Use of research in undergraduate nursing students' theses: A mixed methods study.

BACKGROUND: Health care personnel are expected to be familiar with evidence-based practice (EBP). Asking clinical questions, conducting systematic literature searches and conducting critical appraisal of research findings have been some of the barriers to EBP. To improve undergraduate nurses' research skills, a collaborative library-faculty teaching intervention was established in 2012. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate how the collaborative library-faculty teaching intervention affected the nursing students' research skills when writing their final theses. DESIGN AND SETTING: Both quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis were used. The study focused on a final year undergraduate nurse training programme in Norway. PARTICIPANTS: 194 theses submitted between 2013 and 2015 were collected and assessed. The students were exposed to the intervention for respectively one, two and three years during this period. METHODS: Descriptive statistics were used to compare each year's output over the three-year period and to examine the frequency of the use of various databases, types of information and EBP-tools. Qualitative data was used to capture the students' reasoning behind their selection processes in their research. RESULTS: The research skills with regard to EBP have clearly improved over the three years. There was an increase in employing most EBP-tools and the justifications were connected to important EBP principles. The grades in the upper half of the grading scale increased from 66.7 to 82.1% over the period 2013 to 2015, and a correlation was found between grades and critical appraisal skills. CONCLUSIONS: The collaborative library-faculty teaching intervention employed has been successful in the promotion of nursing student research skills as far as the EBP principles are concerned. Writing a thesis in the undergraduate nursing programme is important to develop and practice these research skills.

Return to work among self-employed cancer survivors.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study is to investigate whether salaried and self-employed workers differ regarding factors relevant for return to work after being diagnosed with cancer. The possible mediators of an effect of self-employment on work ability were also investigated. METHODS: A total of 1115 cancer survivors (1027 salaried and 88 self-employed) of common invasive cancer types who were in work at the time of diagnosis completed a mailed questionnaire 15-39 months after diagnosis. RESULTS: Twenty-four percent of self-employed cancer survivors reported that they had not returned to work at the time of the survey, and 18 % of those who were salaried had not. While 9 % of the self-employed had received disability or early retirement pension, only 5 % had received such a pension among salaried employees. Compared with the salaried workers, the self-employed people reported significantly more often reduced work hours (P < 0.001), negative cancer-related financial (P < 0.001), and occupational changes (P = 0.005) and low overall health (P = 0.02), quality of life (P = 0.04), and total work ability (P = 0.02). The negative effect of self-employment on total work ability seems to be mediated by reduced work hours and a negative cancer-related financial change. CONCLUSIONS: Compared with salaried, self-employed workers in Norway, they seem to struggle with work after cancer. This may be because the two groups have different work tasks and because self-employed people have lower social support at work and less legal support from the Working Environment Act and public health insurance. IMPLICATIONS FOR CANCER SURVIVORS: Self-employed people with cancer should be informed about the work-related challenges they may encounter and be advised to seek practical help from social workers who know about the legal rights of self-employed people.

Interprofessional collaboration in the mental health services in norway.

The aim of this study was to describe and interpret interprofessional collaboration between healthcare professionals (HCPs) working at the district psychiatric centre (DPC) and employed in community mental health care (CMHC) using a dialogue-oriented co-operative approach. Data were collected by means of multistage focus groups and qualitative content analysis was performed. The main theme "development of interprofessional collaboration by means of organisational strategies and interactional styles" encompassed the following categories: "improved communication skills," "developing structures for coordination and responsibility" and " increased professional insight into the values and conditions necessary for decision-making." In conclusion, more attention should be paid to leadership in terms of coordination and feedback. The HCPs must be acknowledged, understood and strengthened in their work to improve the quality of CMHC. Finally, we recommend that a range of organisational and administrative models of care be used in order to support improvement work.

Workaholism and mental health problems among municipal middle managers in Norway.

OBJECTIVE: To provide empirical knowledge about the antecedents and outcomes of workaholism among municipal middle managers within the framework of the job demands-resources model. METHODS: We used a self-administered questionnaire to collect cross-sectional data (n = 118) on job demands, job resources, work engagement, workaholism, and mental health problems. RESULTS: Workaholism correlated positively with both work engagement and mental health problems. Job demands affected workaholism and mental health problems more strongly than did job resources. The results indicate that workaholism does not mediate the effects of certain work characteristics on mental health problems, but rather that workaholics create excessive job demands that harm their health. CONCLUSIONS: Preventing workaholism should be a central concern of municipal stakeholders because workaholic behavior among middle managers may harm organizational performance and employee health and middle managers' own health.