Commentary on: Suh M, Kim DH, Cho I, Ham OK. Age and gender differences in fall-related factors affecting community-dwelling older adults. J Nurs Res. 2023 Apr 1;31(2):e270. doi: 10.1097/jnr.0000000000000545.
Future research could explore and test the efficacy of gender-specific fall prevention protocols. In practice, understanding that there are gender-based risk factors for falls would assist and prompt nurses and health professionals to perform assessments or interventions to specifically mitigate those risks
Falls are an incredibly common issue among older adults, with potentially serious downstream consequences. Suh et al (2023) aimed to explore not only the prevalence of falls but also the factors relating to age, gender and falls. It is well established that there are gender differences in the prevalence of falls, however, the reasoning is not fully understood. This study was conducted to address the paucity in...
Commentary on: Kuld PB, Frielink N, Zijlmans M, et al. . Promoting self-determination of persons with severe or profound intellectual disabilities: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Intellect Disabil Res. 2023 Jul;67(7):589–629. doi: 10.1111/jir.13036. Epub 2023 May 11.
Nurses can promote self-determination of people with severe and profound intellectual disabilities through relationship building and learning to read a person’s communication cues to determine their preferences. Future research should use an ecological approach to optimise environments for self-determination and consistent measures to strengthen the evidence base.
Self-determination is a key dimension of quality of life for people with intellectual disabilities, that is, acting freely and willfully to make things happen in one’s own life.
The term early career researcher (ECR) is commonly used, although its meaning is expressed by a wide range of definitions which vary globally, and may be institutionally determined.
Increasingly, the challenges associated with such time-bound definitions of ECRs are being acknowledged. Many bodies which offer funding for ECRs (eg, see
Commentary on: Wilson A, Hurley J, Hutchinson M, Lakeman R. Trauma-informed care in acute mental health units through the lifeworld of mental health nurses: A phenomenological study. Int J Ment Health Nurs. 2023 Jun;32(3):829–838. doi: 10.1111/inm.13120. Epub 2023 Jan 27.
Implications for practice and research
Clients’ medical data and trauma histories should be supplemented with information on their strengths to promote a holistic and integrated understanding of their lived experiences. Research is needed to better understand the extent to which trauma-informed care (TIC) principles are taught to nursing students so that they understand how to apply TIC in different healthcare settings.
There is growing support for the delivery of trauma-informed care (TIC) in diverse clinical, organisational and community settings.
Commentary on: Marko S, Wylie S, Utter J. Enablers and barriers to healthy eating among hospital nurses: a systematic review. Int J Nurs Stud. 2023 Feb;138:104412. doi: 10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2022.104412. Epub 2022 Dec 5
Multi-faceted interventions are key in addressing various influences on nurses’ healthy eating beyond individual choices. Rigorous studies are needed to assess multi-level socio-ecological interventions’ effectiveness on nurses’ eating habits.
Nurses, despite playing a significant role in healthcare, have been found to possess poor dietary habits and face elevated rates of chronic illnesses. A recent systematic review by Marko and colleagues explored factors influencing healthy eating among nurses in hospital settings. Barriers included high accessibility of unhealthy foods, high costs and lack of storage/preparation facilities. Enablers included proximity to healthy options, roster planning and structured workplace programmes. Supportive networks were an interpersonal enabler, while work culture and...
Commentary on: Shan Z, Wang F, Li Y, Baden MY, Bhupathiraju SN, Wang DD, Sun Q, Rexrode KM, Rimm EB, Qi L, Tabung FK, Giovannucci EL, Willett WC, Manson JE, Qi Q, Hu FB. Healthy Eating Patterns and Risk of Total and Cause-Specific Mortality. JAMA Intern Med. 2023 Feb 1;183(2):142-153. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2022.6117. Erratum in: JAMA Intern Med. 2023 Jun 1;183(6):627.
Wholesome eating diets can be customised to align with person’s culinary traditions and tastes in accordance with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans to decrease the mortality risk. Provide updated scientific evidences on the benefits of maintaining a healthy diet throughout the life course to take appropriate strategies and policies.
Healthy eating patterns play a prominent role in preserving public health. The association between dietary patterns with the mortality risk has been investigated in numerous countries.
Commentary on: Shorey S, Jarašiūnaite-Fedosejeva G, Akik BK, Holopainen A, Isbir GG, Chua JS, Wayt C, Downe S, Lalor J. Trends and motivations for freebirth: A scoping review. Birth. 2023 Mar;50(1):16-31. doi: 10.1111/birt.12702. Epub 2023 Jan 4.Commentary
Providing maternity care that is trauma informed, respectful, supportive and promotes patient autonomy, agency and cultural beliefs may encourage lower rates of freebirth.
More research is needed to articulate motivations for freebirth among diverse populations and translate trauma informed and respectful maternity care principles across systems and service providers.
Unassisted childbirth (outside a hospital facility with no professional attendant) is common in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs), where barriers to access and poverty delimit engagement in maternity healthcare services. However, even in high-income countries (HICs) where maternity healthcare services are more attainable, a small percentage of birthing people are choosing unassisted birth, a...
Commentary on: Kelleher ST, Barrett MJ, Durnin S, Fitzpatrick P, Higgins A, Hall D. Staff competence in caring for LGBTQ+ patients in the paediatric emergency department. Arch Dis Child. 2023 Jul;108(7):525–529. doi: 10.1136/archdischild-2022-325151. Epub 2023 Apr 24.
Emergency department staff self-identified the need for training in the care of youth who identify as LGBTQ+ to close a gap in knowledge and clinical preparedness. Intervention studies, using evidence-based science, are needed to improve competency and advance health equity for LGBTQ+ youth.
Individuals who identify as LGBTQ+ report discrimination in healthcare settings.
Commentary on: Bell T, Sprajcer M, Flenady T, Sahay A. Fatigue in nurses and medication administration errors: A scoping review. J Clin Nurs. 2023 Sep;3217-18,:5445-5460. doi: 10.1111/jocn.16620. Epub 2023 Jan 27.
Revising the ‘safe working hours policy’, limiting overtime, and developing fatigue management systems are vital approaches for managing nurses’ fatigue and reducing medication administration errors (MAEs). Future research should use large-scale studies and diverse approaches of data collection to better report registered nurses’ (RNs) fatigue’s impact on MAEs.
Preventing MAEs is a top priority to ensure patient safety. The presence of fatigue among RNs has been recognised as a growing factor in the occurrence of MAEs.
Commentary on: Stanley S, Higginbotham K, Finucane A, Nwosu AC. A grounded theory study exploring palliative care healthcare professionals’ experiences of managing digital legacy as part of advance care planning for people receiving palliative care. Palliat Med. 2023 Oct;37(9):1424–1433. doi: 10.1177/02692163231194198. Epub 2023 Aug 23.
Digital legacy could be incorporated into advance care planning policies in practice, with explicit inclusion in advance care planning documents. Further research is required to explore the diverse facets of digital legacies within various patient populations and cultural backgrounds.
The rapid growth of technology, including increased internet access and smartphone usage, has made digital legacy management an important aspect of end-of-life care. Digital legacy refers to the digital assets and online presence that individuals leave behind after they pass away.
Commentary on: Wong S, Müller A. Nurses' use of pro re nata medication in adult acute mental healthcare settings: An integrative review. Int J Ment Health Nurs. 2023 Apr 6. doi: 10.1111/inm.13148. Epub ahead of print.
This literature review provides synthesised evidence to evaluate and improve the clinical practice of pro re nata (PRN) medication in mental healthcare organisations. Further research focused on exploring grey literature would offer additional perspectives and broaden the current clinical practices of PRN utilisation.
PRN refers to unscheduled medication used to manage acute symptoms. PRN is commonly used in mental healthcare, but literature suggests that its use is not always based on evidence. This review offers knowledge for developing evidence-based PRN practice. The nurses play a crucial role in PRN administration, including assessing patients’ needs for medication, following prescribed indications and instructions, as...
This is a summary of Loyd et al.
‘Moral distress’ is described by Jameton as ‘...aris[ing] when one knows the right thing to do, but institutional constraints make it nearly impossible to pursue the right course of action’ (p. 6). Moral distress may cause nurses to question their career choice, and to feel disempowered and unhappy in their work. This may have a negative impact on the physical and mental well-being of nursing staff, leading to burnout and high staff turnover. Nurses in the first 5 years of their career (early career nurses) may be particularly at risk of experiencing moral distress as they make the stressful and challenging transition from student to qualified practice. The purpose of the review is to synthesise the literature regarding moral distress in the first 5 years of qualified practice.
Commentary on: Son YJ, Jang I. One-year trajectories of self-care behaviours and unplanned hospital readmissions among patients with heart failure: A prospective longitudinal study. J Clin Nurs. 2023 Sep;32(17-18):6427-6440. doi: 10.1111/jocn.16658. Epub 2023 Feb 23.
Timely identifying selfcare behaviour patterns over time may reduce the risk of hospital readmissions in patients with heart failure (HF). Further research studies are required to examine the effects of every 3–6 months self-care intervention on hospital readmissions among patients with HF.
Unplanned readmissions within 30 days and 6 months postdischarge are notably common in patients with HF.
Commentary on: Zhang L, Wang J, Dove A, Yang W, Qi X, Xu W. Injurious falls before, during and after dementia diagnosis: a population-based study. Age Ageing. 2022 Dec 5;51(12):afac299. doi: 10.1093/ageing/afac299.
People with dementia show a higher incidence of falls four years before diagnosis. There is a growing evidence of life-style risk factors for developing dementia in later life. Further research is needed of the behavioural risks to developing dementia and interventions to mitigate those risks.
The incidence of falls increases with age with approximately a third of people over the age of 65 years experiencing one or more falls a year. These falls can result in significant injuries, such as a fracture or even death. Dementia is largely a condition associated with age and there is a growing interest and body of research that explores the...
Over 200 health journals call on the United Nations (UN), political leaders and health professionals to recognise that climate change and biodiversity loss are one indivisible crisis and must be tackled together to preserve health and avoid catastrophe. This overall environmental crisis is now so severe as to be a global health emergency.
The world is currently responding to the climate crisis and the nature crisis as if they were separate challenges. This is a dangerous mistake. The 28th Conference of the Parties (COP) on climate change is about to be held in Dubai while the 16th COP on biodiversity is due to be held in Turkey in 2024. The research communities that provide the evidence for the two COPs are unfortunately largely separate, but they were brought together for a workshop in 2020 when they concluded that: ‘Only by considering climate and biodiversity as parts of the same...
Commentary on: Hartman-Munick SM, Lin JA, Milliren CE, et al. Association of the COVID-19 pandemic with adolescent and young adult eating disorder care volume. JAMA Pediatr. 2022 Dec 1;176(12):1225-1232. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2022.4346.
The current research demonstrates the need to increase staffing and programme capacity for those working with patients with eating disorders (EDs) to ensure adequate care. Future research into how the relationship between ED-related hospitalisations and individual external factors, such as social isolation are needed.
Research has shown that the pandemic greatly impacted worldwide mental health
Commentary on: Umoh ME, Prichett L, Boyd CM, Cudjoe TKM. Impact of technology on social isolation: Longitudinal analysis from the National Health Aging Trends Study. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2023 Apr;71(4):1117–1123. doi: 10.1111/jgs.18179. Epub 2022 Dec 15.
Developing and implementing targeted and integrated community-based interventions that supports steady assessment of technology access and use are required to diminish social isolation among seniors and enhance their overall quality of life. Future research should focus on assessing the efficacy of technology-based interventions and advancing digital technologies to reduce social isolation among older adults.
Social isolation is a fundamental public health problem, and it has significant negative effect on the healthcare system along with surge in ageing population.
This is a summary of Cant R, Gazula S, and Ryan C. Student satisfaction is important as it positively influences both student retention and institutional rankings. The concept of student satisfaction with education is poorly understood, although some studies suggested its related elements such as learning environments; student motivation to learn; student and teacher accountability; classroom diversity, and assessment approaches. By identifying factors that influence nursing students’ satisfaction, nurse educators will have the opportunity to further improve the curriculum and student education experiences. This integrative review aims to discover basic conceptual elements that affect higher education students’ satisfaction, focusing on nursing education.
Twenty-two studies were included: 19 with an experimental, quasi-experimental design and three systematic reviews from 15 countries. Service quality, institutional image and...
Commentary on: Chee RM, Capper TS, Muurlink OT. The impact of social media influencers on pregnancy, birth, and early parenting experiences: A systematic review. Midwifery. 2023 May;120:103623. doi: 10.1016/j.midw.2023.103623. Epub 2023 Feb 19.
Social media is one of the fastest growing commercial determinants of health. Healthcare professionals need a better understanding of social media and its impact.
Social media has rapidly become a key source of advice and support for women during childbirth. The growth of influencers, popular users credited with knowledge and expertise, can be seen in the numerous social posts, blogs, podcasts and videos about pregnancy, birth and parenting. Social media influencers provide responsive and relatable content to their network of followers; but there are concerns about the potential to spread misinformation.
This systematic literature review
Commentary on: Goeddel L, Murphy Z, Owodunni O, et al. Domains of Frailty Predict Loss of Independence in Older Adults after Non-Cardiac Surgery. Ann Surg. 2022 Sep 20. doi: 10.1097/SLA.0000000000005720. Epub ahead of print.
Frailty screening with the Edmonton Frailty Scale can be used to identify risk factors for loss of independence after surgery, including a patient’s functional performance, functional dependence, social support and urinary incontinence. Prospective studies are needed to test whether risk factors can be modified before surgery to prevent loss of independence among frail patients.
Frailty is a common syndrome of physiological decline among older adults characterised by vulnerability to adverse outcomes and loss of functional independence after major surgery.