Commentary on: Shields GE, Rowlandson A, Dalal G, Nickerson S, Cranmer H, Capobianco L, Doherty P. Cost-effectiveness of home-based cardiac rehabilitation: a systematic review. Heart. 2023 Feb 27:heartjnl-2021-320459. doi: 10.1136/heartjnl-2021-320459. Epub ahead of print.
Home-based cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is a cost-effective alternative/supplementary model to increase CR accessibility, improve health benefits and reduce health service use. More robust clinical trials are needed as the heterogeneity in design, particularly the intervention dosage, staffing models, telehealth features, hybrid approach and individual costs, challenges the evidence base. The psychological care component is missing in the current cost-effectiveness analysis of home-based CR.
Despite evidence that exercise-based cardiovascular rehabilitation (CR) is an effective intervention, patient uptake and adherence are uncertain. Recent research suggests that home-based CR interventions are as effective and safe as those supervised in a centre.
Commentary on: TEAM Study Investigators and the ANZICS Clinical Trials Group; Hodgson CL, Bailey M, Bellomo R, Brickell K, Broadley T, Buhr H, Gabbe BJ, Gould DW, Harrold M, Higgins AM, Hurford S, Iwashyna TJ, Serpa Neto A, Nichol AD, Presneill JJ, Schaller SJ, Sivasuthan J, Tipping CJ, Webb S, Young PJ. Early active mobilization during mechanical ventilation in the ICU. N Engl J Med 2022;387(19):1747–58. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa2209083. Epub 26 Oct 2022.
Early mobilisation may improve patient outcomes; however, starting with a higher dosage at the early stage of critical illness may not provide any added benefit. Future research should explore the intensity, timing, duration and level of activity required to optimise physical rehabilitation of critically ill patients.
Early mobilisation (EM) refers to the practice of initiating physical activity that is of sufficient intensity to elicit acute physiological effects...
Commentary on: Saragih ID, Tarihoran DETAU, Rasool A, Saragih IS, Tzeng HM, Lin CJ. Global prevalence of stigmatization and violence against healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Nurs Scholarsh. 2022;54(6):762–71. doi: 10.1111/jnu.12794. Epub 12 Jul 2022.
Health administrators and policymakers should appropriately address issues of stigmatisation and violence against healthcare workers through strategic planning that considers the unique nature of the workplace as well as local culture to ensure better healthcare for the patients. Future research should focus on synthesising evidence-based preventive strategies and management protocols to avert the escalation of stigmatisation and violence towards healthcare workers during catastrophic public health crises.
Violence in the workplace is a common issue in healthcare settings. However, since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an increase in the number of reports in...
Commentary on: Poncin W, Baudet L, Braem F, Reychler G, Duprez F, Liistro G, Belkhir L, Yombi JC, De Greef J. Systems on top of nasal cannula improve oxygen delivery in patients with COVID-19: a randomized controlled trial. J Gen Intern Med 2022;37(5):1226–32. doi: 10.1007/s11606-022-07419-2. Epub 8 Feb 2022.
The adverse consequences of continuous exposure to high concentrations of oxygen must be considered before instituting prolonged oxygen therapy in patients with COVID-19. Hypoxaemia is significant in patients with COVID-19, and isolated arterial oxygen pressure (PaO2) improvement may not necessarily translate into any significant survival benefit nor relieve the distress of breathlessness.
Oxygen therapy is important in COVID-19 management. The low-flow nasal cannula (NC) has some drawbacks. The patient’s peak inspiratory flow rate requirements are not met due to significant leakage around the source. A need to improve oxygen...
This edition of the Evidence Based Nursing (EBN) resources page is focused on further information to support the editorial by Alison Twycross and Jane Wray ‘NHS (National Health Service (NHS) England Long-term Workforce Plan: Can this deliver the workforce transformation so urgently needed or is it just more rhetoric?’
EBN has published a number of commentaries that provide useful additional information relating to the UK NHS workforce.
Supporting positive workplace cultures focused on staff well-being is discussed in;
Commentary on: Cuzco C, Castro P, Marín Pérez R, Ruiz García S, Núñez Delgado AI, Romero García M, Martínez Momblan MA, Benito Aracil L, Carmona Delgado I, Canalias Reverter M, Nicolás JM, Martínez Estalella G, Delgado-Hito P. Impact of a Nurse-Driven Patient Empowerment Intervention on the Reduction in Patients' Anxiety and Depression During ICU Discharge: A Randomized Clinical Trial. Crit Care Med. 2022 Dec 1;50(12):1757-1767. doi: 10.1097/CCM.0000000000005676. Epub 2022 Sep 30.
Critical care nurses are advised to implement a nurse-driven patient empowerment intervention (NEI) in their daily practice to aid discharged patients. The long-term effects of NEI on patients with varying diseases need further evaluation.
Several studies have indicated that a significant proportion of patients who have been admitted or discharged from an intensive care unit (ICU) experienced high levels of anxiety and depression.
Commentary on: Iyasere CA, Wing J, Martel JN, et al. Effect of increased interprofessional familiarity on team performance, communication, and psychological safety on inpatient medical teams: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA Intern Med. 2022 Nov 1;182(11):1190–1198. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2022.4373.
Team member familiarity has a positive impact on teamwork and interprofessional communication. Organisational design should consider team member familiarity.
Interprofessional teamwork matters for patient and workforce outcomes. Familiarity of team members is associated with improved teamwork and communication, safety and quality of care, utilisation and patient outcomes. However, much of the existing research is observational in nature. This study evaluated the impact of a team member familiarity intervention on the quality of nurse and resident interactions, perceptions of organisational climate and care outcomes.
This single site randomised clinical trial evaluated the effect of a resident scheduling intervention designed to...
Commentary on: Yanbei R, Dongdong M, Yun L, Ning W, Fengping Q. Does perceived organization support moderate the relationships between work frustration and burnout among intensive care unit nurses? A cross-sectional survey. BMC Nurs. 2023 Jan 23;22(1):22. doi: 10.1186/s12912-023-01180-5.
Providing intensive care unit (ICU) nurses with organisational supports by showcasing that the organisation cares about their well-being, gives importance to their opinions, is proud of their achievements will decrease their work frustration. Future research and auditing of programmes and events to monitor organisational support to ICU nurses in reduction of work frustration and burn-out. Such monitoring systems could translate into better patient outcome.
The psychological strain of caring for very ill patients causes significant mental stress for all ICU healthcare professionals. When stress is prolonged, it might eventually cause burn-out and deterioration of patient...
Commentary on: Ulupınar F, Erden Y. Intention to leave among nurses during the COVID-19 outbreak: A rapid systematic review and Meta-Analysis. J Clin Nurs. 2022 Nov 27. doi: 10.1111/jocn.16588. Epub ahead of print.
During COVID-19, nurses experienced stress, anxiety and fear. Psychological support will help retain staff. Further longitudinal studies on the long-term psychological impacts of the pandemic are needed.
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on nurses was unprecedented with high volumes of critically ill patients. This strain on direct care nurses included an increased workload, long hours, separation from family, potential exposure and patient death.
The purpose of this study is to gain an in-depth understanding of the intraoperative waiting period experience and needs response of primary caregivers of patients with breast cancer.
Using a purposive sampling method, 16 primary caregivers of patients with breast cancer admitted to the Department of Breast Surgery of Shanxi Bethune Hospital from January to May 2022 were selected as study subjects. Semistructured in-depth interviews were conducted using a qualitative research method.
Five themes were extracted from the levels of safety and security, information transfer, emotion management, psychological adjustment and role adaptation: safety first and intraoperative care, lack of information and misdirection, negative emotions and tired of coping, ineffective worry and overthinking, and role multiplicity and bearing alone, respectively.
The intraoperative waiting period for primary caregivers of patients with breast cancer felt multidimensional and had less than optimal needs satisfaction. Healthcare professionals should use the existing needs as an entry point to give appropriate interventions to enhance the coping ability of caregivers of patients with breast cancer.
Long-term care needs for people with dementia are predicted to increase due to increased life expectancy and dementia diagnoses. Most published meta- syntheses of dementia care focus on hospitals or home settings. When focusing on long-term care facilities, most reviews about dementia care only focus on a single outcome, such as feeding, behavioural symptoms management, palliative care and others, which is limited. The present study aims to synthesise qualitative data and examine barriers and facilitators to caring for people with dementia in long-term care facilities.
This is the protocol for our systematic review and meta-synthesis, which describes the design of this study, and we plan to complete the study from October 2023 to November 2024. The systematic review and meta-synthesis will follow the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) guidance for systematic reviews of qualitative evidence. Nine databases (five English and four Chinese) were searched, including Embase, Web of Science, Medline, CINAHL, PsycINFO and Wan Fang Data, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, VIP and Chinese Biomedical Medicine, from inception to August 2023. Qualitative and mixed-approach research about barriers and facilitators to caring for people with dementia in long-term care facilities, which are reported in English or Chinese, will be included. Covidence software will help with study selection, assessment and data extraction. The JBI Critical Appraisal Checklist for Qualitative Research (2020) will be used for included studies’ quality assessment. Data extraction will be based on the JBI Qualitative Assessment and Review Instrument Data Extraction Tool for Qualitative Research. The JBI aggregation approach will be used to synthesise data. We will use the JBI ConQual tool to assess the credibility and dependability of each synthesised finding to establish confidence in the synthesised findings. All review steps will be managed by two reviewers independently, and disparities will be discussed. If consensus cannot reach a resolution, a third reviewer will be consulted.
The present study is a secondary analysis of published qualitative data. So ethical approval is not required. The findings may be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications, conference papers or elsewhere.
The protocol was registered with the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) in May 2022, and the registration number is CRD42022326178.
Childhood cancer survivors (CCSs) who transition through adolescence and enter young adulthood may suffer psychological, cognitive, social, fertility, and sexual issues and concerns. There is an urgent need for comprehensive intervention strategies to improve the transition of CCSs. Web-based technologies are gaining momentum as a new mechanism to provide healthcare and education for adolescents. However, previous frameworks have been limited in their effectiveness in explaining web-based interventions.
This realist synthesis aims to synthesise current evidence on transition of CCSs to develop a framework for web-based interventions. The framework can foster understanding of the integrity of web-based intervention implementation chain, examine which mechanistic factors will be triggered by web-based interventions, note and examine the flows, blockages and points of contention in the implementation, to refine web-based interventions.
A realist synthesis that adheres to the Realist and Meta-narrative Evidence Syntheses-Evolving Standard will be used. Studies will be identified through PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Ovid and Cochrane Library from the period of January 2005 to May 2023. We will also search the reference lists provided in relevant studies and reviews. Articles will be screened based on two principles: (1) Relevance: does the research address the initial programme theory? (2) Rigour: whether a particular inference drawn by the original researcher has sufficient weight to make a methodologically credible contribution to the test of the initial programme theory. No restrictions regarding the design or language of publication will be considered.
As a review, ethical approval is not required. The results from this study will be presented at international conferences and disseminated through peer-reviewed publications. Patients and the public will be involved in the dissemination plans.
This study aimed to gain new insight and knowledge on out-of-hours emergency primary care nurses’ experience of presenteeism in their workplace and their outlook on the impact they recognised the phenomenon to have on patient safety when caring for acute patients.
An explorative qualitative study.
The study was conducted at three out-of-hours primary care facilities in southwest Norway.
A total of 10 female nurses were recruited as interviewees. Nurses providing direct patient care were included in the study.
The analysis resulted in four major themes: strong work ethics influence the decision to attend work unwell; work environment factors have a negative impact on nurses’ health; nurses’ awareness of consequences on the quality of care and patient safety and nurses make use of coping strategies when engaging in presenteeism.
Presenteeism is a common experience among nurses at out-of-hours emergency primary care clinics, with work-related stress being a significant contributing factor. Despite recognising a decrease in performance while engaging in presenteeism, nurses displayed adaptive behaviour. They were confident that their suboptimal health issues did not significantly impact patient safety while caring for acute patients. However, the true impact of presenteeism on patient safety in an out-of-hours emergency care setting remains uncertain due to the reliance on subjective reporting systems as quality indicators. More research is needed to understand the phenomenon and its implications on patient safety fully.
Telenursing is a component of telehealth that occurs when nurses use information and communication technologies to provide care and nursing services remotely. To understand how telenursing services in surgical oncology patients can be better implemented, it is important that the success models are collected and studied. Therefore, the general objective is to develop the scoping review protocol for the survey of existing evidence on the practice of oncological perioperative telenursing.
The scoping review will be conducted following the scoping review directions of the Joanna Briggs Institute with the use of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for scoping reviews checklist for the review report. The databases that will be used for these searches will be: MEDLINE (PubMed), EMBASE, CINAHL, SCOPUS, Web of Science and Virtual Health Library. To search for grey literature, Google Scholar, WorldWideScience and Global ETD Search will be used. Primary studies, observational or experimental, published in any year or language will be considered. For the selection and extraction of data, two independent reviewers will read the title, summary and full text using the Rayyan software and a form prepared by the authors. The data to be extracted are related to the characterisation of the study (study design, country and year of publication) and details of the telenursing programme (surgery or surgical specialty, perioperative period, tools used, organisation and operation, outcome indicators and treatment methods and content in telenursing). Among others, the difficulties and potentialities for the development or implementation of telenursing will also be extracted, as the main result of the study.
The study does not require ethical approval as it will use previously published research data. The results will be shared in journals and scientific events and may be used for the development and implementation of oncological perioperative telenursing programmes.
To explore the challenges public health nurses (PNHs) face in managing infertility in rural settings of the Talensi and Nabdam districts in the Upper East Region of Ghana.
The study adopted a qualitative descriptive design approach where PHNs who worked in rural settings were interviewed using a semistructured interview guide. Thematic analysis was employed to analyse the data.
Primary healthcare setting in the Upper East Region of Ghana.
The study participants were 15 PHNs working in primary health centres with a mean age of 36.9 years (SD=6.40).
This study revealed that couples with infertility issues face challenges in seeking care for their condition. The challenges expressed by the participants that affect individual and couples’ access to infertility care were (1) lack of material and human resources, (2) lack of specialists and guides for infertility treatment and (3) inadequate and inconsiderate communication.
This study provides evidence of the challenges experienced by PHNs in managing infertility among couples. Adequate measures are therefore required to ameliorate these challenges to improve care provision for couples with infertility.
The classification of human responses to health conditions or life processes, assuming that human responses are the way that a person responds, referring to the individual’s experiences, feelings, perceptions, behaviours and physical reactions, can be an exercise that, although challenging, is central to nursing diagnoses and, consequently, to nursing practice. It is necessary to gather and organise the existing knowledge about the human responses in adolescents with cancer, starting from the moment of diagnosis, due to the specificities inherent to this stage of human development. A scoping review is an appropriate method to use in order to map the existing knowledge on human responses in adolescents with oncological diseases experienced since the diagnosis.
Will encompass all types of studies, including ‘grey literature’ that centres on human responses related to adolescents aged 10–19 years with oncological diseases. There will be no restrictions based on the type of cancer, disease stage or other contextual factors, whether in home or healthcare settings.
The review will be conducted following the guidelines outlined by the Joanna Briggs Institute for scoping reviews. The search will encompass the following databases: CINAHL Complete (EBSCOhost), Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (EBSCOhost), MEDLINE Complete (EBSCOhost), Nursing and Allied Health Collection: Comprehensive (EBSCOhost), Cochrane Clinical Answers (EBSCOhost Answers), Latin American and Caribbean Literature on Health Sciences (LILACS) and ‘grey literature’ sources accessible through the Scientific Open Access Repositories of Portugal (RCAAP). A three-step search strategy will be implemented. Titles and abstracts will undergo analysis by two independent reviewers. Articles selected for a full-text review will be organised. The results will be presented in tables and narratively summarised.
Ethics approval and patient consent for publication are not necessary. Findings will be disseminated through publication in scientific journals and through conference presentations.
EXUB4. Registration was made in the Open Science Framework (OSF).
This study aimed to determine best practices for involving family caregivers in interventions aimed at preventing and reducing responsive behaviour stemming from unmet needs, including pain.
Scoping review, reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews, Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews reporting guideline.
PubMed, Embase, Emcare, Web of Science, COCHRANE Library, PsycINFO, Academic Search Premier and Cinahl searched up to 23 July 2023.
Studies reporting on family involvement in interventions for nursing home residents with dementia were included.
Two researchers independently extracted the data, followed by a content analysis.
Of the 1486 records screened, 20 studies were included. Family caregivers were involved in interventions aimed at planning care, life review (eg, documentation of life experiences of their relative), and selecting activities for their relative. Family caregivers preferred an active role in developing optimal care for their relative. Drivers of success and barriers to family involvement centred around three themes: (1) communication between all involved; (2) prerequisites (organisational and other conditions) and (3) personal circumstances (family’s coping and skills).
Best practices for involving family caregivers in interventions aimed at addressing responsive behaviour in residents with dementia concerned those interventions in which family caregivers were given an important role in managing responsive behaviour. This means that, in order to achieve an active role of family caregivers in the whole care process, their needs must be taken into account.
The protocol of the review was regisered at OSF; https://osf.io/twcfq
Attempted suicide among older adults represents a significant mental health concern that has witnessed a rising incidence within this demographic in recent years. Research indicates that attempted suicide among the older population serves as a primary risk factor for completed suicide. Consequently, the objective of this study is to provide a comprehensive overview of the prevailing factors that influence suicide attempts among older adults, thereby offering evidence to guide healthcare professionals in designing targeted interventions.
This study will adhere to the Joanna Briggs Institute framework and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Protocols. We will synthesise qualitative studies using a comprehensive and inclusive bibliographic search strategy. The following databases will be searched: PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, CINAHL and the Cochrane Library. The quality of the articles will be assessed using the 10-item Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Checklist for Qualitative Research. At the same time, data extraction will be performed using the Qualitative Assessment and Review Instrument data extraction form proposed by the Joanna Briggs Institute for Evidence-Based Practice. The synthesis of findings will adhere to the principles and procedures of Thomas and Hardens' three-stage thematic synthesis approach.
Ethical approval will not be required for this study, as it solely encompasses data derived from previously published research. The findings will be disseminated through publication in a peer-reviewed journal. Moreover, the results will be presented at relevant academic conferences to guarantee that the study’s outcomes reach pertinent stakeholders. This protocol is registered with the PROSPERO prospective database for systematic review.
CRD42023408385.
It has been reported that maintaining a normal body temperature among surgical patients can reduce the length of hospitalisation by up to 40%, decrease the risk of surgical site infection by 64% and reduce mortality by fourfold. Nurses are primarily responsible for preventing the occurrence of hypothermia among surgical patients. This study assessed nurses’ knowledge and practices with respect to perioperative hypothermia prevention in Northwest Ethiopia, and investigated the factors associated with good knowledge and practice.
Cross-sectional study.
Northwest Amhara Regional State Referral Hospitals, Northwest Ethiopia, 25 March–20 May 2021.
413 nurses working in the perioperative units of five referral hospitals.
Perioperative hypothermia prevention knowledge and practice among nurses.
Nearly three-fifths (59.1%; 95% CI: 54.7% to 63.7%) of respondents had good knowledge and about half (50.4%; 95% CI: 45.5% to 55.0%) had good practice with respect to perioperative hypothermia prevention. Factors associated with nurses’ knowledge of prevention of perioperative hypothermia included male sex (adjusted OR (AOR): 1.61, 95% CI: 1.02 to 2.53), having a bachelor’s degree (AOR: 2.50, 95% CI: 1.25 to 5.00), having a master’s degree (AOR: 4.39, 95% CI: 1.45 to 13.20) and training participation (AOR: 3.68, 95% CI: 2.14 to 6.33). Factors associated with nurses’ practice of prevention of perioperative hypothermia included working in recovery (AOR: 2.87, 95% CI: 1.08 to 7.58) and intensive care units (AOR: 2.39, 95% CI: 1.09 to 5.22), training participation (AOR: 2.64, 95% CI: 1.53 to 4.57), being satisfied with their job (AOR: 2.15, 95% CI: 1.34 to 3.43) and having good knowledge (AOR: 2.64, 95% CI: 1.63 to 4.27).
Nurses’ knowledge and practice of the prevention of perioperative hypothermia were inadequate. Hospital managers need to design and strengthen training programmes and work to enhance job satisfaction.
Commentary on: Mikovits JC. "I don't feel like I'm a person": Nursing knowledge of transgender care through the lens of transgender people. J Adv Nurs. 2022 Sep;78(9):3012–3024. doi: 10.1111/jan.15308. Epub 2022 Jun 1.
Nurses have an ethical imperative to provide patient-centered care that honours all aspects of one’s identity, including gender identity. Further research is needed to better understand the healthcare experiences of transgender people of intersecting identities and those with varying economic resources.
Transgender people experience numerous health inequities due to societal discrimination and stigma.