Positive aspects of caregiving among family carers of persons living with dementia not only benefit the carers' health, but also enhance the quality and sustainability of invaluable informal care resources. To better inform the development of carer support intervention to optimise positive aspects of caregiving, this paper tested the integrative theoretical model based on stress coping and meaning-making paradigms.
Longitudinal exploratory study.
From January 2018 to August 2021, 390 Chinese family carers of persons living with dementia were recruited from the geriatric clinics in Hong Kong. The criterion variable was measured by the Positive Aspect of Caregiving Scale at baseline and 6 months thereafter. The predictors were measured using the Dementia Management Strategies Scale, the Caregiving Self-Efficacy Scale, the Meaning-Focused Coping Scale, the Medical Outcome Study Social Support Survey, the Duke University Religion Index, the Positive Affect Index and the Intrinsic Motivations to Care. Path analysis tested the hypothesised model.
The carers aged 56.2 (SD = 12.2); about two-thirds being female and adult-child caregivers. The hypothesised model showed an unsatisfactory model fit. The model was optimised by modification index with consideration of the theoretical plausibility in making the changes (CFI = 0.971, RMSEA = 0.057, SRMR = 0.027). After adjusting the baseline PAC, the 6-month PAC was predicted by self-efficacy in controlling upsetting thoughts and obtaining respite as well as meaning-focused coping. Various contextual factors strengthened the self-efficacy and meaning-focused coping, indirectly increasing PAC. Whereas carers' intrinsic motivation towards care and good dyadic relationships increased the carer's self-efficacy in emotional regulation, social support and religiosity played indispensable roles to facilitate meaning-focused coping.
PAC in dementia context is evolved from an integration of stress coping and existential meaning-making paradigms. Enhancing emotion and role regulation as well as meaning-focused coping are crucial to enhance the positive experience of the family carers.
This project has generated a theory-driven and evidence-based predictive model to explain the manifestation of positive aspects of caregiving in dementia caregiving. The findings provide precise directions on how to empower family caregivers to create a fulfilling and meaningful caregiving adventure.
Substantial evidence indicates the role of positive aspects of caregiving in enhancing the carers' health outcomes in the context of dementia. However, inadequate theorization of this phenomenon delimits the momentum to develop proactive strategies to optimise such a positive caregiving experience. This longitudinal study indicated that positive aspects of caregiving are evolved from an integrative stress coping and existential meaning-making paradigm. More specifically, a sense of self-efficacy in emotional and role regulation as well as the use of meaning-making coping predict a higher level of positive aspects of caregiving. A context, which is characterised by high religiosity, good intrinsic motivation of care and a good dyadic relationship, also favours the cultivation of this positive experience during life adversity. This study facilitates a paradigm shift in supporting family carers in a dementia context and advances the theorization of positive human experience in facing life adversity.
The reporting method complies with the STROBE, stands for observational study.
Family carers of persons with dementia actively shared their experience in family caregiving.
To explore the relationship between sleep and cognitive frailty in older adults.
A systematic review and meta-analysis.
The Web of Science, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, Embase, PsycINFO and PubMed databases were searched from inception to October 28, 2024.
Two investigators independently conducted literature screening, data extraction and quality assessment. The Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Tool and Newcastle–Ottawa Scale were used to evaluate methodological quality. This review followed PRISMA guidelines.
This review included 13 articles involving 14,223 individuals, and 10 studies included in the meta-analysis. Across 13 studies, the overall prevalence of cognitive frailty was 25%. Sleep problems were categorised into four categories; the results reported that poor sleep quality, long sleep time and insomnia were correlated with the presence of cognitive frailty. However, the relationship between short sleep time and cognitive frailty was not significant.
This review quantitatively suggested that sleep parameters such as long sleep time, insomnia and poor sleep quality were correlated with the presence of cognitive frailty. Future research should adopt longitudinal designs and use validated instruments to measure both quantitative and qualitative aspects of sleep, thereby facilitating a thorough examination of the strength of the relationship between sleep and cognitive frailty, as well as the direction of causality.
The review highlights the need to integrate comprehensive sleep assessments and targeted interventions into nursing care plans for older adults to enhance their sleep health. The findings will provide support for the development of effective interventions to prevent and manage cognitive frailty in the older population.
No patient or public contribution.
Labour companionship is a recommendation by WHO that health authorities enable women to choose a companion during labour to ensure a safe and dignified labour experience for the birthing woman. However, most healthcare facilities in low- and middle-income countries do not necessarily consider this maternal need, which hampers a positive maternal experience during labour.
This study aims to examine midwives' perception towards the involvement of male partners in labour companionship.
An exploratory phenomenological approach was chosen and semi-structured interviews were used for this study.
The four main themes identified in this study include ‘Understanding of male partners' involvement in labour companionship’, ‘Involvement of midwives in decision-making’, ‘Barriers to male partners' involvement in labour companionship’ and ‘Facilitators of male partners' involvement in labour companionship’.
This study found a lack of understanding among midwives of the significance of male partners' involvement in labour companionship; and the identification of hierarchical and authoritarian leadership as a barrier to midwives' participation in decision-making highlights the need for transformational leadership styles to empower midwives. Overall, the findings of this study can inform maternity care policy as well as resource development, education and professional training in the field of midwifery.
Symptom networks offer a new approach to explore the relationships among various symptoms and provide information for optimising precise symptom management strategies. However, no previous studies have identified the central symptoms of multidimensional frailty.
A cross-sectional study was conducted from December 2023 to March 2024 in China.
A total of 933 community-dwelling older adults (aged 60 years or older) in China were recruited via convenience sampling.
Sociodemographic variables, clinical variables and scores on the Tilburg Frailty Indicator were assessed in all participants. The qgraph package and IsingFit package of R software were applied to construct the symptom network. Three node centrality indices (strength, betweenness and closeness) and the expected influence were calculated to identify the central symptoms of the multidimensional frailty network. All statistical analyses were performed in R.
A total of 933 individuals were surveyed in this study, including 472 (50.6%) females. The median age of all participants was 71.0 years. A total of 408 subjects were assessed as multidimensional frailty. The prevalence of multidimensional frailty was 43.7%. The centrality indices revealed that ‘difficulty in walking’, ‘difficulty in maintaining balance’, and ‘feeling down’ were the symptoms with the largest strength and expected influence values.
This study primarily utilised network analysis to construct a symptom network of multidimensional frailty among community-dwelling older adults. The findings revealed that difficulty in walking, difficulty in maintaining balance, and feeling down were the most central symptoms.
This study identified the central symptoms of multidimensional frailty in older adults, which may serve as primary intervention targets. Nursing staff could incorporate targeted physical and psychological interventions into person-centred care plans.
This study was reported in accordance with the STROBE guidelines.
No patient or public contribution was involved in this study.
To explore the experience and practices of clinical research nurses in Victoria, Australia.
Qualitative descriptive design with reflexive thematic analysis.
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten clinical research nurses between October and December 2023 in Victoria, Australia.
Three phases (overarching themes) were generated: (1) Becoming a clinical research nurse, occurred by chance with a stressful and unsupportive transition period; (2) Being a clinical research nurse, was described as an ongoing development of confidence, specialised skills and knowledge; and (3) Building a clinical research nurse role, was described as challenging due to limited educational and career opportunities.
Clinical research nurses experienced a limited number of clear educational and career pathways that they could use to plan and grow in the nursing profession.
Addressing support and career development needs may ease clinical research nurses' transition and improve career planning.
This study addresses a gap by highlighting the limited structured career pathways, formal mentorship and ongoing educational planning for clinical research nurses. Findings illustrate that clinical research nurses often begin unprepared, gradually develop confidence and skills, but continue to struggle with unclear career development plans. The findings can inform nursing leadership, educators and policymakers to better support clinical research nurses.
The Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research Checklist (COREQ).
No patient or public contribution.
To explore baseline activities of daily living (ADL) profiles and their association with memory decline over time in cognitively healthy, community-dwelling older adults.
Observational panel study.
This study analysed data from Waves 7–10 of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (the search was performed on May 28, 2024), including 2925 older adults aged above 65 with no dementia or cognitive impairments at baseline (Wave 7, 2014–2015). To categorise participants by their daily functional abilities at baseline, latent class analysis was conducted to derive participants' activities of daily living profiles. A linear mixed model was used to explore whether these baseline activity profiles might predict different memory decline rates (trajectories) over time, accounting for baseline demographic factors (gender, age, ethnicity, education, marital status and chronic diseases).
Social demographics (younger age, female gender, white ethnicity, higher education and being partnered) and ADL profiles outweigh health conditions in predicting participants' memory function. Different baseline profiles were linked to different memory decline trajectories. An impairment profile with grocery shopping capability was linked to slower memory decline.
This study showed that ADL profiles had a substantial correlation with memory decline, accounting for the significant impact of sociodemographic factors. An impairment profile that preserved grocery shopping abilities appeared to offer protective benefits and potentially slow memory decline.
Strengthening nursing strategies that support older adults in maintaining the ability to grocery shop, such as guiding caregivers to promote involvement rather than shopping for the older adults entirely, or accompanying older adults grocery shopping as part of community nursing care, might help delay age-related memory decline in this population.
Patients or members of the public were not directly involved in the study's design, conduct, reporting, or dissemination plans.
To explore the concurrent trajectories of depressive symptoms and insomnia among adolescents and to analyse the individual, familial and social predictors of the concurrent trajectories.
This study tracked depressive symptoms and insomnia in eight secondary schools annually from 2021 to 2023. We also collected data on individual, familial and social factors that may influence these conditions. Group-based multi-trajectory (GBMT) modelling was used to categorise adolescents into depressive–insomnia severity subgroups.
This study included 2822 adolescents, who were categorised into four groups, including the no symptom group, mild symptom group, symptom relief group and symptom increase group. Compared with the no symptom group, predictors of the mild symptom group were gender (OR = 1.30), academic performance (OR = 1.57), subjective well-being (OR = 0.78), anxiety (OR = 1.14), economic status (OR = 1.23) and relationship with teachers (OR = 1.46). Predictors of the symptom relief group were personality (OR = 1.75), academic performance (OR = 2.28), subjective well-being (OR = 0.69) and anxiety (OR = 1.25). Predictors of the symptom-increasing group were personality (OR = 2.45), academic performance (OR = 1.96), subjective well-being (OR = 0.69), anxiety (OR = 1.20), maternal education level (OR = 1.58), family function (OR = 0.93), parental relationship (OR = 2.07) and relationship with teachers (OR = 1.54).
This study provided a comprehensive understanding of the concurrent trajectories of depressive symptoms and insomnia among adolescents, revealing distinct subgroups and identifying predictors across individual, familial and social levels.
This study emphasises the importance of a multi-faceted approach involving family, school and society to promote adolescent mental health and also highlights the need for conducting precise interventions according to adolescents' features.
The identification of four distinct symptom trajectories and their predictors advances the understanding of adolescent mental health development, informing precision prevention strategies.
STROBE checklist.
None.
To examine the relationship among leadership, clinical teaching competencies, and structural empowerment of nursing clinical instructors in China.
A cross-sectional study.
A total of 152 nurses who come from three Grade A tertiary hospitals located in Beijing, Kunming, and Liaoning Province, China, completed an online questionnaire that included general information, clinical teaching information, the Conditions of Work Effectiveness Questionnaire-II, nurse leadership, and structural empowerment. SPSS 26.0 and AMOS 26.0 were used for normality test, descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, regression analysis, and structural equation model.
The study revealed that nurse leadership (r = 0.402) and structural empowerment (r = 0.568) both positively correlated with clinical teaching competencies. Specifically, the level of nurse leadership exhibited a low but direct positive effect on these competencies (β = 0.22), while the level of structural empowerment demonstrated a moderate direct positive effect (β = 0.56).
Enhancing nurse leadership and structural empowerment positively influence the clinical teaching competencies of nursing instructors.
Constructing a structural equation model to describe the relationship between leadership, structural empowerment, and teaching ability can provide the most intuitive direction for future research, so as to better improve the teaching ability of clinical nursing teachers.
No patient or public contribution.
The aim of this study was to innovatively utilise the BERTopic model for topic modelling in order to comprehensively identify and understand the factors contributing to bed falls.
Retrospective study.
The study collected 241 reports of bed fall accidents recorded by nurses from Peking University Third Hospital Nursing Department from 2014 to 2024. Among them, 102 reports met the inclusion and exclusion criteria.
This study follows the Minimum Information for Medical AI Reporting (MINIMAR). It collected patient bed fall reports from Peking University Third Hospital between 2014 and June 2024, preprocessed the texts, utilised the BERTopic library in Python for topic modelling, and manually aggregated secondary topics by combining visualisation results and professional knowledge.
We utilised cluster bar charts to visually display the distribution of the 22 secondary topics and further consolidated them into five core topics through the use of a topic distribution diagram and a topic similarity matrix diagram. These topics were related to patient factors, ward equipment and surroundings factors, medication risk factors, caregiver factors, and nursing practice factors. The study highlights the environment's specificity in bed falls, especially bedside safety and patient-bed rail interaction.
The innovation of this study lies in the successful utilisation of BERTopic technology to identify topics of risk factors for bed falls through alternative data sources, providing a scientific basis for formulating preventive measures. The findings aim to optimise nursing processes, improve ward environments and enhance educational training, ultimately reducing patient bed falls and enhancing medical safety, nursing quality and patient experience.
This study not only helps nurses identify risk factors for patient bed falls, but also provides important guidance for developing effective prevention strategies.
No patient or public contribution applied.
Smart home technology, as an emerging innovation, holds significant potential to support proactive health by enabling accurate prediction and intelligent warning of health issues. This study aims to explore older adults' perceptions of adopting smart home technology to promote proactive health.
An exploratory qualitative study.
Focus groups and one-on-one interviews were held with 20 older adults recruited from a retirement activity center, a nursing home, and the geriatrics department of a tertiary hospital in China between June and October 2024. The interview transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis and further examined through the framework of the Technology Acceptance Model.
The analysis identified four themes: (1) The need for care is the primary determinant for older adults' consideration of adopting smart home technology. When care is needed, factors such as self-care ability, care from children and the caregiving capabilities of smart home technology play a crucial role in their decision-making process. (2) Older adults expect smart home technology to deliver essential healthcare services, including health monitoring and counselling, emergency assistance and emotional support. (3) Individual differences, interplay with life experiences, significantly influence older adults' willingness to adopt smart home technology. (4) The perceived effectiveness of technology, age-friendly design, potential technical malfunctions and privacy concerns are also critical factors affecting adoption decisions. All themes were also matched to perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and attitude in the Technology Acceptance Model.
This study provides valuable insights into older adults' perspectives on adopting smart home technology and serves as a reference for its development in geriatric health management. To enhance the applicability of these technologies, nurses should collaborate with developers, integrating their expertise in elderly care and daily living needs.
The findings offer guidance for advancing smart home technology to better address the health needs of older adults. By integrating these technologies into practice, nurses can more effectively respond to the unique health conditions of older adults, optimise nursing workflows and enhance the overall quality of care. Ultimately, this ensures that older adults remain the primary beneficiaries of technological advancements in healthcare.
The study adhered to the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research guidelines.
Limited patient and public involvement was incorporated, focusing on feedback on data analysis.
To conduct a comprehensive assessment of nursing interventions for patients with hypertension, diabetes, and dyslipidemia and analyse the components, delivery methods and outcomes of intervention programmes.
Scoping review.
Systematic searches were performed in four Chinese databases (WanFang, CNKI, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, and the VIP database) and six English databases (CINAHL, MEDLINE, Web of Science, PubMed, Embase, The Cochrane Library) from their inception until October 2023. An updated search was performed on 6 August 2024.
Two reviewers independently retrieved full-text studies and conducted the initial screening of titles and abstracts, followed by full-text analysis and data extraction.
A total of 49 articles were included in this review. The nursing interventions consisted of various components, including fitness exercise, a balanced diet, mental health support, medication administration and others. The most commonly used delivery method was health education, with an increasing trend towards online interventions. However, the included studies did not provide details on delivery methods, including the team qualifications, subject areas or intervention duration and frequency. The nursing interventions achieved their research aims to varying degrees, as measured by subjective and/or objective indicators.
The nursing interventions for the three highs are diverse, including offline, online and combined methods, covering exercise, diet, and mental health. Future efforts can draw on these intervention components and methods and establish a nurse-led multidisciplinary team. The measurement of objective indicators, including blood lipids, should be taken seriously. Developing more diverse subjective measurement indicators can comprehensively assess patients' health.
This review offers clear guidance for the subsequent prevention and management of the three highs and consolidates evidence for healthcare professionals to devise targeted intervention strategies.
We followed Arksey's five-step framework and the PRISMA extension for scoping reviews (PRISMA-ScR).
No.
To identify predictors of nurses' perceived care quality, explore their understanding of high-quality care and propose improvement strategies to inform clinical practice.
A mixed-methods design, integrating quantitative data analysis and qualitative in-depth individual interviews.
Quantitative analysis used cross-sectional data from the 2017 Chinese Nursing Work Environment Survey (C-NWES). Chi-square tests and logistic regression were used to examine how demographic characteristics, work environment and occupational burnout predicted perceptions of care quality at hospital and unit levels. Qualitatively, 42 frontline nurses were interviewed in 2024 to explore their perceptions of care quality, predicting factors and improvement strategies in a post-pandemic context. Thematic analysis was applied to code and synthesise the interview data.
Quantitative analysis revealed that gender, education, workload, experience, work environment and burnout had differing impacts on nurses' care quality perceptions at hospital and unit levels. In-depth individual interviews revealed that nurses perceive high-quality care as patient-centred, predicted by factors such as human resources, occupational burnout, patient and family cooperation at the unit level and environmental and policies factors at the hospital level. Unit-level strategies included improving communication, team collaboration and leadership support, while hospital-level recommendations focused on welfare benefits, continuing education, flexible scheduling and resource optimisation. Through the mutual validation of quantitative analysis and in-depth interviews, this study revealed the multidimensional understanding and key predictors of care quality among frontline clinical nurses in China.
Work environment, occupational burnout and demographic factors significantly impact nurses' perceived care quality, highlighting the need for targeted organisational improvements at both unit and hospital levels to enhance care quality.
The findings highlight the importance of organisational interventions. Nursing managers should promote a positive work environment and mitigate burnout. Future research should develop testing models to explore the relationship between work environment and perceived care quality and validate their effectiveness.
No patient or public contribution.
To examine the relationship between frailty status, family functioning, and quality of life in adolescents with congenital heart disease (CHD).
Frailty is a rarely assessed health outcome in adolescents. Despite advances in paediatric CHD treatment, potential complications may cause frailty, affecting family dynamics and quality of life. Family support and early screening are vital to managing the symptoms of frailty associated with CHD.
Cross-sectional study.
During the period from July 2022 to August 2023, 302 adolescents aged between 12 and 18 who had received a diagnosis of CHD were assessed for frailty using criteria that included slowness, weakness, exhaustion, shrinkage/body composition, and diminished physical activity. Data were collected from assessments of grip strength, the 6-min walk test, body mass index, triceps skinfold thickness, the PedsQL Multidimensional Fatigue Scale Adolescent, Physical Activity Questionnaire for Adolescents, the Family Adaptability, Partnership, Growth, Affection, and Resolve scale, and the PedsQL 3.0 Cardiac Module. All data were subjected to multiple linear regression analysis.
Frailty, as measured by exhaustion and diminished physical activity, was significantly more prevalent in adolescents with severe symptoms of CHD than in those without symptoms. Of the participants, 56.6% were prefrail, and 8.3% were frail. Adolescents who were frail and lived in dysfunctional families experienced a worse quality of life than participants with robust health and those with positive family functioning.
Frailty and family dysfunction negatively affect the quality of life in adolescents with CHD.
Developing programmes that detect frailty early and improve family functioning for adolescents with CHD is critical. Establishing guidelines for identifying frailty in this population can minimise adverse health effects and enhance familial relationships.
No patient or public involvement.
To develop an instrument for assessing competence in emerging infectious disease prevention among health and care workers in long-term care institutions and evaluate its psychometric properties.
A cross-sectional, descriptive design utilising both qualitative and quantitative methods was employed.
Based on scale development guidelines, the scale was developed in two phases, namely the scale development phase and scale testing phase, with the staff of long-term care institutions as the study population and their workplaces as the sampling unit.
The scale comprises 27 items across three dimensions: 14 items pertaining to professional role performance, 7 items addressing workplace resources, and 6 items focusing on soft skills in communication and collaboration. Content analysis was conducted via a focus group discussion; content validity analysis was carried out via expert reviews; item analysis was performed via a pilot study; and construct validity and reliability were ensured via factor analysis and internal consistency testing, respectively. The total variance explained by the three factors of the 27-item scale was 64.8%, demonstrating acceptable validity and reliability with a Cronbach's α value of 0.97.
This scale demonstrates excellent reliability and validity, making it suitable for clinical practice and research. In practice, this instrument could also assist managers in adjusting policies to adapt to dynamic situations and enhance the quality of care in long-term care institutions. Nonetheless, further research is warranted to refine the scale and enhance its generalisability.
The scale is a psychometrically robust tool tailored for the evaluation of competence in emerging infectious disease prevention in long-term care institutions. It assesses the role performance, workplace resources, and soft skills of health and care workers in these institutions, which are crucial for guiding educational interventions and shaping policies to enhance disease prevention, ultimately improving care quality.
No patient or public contribution.
This study aims to identify distinct profiles of work engagement among oncology nurses through Latent Profile Analysis and explore how these profiles influence nurse safety behaviour.
A cross-sectional design with latent profile analysis.
A total of 957 oncology nurses from tertiary hospitals across five provinces and municipalities in China participated in this questionnaire-based study. Data were collected on demographic information, the Work Engagement Scale, the General Self-Efficacy Scale and the Nurse Safety Behaviour Scale. The analysis was conducted using SPSS 24.0 and Mplus 8.3, with Latent Profile Analysis, R3STEP and BCH methods employed to uncover underlying patterns and relationships.
The results revealed three distinct profiles of work engagement: ‘Highly Efficient and Focused Type’ (43.7%), ‘Moderately Balanced Type’ (37.4%) and ‘Low Effort and Coping Type’ (18.9%). The distribution of these profiles was closely related to factors such as weekly working hours, adverse event experiences, safety training experiences and self-efficacy. Moreover, these work engagement profiles positively impacted nurse safety behaviour.
The study demonstrates that different work engagement profiles significantly influence the safety behaviour of oncology nurses. Key factors such as weekly working hours, adverse event experiences, safety training experiences and self-efficacy play a crucial role in shaping these work engagement profiles.
The findings provide a new perspective and intervention approach for enhancing work engagement and nurse safety behaviour. It is recommended that hospital management develop personalised training and incentive measures tailored to nurses with different characteristics to improve overall nursing quality and patient safety.
No patient or public involvement.
Nurses' health status significantly impacts their well-being and patient safety. Workflow interruptions, perceived workload, and missed nursing may potentially affect their physical and mental health. However, there is currently a lack of systematic studies on the relationships between these factors.
This study aims to explore how workflow interruptions influence nurses' health status through perceived workload and missed nursing, and provide strategies to promote nurses' health.
In October 2024, an online survey was conducted among 646 clinical nurses from three healthcare facilities in Henan Province. The survey covered nurses' demographic information, workflow interruptions, health status, perceived workload and missed nursing. Statistical analysis and model construction and validation were performed using SPSS 25.0 and AMOS 26.0 software.
Workflow interruptions were significantly negatively correlated with both physical component summary and mental component summary. Perceived workload and missed nursing served as mediators between workflow interruptions and physical and mental component summaries.
Workflow interruptions directly affect nurses' health status and indirectly influence it through perceived workload and missed nursing. Therefore, strategies should be implemented to optimise workflows, reduce workflow interruptions, lower perceived workload and take measures to minimise missed nursing. Future research could explore how to implement workflow optimization to improve nurses' health status effectively.
This study provides important guidance for improving nurses' health. The results reveal that optimising workflow and reducing work interruptions can effectively reduce nurses' perceived workload, thereby decreasing the occurrence of nursing omissions, and ultimately contributing to the overall improvement of nurses' health.
This study adhered to the cross-sectional Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) guidelines.
No patient or public contribution.
This review aims to explore instructional approaches employed in teaching complex procedural skills among caregivers.
Integrative Review.
Electronic searches were conducted across seven databases: CINAHL, PubMed, OVID, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, ProQuest Central and Google Scholar. Manual searches of references within relevant studies were also performed. Original, peer-reviewed studies published in English between 2014 and 2025 were reviewed.
The Whittemore and Knafl method of integrative review was utilised to comprehensively examine literature encompassing various methodological designs. 17 articles that examined the learning of procedural skills among caregivers were included.
The optimal approach to enhancing caregivers' knowledge, competence and confidence involves a learner-centric training model involving multiple phases. Effective caregiving begins with a thorough preparation of the caregiver, which is key to ensuring the success of the training programme. Next, knowledge can be imparted through diverse learning approaches and paradigms to cater to individual learning styles. Subsequently, the translation of knowledge gained to hands-on practice, deepens understanding and enhances caregivers' practical skills competency. Finally, confidence is built through providing opportunities and platforms for repeated practice, leading to mastery and increased confidence over time.
While specific learning pedagogies were not highlighted in the literature, the instructional approaches summarised in the existing literature closely resembled an existing teaching pedagogy: Peyton's Four-Step Approach. This approach is a stepwise teaching framework that has been widely used in healthcare teaching. The approaches used in the studies align with this approach and future interventions should consider designing their training accordingly to enhance its efficacy.
A well-designed training programme fosters caregiver resilience and preparedness, enabling them to navigate challenges effectively and sustainably. Future research could focus on creating an all-encompassing caregiver training that integrates the various approaches. Its feasibility and effectiveness in improving the caregiver preparation process could then be assessed.
No patient or public contribution.
This study aimed to develop and preliminarily validate the KAP scale for pain management in older adults with dementia among nursing assistants.
A cross-sectional study.
An initial item pool was constructed through literature reviews, semi-structured interviews and team discussions. Items were screened and optimised through two rounds of Delphi expert consultations, a pilot survey and item analysis, yielding a draft version of the scale. Psychometric evaluation was conducted to refine the scale into its final form.
The final KAP scale developed in this study comprised 31 items. The scale exhibited good content validity, with item-level content validity index (I-CVI) values ranging from 0.83 to 1.00. Exploratory factor analysis revealed that the scale extracted five factors, which accounted for 65.732% of the cumulative variance, and all items demonstrated rotated factor loadings > 0.5, indicating good construct validity. The Cronbach's α coefficients for the knowledge, attitudes and practices dimensions were 0.877, 0.915 and 0.935, respectively, and the split-half reliability coefficients were 0.909, 0.886 and 0.864.
The KAP scale for pain care in older adults with dementia developed in this study possesses good reliability and validity and can be used to assess the knowledge, attitudes and behavioural levels of nursing assistants in pain care.
This study developed and psychometrically validated a KAP scale specifically designed to assess pain care for older adults with dementia among nursing assistants. Clinical managers can utilise this tool to systematically identify deficiencies in staff members' knowledge, attitudes or practices, thereby providing scientific evidence for the development of targeted pain care training programs and pain management strategies. This contributes to enhancing nursing assistants' pain care competence, ultimately alleviating the pain burden of older adults with dementia and improving their quality of life.
The STROBE checklist was used as a guideline.
No patient or public involvement.
The main purpose of this hypothesis-driven study was to assess levels of change fatigue, adaptive performance and organisational support among ICU nurses; to explore the effects of change fatigue and organisational support on adaptive performance; and to examine the mediating role of organisational support in the relationship between change fatigue and adaptive performance.
A multi-site, cross-sectional survey.
From February to April 2025, 621 ICU nurses from 12 public secondary and tertiary hospitals in Guizhou, Zhejiang, Anhui and Hebei Provinces were recruited via convenience sampling. A questionnaire assessed their change fatigue, perceived organisational support and adaptive performance.
The surveyed ICU nurses in this study exhibited moderate change fatigue, adaptive performance and perceived organisational support. Change fatigue was negatively correlated with both adaptive performance and perceived organisational support (both p < 0.05), while adaptive performance was positively correlated with perceived organisational support (p < 0.05). Perceived organisational support mediated between change fatigue and adaptive performance, accounting for 29.17% of the total effect.
The level of change fatigue can directly affect adaptive performance and influence it indirectly through the mediating role of organisational support. Managers should establish a multidimensional organisational support system to enhance the adaptive performance of ICU nurses.
The findings of this cross-sectional study suggest administrators provide both instrumental and emotional support to ICU nurses to mitigate change fatigue, and recommend implementing resource depletion alert systems and adopting targeted interventions.
No patient or public contribution. This study did not involve patients, service users, caregivers or members of the public.