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This is a perspective on Ridgway et al ‘Creative health a joke or valuable learning experience’. Creative health encompasses creative and arts activities that benefit health and well-being. The article evaluates a creative health placement designed to facilitate students’ learning about creative health and social prescribing, with opportunities to take part in arts activities.
Take home messages Creative health placements equip future nurses with knowledge about social prescribing initiatives to offer holistic person-centred care. The article provides valuable insights into placements that future-proof registrants’ knowledge and skills with the shift towards prevention and a neighbourhood health service. Building creative health placements into the curriculum in other institutions will improve access to this valuable learning opportunity.
A pilot creative health placement for undergraduate student nurses at a UK...
Commentary on: Spurlock EJ, Pickler RH. Birth Experience Among Black Women in the United States: A Qualitative Meta-Synthesis. J Midwifery Womens Health. 2024; https://doi.org/10.1111/jmwh.13628
Implications for practice and research There is a need to understand and measure how black women can feel known and seen within their healthcare relationships, to improve their experiences of maternity care. Research around ‘seeing and knowing’ the identities of black women and mothers, from their own perspectives, could inform midwives and obstetricians to achieve racially concordant care.
The WHO recommendations around intrapartum care aim that a positive experience of childbirth should be the outcome of labour for each woman.
Commentary on: Danne et al. Association Between Treatment Adherence and Continuous Glucose Monitoring Outcomes in People With Diabetes Using Smart Insulin Pens in a Real-World Setting. Diabetes Care. 2024.47 (6),:995-1003
Implications for practice and research Healthcare providers should emphasise consistent insulin adherence for people with diabetes, as even a few missed doses can worsen overall glycaemia. Future research should identify barriers to consistent usage of insulin and develop strategies to enable patients’ adherence, such as increasing patient engagement with smart insulin pens and continuous glucose monitoring systems.
Diabetes is a widespread chronic disease, with steadily rising prevalence in most countries. In 2019, the global prevalence of diabetes was estimated at 9.3%, affecting 463 million people. This figure is projected to rise to 10.2% by 2030 and 10.9% by 2045.
Health research aims to improve people’s health by understanding the best ways to diagnose and treat conditions, and understand people’s responses to health problems and health promotion initiatives. Quantitative research, and more specifically randomised controlled trials (RCTs), aims to establish if an intervention works, for example testing the effectiveness of a new drug, using statistical analysis. In contrast, qualitative research focuses on understanding a situation, for example people’s experiences, perspectives and behaviours. Qualitative research can enhance RCTs by ensuring a more complete understanding of the factors that influence the acceptability of a new intervention and how it might be implemented in practice. A previous article in this series outlined how process evaluation embedded within RCTs can help understand how and why an intervention works.
Commentary on: Chauhan A, Newman B, Manias E, et al. Creating safer cancer care with ethnic minority patients: A qualitative analysis of the experiences of cancer service staff. Health Expect. 2024 Jan 30;27(1):e13979.
Implementing culturally competent communication strategies, including interpreters and culturally adapted materials, can enhance patient safety and engagement. Further studies are needed to evaluate the effectiveness of communication tools and strategies in improving safety outcomes for ethnic minority patients with cancer.
This qualitative study explores the experiences of healthcare staff in creating safer cancer care environments for ethnic minority patients. People from ethnic minority groups, who face an increased risk of safety events, often encounter barriers such as language and cultural differences.
Commentary on: Jackson, I., Dagnan, D., Golding, L., & Rayner-Smith, K. (2024). How do people with intellectual disabilities understand friendship? A systematic meta-synthesis. JARID, 37(4), e13244.
Implications for practice and research People with intellectual disabilities value friendship and actively engage in reciprocal exchanges. People with intellectual disabilities seek and use opportunities for structured support and organised activities to access and manage friendships.
A previous study
Commentary on: Veresova M, Michail M, Richards H, et al. Emergency department staff experiences of working with people who self-harm: A qualitative examination of barriers to optimal care. Int J Mental Health Nurs. 2024. doi: 10.1111/inm.13353
Implications for practice and research Support from specialist mental health clinicians is a key mechanism for improving self-harm care among emergency department (ED) staff. Findings underpin the need for compassion and empathy when treating people presenting in distress, especially those who present multiple times. Future research should focus on strategies for improving implementation of self-harm clinical guidelines in EDs.
Emergency departments (EDs) have a crucial role in suicide prevention. Around 18% of people who died by suicide presented to ED in the month prior to death, commonly for self-harm.
Commentary on: Lykkeberg B, Noergaard MW, Bjerrum M. Experiences and expectations of parents when young people with congenital heart disease transfer from pediatric to adult care: A qualitative systematic review. J Child Health Care. doi:10.1177/13674935241231024
Implications for practice and research To inform family-centred transition programmes, more high-quality qualitative research describing parental experiences should be conducted, particularly in non-European and low- and middle-income countries. Congenital heart disease transition programmes should consider adopting a family-centred approach that incorporates informational and psychosocial support resources for parents.
A growing number of individuals born with congenital heart disease (CHD) are surviving well into adulthood, and a successful transition from paediatric to adult healthcare is essential for their long-term health. However, discontinuity in care is prevalent.
Commentary on: Reason M, Acton K, Foulds D. Working it out together: Lessons and insights into inclusive research in an arts context. British Journal of Learning Disabilities 2024:1–11.
Implications for practice and research Inclusive research places a strong emphasis on the active empowered participation, particularly in decision-making and agenda-setting, of marginalised/disadvantaged community members in every step of the research process. Implementation research needs to focus on how research methodologies can be democratised through a continuous commitment to allyship with marginalised/disadvantaged populations towards empowered involvement.
Research in the field of learning disabilities has been influenced by ableist practices, often excluding individuals with learning disabilities and autism from the research process. This exclusionary tradition, which also has been observed in research with other marginalised/disadvantaged groups, has diminished their capacity to drive change within their communities.
Commentary on: Sabetsarvestani R, Geckil E. A meta-synthesis of the experience of paediatric nurses in communication with children. J Adv Nurs 2024;00:1-16. doi: 10.1111/jan.16072
Paediatric nurses stressed the need for a multimodal approach to communication with children and young people, supplementing verbal interaction with appropriate facial expressions, gestures, tone and use of play. Nurses identified the need to balance communication involving a child and their parents (triadic) and communicating with the child without parents (dyadic) in order to ascertain the child’s understanding and concerns directly rather than solely relying on parental reporting. Parents were described as both aiding nurse communication with children and, in some cases, hindering it. Further communication training for nurses has the potential to improve the quality of care and job satisfaction.
The importance of good communication with patients and their families is...
Commentary on: Farfán-Zúñiga, X abd Jaman-Mewes, P. Reflections of nursing students on the care of the person’s dignity at the end of life: a qualitative study. Nurse Education Today 2024; 133: 106067.
Implications for practice and research Dignity is one of the main values at the end of life. Reflection of dignity and the meaning of such should be an obligatory part of nursing education, particularly when caring for people at the final stage of life, where vulnerability is more palpable. Research on nursing students’ reflections regarding meeting the dignity needs of dying people is essential to improve the quality of end-of-life care.
Dignity is a cornerstone in healthcare and nursing research, not least it is an important concept when caring for people and their relatives at the end of life. Yet, there is a lack of research about nursing education, reflective...
Commentary on: Farghaly Abdelaliem et al The influence of supportive work environment on work-related stress and conflict management style among emergency care nurses: A descriptive correlational study. Worldviews on Evidence-based Nursing. 2024;21(1).
Implications for practice and research Organisations should foster supportive work environments for nurses to enable conflict management, mitigate burnout and turnover, ultimately improving patient outcomes. Future research should implement strategies to reduce work-related stress, addressing stressors and their impact on nurse well-being and patient outcomes.
Nurses and midwives, constituting over 50% of the global healthcare workforce, are crucial for high-quality care.
Commentary on: Skov SK, Hjorth S, Kirkegaard H et al. Mode of delivery and short-term maternal mental health: a follow-up study in the Danish national birth cohort. International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics. 2022 Nov;159(2):457-65.
Implications for practice and research Mode of delivery is associated with postpartum mental health, so mothers with emergency caesarean section (EmCS) need more support for their mental health. Therefore, healthcare providers should pay special attention to the increased risk of anxiety, depression and stress in these women and provide appropriate care and follow-up. Along with investing in technologies and clinical practice to minimise the number of EmCS, more research and education are needed to develop effective strategies to prepare and support women experiencing this delivery mode.
Caesarean section (CS) is a lifesaving intervention which can be used when complications arise during pregnancy or delivery. In the last...
Commentary on: Ren, LH., Wong, KLY., Wong, J., Kleiss, S., Berndt, A., Mann, J., Hussein, A., Hu, G., Wong, L., Khong, R., Fu, J., Ahmed, N., Nolte, J., Hung, L. (2024) Working with a robot in hospital and long-term care homes: staff experience BMC Nursing 23:317 https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-024-01983-0
Implications for practice and research When implementing welfare technology, staff education needs to consider relational and cultural factors, including positivity in leadership, teamwork and staff-family relationships to facilitate use. As technological possibilities are increasing, while older populations are growing and working populations are decreasing, user-based research in implementation of welfare technology is urgently needed.
The interest of using digital technologies, robots etc in supporting old age care is growing, due to the fact that the technological possibilities are also increasing. The fact that older populations are growing while working populations are decreasing in...
Commentary on: Chen HW, Cheng SF, Hsiung Y, et al. Training perinatal nurses in palliative communication by using scenario-based simulation: A quasi-experimental study. Nurse Educ Pract. 2024. 75:103885. doi: 10.1016/j.nepr.2024.103885
Implications for practice and research Scenario-based simulation (SBS) is an effective method of enhancing the confidence and competence of nurses supporting families who require perinatal palliative care. Further research should focus on the durability of skills acquired through SBS as well as exploring the impact of SBS on a more diverse sample.
Communication is a cornerstone of nursing practice and fundamental to establishing and maintaining relationships with individuals and their families. Nurses involved in the provision of perinatal palliative care work with women, babies and their families, during pregnancy, delivery and in the neonatal period. Effective therapeutic relationships with women and families empower parents, providing control and validation,
Commentary on: Wang R, Raman A. Systematic literature review on the effects of blended learning in nursing education. Nurse Educ Pract. 2024 Dec 16; 82:1 04 238–8.
Implications for practice and research The authors report in their systematic literature review that many studies demonstrated how blended learning (BL) positively influenced nursing students, while some other studies did not. They have developed a model to illustrate the multifaceted aspects of BL in nursing education. They largely support the use of BL in nurse education but advocate more randomised controlled trials, especially in relation to its effects on mental health and in relation to optimal BL conditions for nurse education.
Blended learning (BL) in nurse education appears to be used more since COVID-19 and in countries whose governments’ policies support and promote the application of BL. The authors, educators in universities in China and Malaysia,...
Commentary on: Ley C, Heath F, Hastie T, et al. Defining Usual Oral Temperature Ranges in Outpatients Using an Unsupervised Learning Algorithm. JAMA Intern Med. 2023 Oct 1;183(10):1128-1135. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2023.4291.
This study suggests that clinicians should consider age, sex, height, weight and time of day when assessing a patient’s oral temperature. Consider moving away from a one-size-fits-all approach to fever diagnosis.
Future research should focus on how these individualised temperature norms can be integrated into clinical decision-making processes. Develop new diagnostic criteria for fever.
Traditionally, the ‘normal’ oral temperature of 37°C has been a long-standing benchmark in health assessments. However, this standard fails to consider individual variability influenced by age, sex and metabolism. Ley et al
Commentary on: Toledo-Chavarri A, Delgado J, Rodriguez-Martin B. Perspectives of women living with type one diabetes regarding preconception and antenatal care: A qualitative evidence synthesis. Health Expectations. 2023;27:e13876.
Enhanced peer support and coordinated care between health professionals are needed to address concerns of women with type 1 diabetes in pregnancy. The experiences and perceptions of diverse groups of women with type 1 diabetes need further exploration in order to ensure equitable care.
While guidelines provide evidence-based recommendations for women with type 1 diabetes in pregnancy, women’s perceptions of these recommendations are not well-known. Toledo-Chavarri and colleagues explore these perceptions and found that continuity of care, coordination between health professionals and services, and a more holistic approach are key aspects that are needed for more acceptable, feasible and equitable peripartum care.
Toledo-Chavarri and colleagues...
Commentary on: Wyss C, Inauen J, Cignacco E, Raio L, Aubry EM. Mediating processes underlying the associations between maternal obesity and the likelihood of cesarean birth. Birth. 2024 Mar;51(1):52-62. doi: 10.1111/birt.12751. Epub 2023 Aug 24.
It is important for future clinical practice to understand the risks of Caesarean Section (CS) to properly counsel pregnant patients, even if the patient is obese. It would be crucial to have CS delivery indications that are accepted at national and international levels, even in in obese women.
According to the literature, it appears that obese pregnant women are more likely to undergo a caesarean section than non-obese women. However, the mechanisms underlying these data have not yet been clarified.
The aim of the study of Wyss et al
Commentary on: Hatukay et al. The relationship between quick return shift schedules and burnout among nurses: A prospective repeated measures multi-source study. Int J Nurs Stud 2024;151:1-7
Implications for practice and research Nurse managers should develop motivational methods to buffer the effects of shorter sleep durations on burnout and be cognisant of the impact of quick return shifts on nurses. Sleep studies are often cross-sectional based on self-report measures; using more objective measures of sleep over a longer period is encouraged.
Acute care nurses often work consecutive shifts to meet workplace demands and that allows for longer day off periods. Quick return is defined in the literature as less than 11 hours of rest between two consecutive shifts.
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