Conectar
The postnatal period is critical for preventing maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality. Globally, a significant proportion of maternal and neonatal deaths occur within the first 6 weeks after delivery. Timely and adequate postnatal care (PNC) can detect and manage life-threatening complications; however, service utilisation remains alarmingly low in many low- and middle-income countries, including Saudi Arabia. Addressing the behavioural and perceptual factors that influence service use is essential for improving health outcomes.
This study aimed to assess mothers’ utilisation of PNC services and examine how their health beliefs and sociodemographic characteristics influence this behaviour.
A cross-sectional study guided by the Health Belief Model (HBM) was conducted to explore predictors of PNC utilisation.
Eight primary healthcare (PHC) centres were randomly selected from 179 PHC centres distributed in the different governorates of the Jazan region of Saudi Arabia.
A total of 464 mothers were surveyed between October and December 2023 using an interviewer-administered questionnaire.
The primary outcome was PNC utilisation, defined by the number of postnatal visits. The independent variables included sociodemographic characteristics and HBM constructs (perceived susceptibility, benefits, barriers and cues to action).
In terms of PNC utilisation, 80.0% of participants had two or fewer postnatal visits, whereas 20.0% had three or more postnatal visits. Perceived barriers had the strongest influence (mean score 2.51±0.87), followed by cues to action (2.43±0.89), susceptibility (1.92±0.72) and benefits (1.86±0.64). In the multivariate analysis, perceived barriers, cues to action and perceived susceptibility were significantly associated with PNC utilisation, with adjusted ORs of 1.679 (95% CI: 1.007 to 2.799), 0.470 (95% CI: 0.256 to 0.863) and 0.405 (95% CI: 0.197 to 0.832), respectively.
PNC utilisation in the Jazan region remains suboptimal. Perceptual factors, particularly barriers and cues to action, play a central role in service use. Health interventions targeting these beliefs and improving follow-up mechanisms may help increase PNC engagement and improve maternal and infant health outcomes in Saudi Arabia.
People identified as higher risk by a machine learning algorithm (Future Innovations in Novel Detection of Atrial Fibrillation [FIND-AF]) are at increased risk of cardio-renal-metabolic-pulmonary disease and cardiovascular death. The OPTIMISE-1 randomised controlled trial aims to test the effect of community-based specialist-led identification and management of cardio-renal-metabolic-pulmonary (CRMP) disease and risk factors compared with usual care on the use of therapeutic interventions over a follow-up of 6 months among high FIND-AF risk community-dwelling individuals.
OPTIMISE-1 is a multicentre, pragmatic, prospective, randomised, open-label, blinded-endpoint strategy trial that will recruit 138 participants aged 30 years or older, with a high FIND-AF risk score and previously enrolled in the FIND-AF pilot study (NCT05898165), to be randomised 1:1 to a specialist-led care intervention or usual care. The primary endpoint is a composite of initiation or increase of guideline-directed CRMP therapies. The secondary endpoints are the components of the primary endpoint, time to primary endpoint, diagnosis of new CRMP diseases or risk factors, time to diagnosis of new CRMP diseases or risk factors, initiation or increase of guideline-directed CRMP therapies for participants with recorded CRMP disease, initiation or increase of guideline-directed CRMP therapies for participants with newly diagnosed CRMP disease and change in participant-reported quality of life.
The study has ethical approval (the North East & North Tyneside 2 Research Ethics Committee reference 24/NE/0188). Findings will be announced at relevant conferences and published in peer-reviewed journals in line with the Funder’s open access policy.
Clinicaltrials.gov NCT06444711.
To examine the impact of climate anxiety on the quality of life (QoL) of patients with COPD. It also explores how climate anxiety interacts with clinical factors, such as disease severity and comorbidities, to influence QoL.
Cross-sectional.
A total of 270 COPD patients were recruited using a convenience sampling method. Data were collected through structured interviews and clinical assessments, incorporating the Climate Anxiety Scale, the St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire and the BODE Index. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was performed to determine the predictors of QoL.
The study found a statistically significant association between climate anxiety and both QoL (r = 0.81, p < 0.01) and COPD severity (r = 0.76, p < 0.01). COPD severity (B = 4.68, p < 0.01) and climate anxiety (B = 0.28, p < 0.01) were predictors of QoL. Among the covariates, former smokers, older patients and multiple comorbidities reported significantly worse QoL (B = 4.80, p = 0.03; B = 0.43, p < 0.01; B = 0.85, p = 0.02, respectively). Collectively all predictors explained 86% of the variance in QoL.
Climate anxiety significantly contributes to reduced QoL in COPD patients, beyond disease severity and demographic factors. Addressing psychological distress in COPD management is essential to improving patient outcomes.
Nurses should recognise climate anxiety as a key variable influencing COPD management. Incorporating climate anxiety screening into nursing assessments and providing targeted interventions can enhance patient support and improve overall COPD care.
Climate anxiety is an emerging concern in COPD. While previous research has focused on physical and clinical determinants of COPD-related QoL, climate anxiety remains underexplored. This study provides new evidence that climate anxiety is a predictor of poorer QoL, highlighting the need for holistic nursing interventions that address both physical and psychological health.
This study was reported in accordance with the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE).
Patients with COPD were involved in this study.
Building nursing process competency among beginner nurses is a pivotal need in contemporary, complex, fast-paced nursing practice. However, transitioning from the educational phase to practicing as a nurse can be a significant adjustment. New practitioners often experience a period of shock, which may present challenges in developing nurse competency. Fostering system thinking among those nurses could buffer the negative signs of transition shock and cultivate nursing process competencies at earlier times.
This study explores the relationship between transition shock and nursing process competency among early career nurses and investigates the moderating effect of system thinking on this relationship.
This cross-sectional correlational exploratory study was conducted at four large hospitals in Egypt. Data were collected from 393 nurses from the first of February 2024 to the end of April 2024 using the transition shock scale, the competency of nursing process questionnaire, and the system thinking scale. Correlational and hierarchical regression analyses were used to test the study variables.
A statistically significant negative correlation exists between transition shock, nursing process competency, and system thinking among early-career nurses. System thinking is positively associated with nursing process competency. System thinking positively moderates the relationship between transition shock and nursing process competency among early-career nurses. Transition shock and system thinking account for 23.9% of the variance in nursing process competency among early-career nurses.
Transition shock is an inevitable phenomenon among early-career nurses, negatively affecting their competency in the nursing process. System thinking buffers this adverse effect and significantly augments nursing process competency among this set of nurses. Predicting and mitigating transition shock among early-career nurses is pivotal in building nursing process competency. Nurse educators must develop curricula that cultivate system thinking skills among nursing students, which enables them to buffer transition shock after graduation.
Stress and conflict in emergency departments are inevitable but can be managed. A supportive work environment is key to helping emergency care providers, especially nurses, constructively manage work-related stress and conflict.
The aim of this study was to assess the influence of supportive work environments on work-related stress and conflict management style among emergency care nurses.
A descriptive correlational research design was utilized. Data were collected from 221 staff nurses recruited from two university hospital emergency departments in Alexandria, Egypt. Three instruments were used: (1) perceived organizational support scale, (2) nurses' occupational stressors scale, and (3) conflict management style inventory.
There was a highly significant correlation between supportive work environments and work-related stress (p = .000) and a significant correlation between supportive work environments and conflict management style (p = .026). Supportive work environments had a significant inverse negative relationship with work-related stress experienced by nurses (p = .001) and accounted for 51% of variance in work-related stress. Meanwhile, supportive work environments had a significant positive relationship with conflict management styles of nurses (p = .026). Work-related stress had a significant relationship with nurses' conflict management style (p = .000) and accounted for 45% of the variance in conflict management style.
The style of conflict management modeled by staff within emergency departments can positively or negatively influence the work environment and level of work-related stress. There is a necessity to cultivate a supportive culture for nurses in emergency departments to develop skills for constructive conflict management styles to reduce work-related stress.
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