data sources
Medline, CINAHL, PsycINFO and Scopus (January 1991–January 2017).
Review methods
(1) The Joanna Briggs Institute's method for conducting mixed‐method systematic reviews; (2) the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses and (3) the Enhancing Transparency in Reporting the Synthesis of Qualitative Research guidelines. The studies’ methodological quality was assessed with the Mixed‐Methods Appraisal Tool. Quantitative and mixed‐method studies were transformed into qualitative methods using a convergent qualitative synthesis and qualitative findings were combined with a narrative synthesis.
Results
Thirty‐three studies were included with three main themes and 11 subthemes: (1) Job attitudes (work engagement; turnover intentions, reasons for leaving; reasons, incentives/disincentives to continue nursing); (2) Emotion‐related job aspects (stress/resilience; well‐being/job satisfaction; affective commitment; unit climate; work ethic) and (3) Practice and leadership‐related aspects (autonomy; perceived competence; leadership relationships and perceptions). Baby Boomers reported lower levels of stress and burnout than did Generations X and Y, different work engagement, factors affecting workplace well‐being and retention and greater intention to leave compared with Generation Y, which was less resilient, but more cohesive.
Conclusion
Although several studies reported methodological limitations and conflicting findings, generational differences in nurses’ job attitudes, emotional, practice and leadership factors should be considered to enhance workplace quality.
Dignity is a value inherent to all human beings, guaranteed to every individual from birth, and influenced by culture and society. It is protected by various laws and declarations, and represents one ...of the fundamental human rights. Preserving human dignity is an essential aspect of nursing practice and a central element of care. Dignity is a highly subjective and personal concept; there may be variations in the way that patients perceive it and in the ways that nurses can guarantee it. A systematic review of the qualitative literature was conducted to obtain a comprehensive understanding of adult patients' perceptions of dignity in a hospital setting. This review adhered to the PRISMA Statement for reporting systematic reviews, and the results were reported in accordance with the Enhancing Transparency in Reporting the Synthesis of Qualitative Research (ENTREQ) guidelines. Major databases (PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus, and PsycINFO) were consulted and resulted in the inclusion of 21 studies. Methodological quality was assessed using the Critical Appraisal Skills Program (CASP) Checklist for Qualitative Studies. Six main themes emerged from the data analysis: (1) The concept of dignity and its various dimensions; (2) The significance of maintaining one's own privacy and confidentiality; (3) The hospital environment's influence on patients' dignity; (4) Healthcare professionals' characteristics and behaviours that affect dignity; (5) The role of communication and the relationship with healthcare providers; and (6) The patient's ability to make choices and be involved actively in their care. These findings underscore the importance of understanding caregivers' perspectives on dignity to ensure that they provide respectful and dignified care and treatment that prioritizes the patient's mental and physical needs.
Background
Bedside shift reports have been recently recommended to ensure handovers. However, no evidence summarising studies designed to determine the qualitative approaches capable of better ...understanding patient experience have been published to date.
Aim
The aim of this study was to acquire a deeper understanding of the experiences of patients regarding bedside shift reports.
Data sources and review methods
A systematic review of qualitative studies followed by a meta‐synthesis method based upon Sandelowski's and Barroso's guidelines was performed. Four databases were systematically explored (PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus and PsycINFO) without any limitation in time and up to the 31 August 2018. A total of 10 studies were included and evaluated in their methodological quality; then, a thematic synthesis was developed to synthetize the findings.
Results
Three major themes reflect patients’ experience regarding the bedside shift reports: (i) ‘Being involved’; (ii) ‘Being the centre of nursing care processes’; and (iii) ‘Experiencing critical issues’. Patients are supportive of bedside shift reports as a right, as an opportunity to be involved, and of being in the centre of the nursing care process. By designing and implementing bedside shift reports, nurses also have an opportunity to increase patient safety and to provide concrete proof of the advancements achieved by the nursing profession in recent years.
Conclusions
The bedside shift reports experience has been little studied to date from the perspective of patients. According to the findings, implementation of the bedside shift reports should include providing education to nurses with regard to the preferences and expectations of patients, as well as the critical issues that they can experience during the bedside shift reports. Presenting the bedside shift reports method, asking patient consent, discussing potential critical issues and the degree of involvement preferred at hospital admission, is strongly recommended.
To conduct a systematic review to investigate risk factors, incidence, and preventive strategies for perioperative pressure injuries (PIs).
The authors reviewed four databases for literature ...published from January 2001 to December 2017. Selected articles included primary quantitative studies with prospective, descriptive, and longitudinal design or randomized controlled trials that evaluated risk factors, incidence, and preventive strategies for perioperative PIs. The studies included were evaluated for methodological quality using the Edwards Method Score. The authors used a standardized extraction form to extract inclusion and exclusion criteria, participant demographics, methodology, PI risk instrument and classification systems, type of surgery and anesthesia, PI risk factors, incidence, preventive strategies, and outcomes evaluation.
Of the 115 publications identified, 11 met the inclusion criteria. The risk assessment and PI classification instruments used differed in every study. Incidence of PI varied throughout the studies and was reduced by warming therapy and by a skin care intervention program.
Further studies are necessary to develop a standard risk assessment instrument and preventive strategies and to clarify some contradictions evident in the literature.
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