Implementing Prone Positioning for COVID-19 Patients Outside the Intensive Care Unit.

BACKGROUND: Proning intubated intensive care unit patients for the management of acute respiratory distress syndrome is an accepted standard of practice. We examined the nursing climate in 4 units and its impact on implementing a novel self-proning protocol to treat COVID-19 patients outside the intensive care unit. LOCAL PROBLEM: Nursing units previously designated for medical/surgical populations had to adjust quickly to provide evidence-based care for COVID-19 patients attempting self-proning. METHODS: Nurses from 4 nursing units were surveyed about the implementation process on the self-proning protocol. Their perception of unit implementation was assessed via the Implementation Climate Scale. INTERVENTIONS: A new self-proning nursing protocol was implemented outside the intensive care unit. RESULTS: Consistent education on the protocol, belief in the effectiveness of the intervention, and a strong unit-based climate of evidence-based practice contributed to greater implementation of the protocol. CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of a new nursing protocol is possible with strong unit-based support, even during a pandemic.

Práticas de enfermeiros de um hospital universitário na continuidade do cuidado para a atenção primária / Prácticas de las enfermeras en un hospital universitario en la continuidad de la atención primaria / Practices of nurses in a university hospital for the continuity of care for primary care

Resumo Objetivo compreender as práticas dos enfermeiros de um hospital universitário na continuidade do cuidado para a atenção primária. Método estudo exploratório, descritivo e qualitativo, realizado entre agosto e novembro de 2019, em hospital universitário no Sul do Brasil, com 21 enfermeiros e a diretora de Enfermagem, aplicando-se, respectivamente, um instrumento on-line na plataforma Survey Monkey e uma entrevista semiestruturada. Os dados coletados foram submetidos à Análise de Conteúdo segundo Minayo. Resultados emergiram três categorias: práticas dos enfermeiros; fortalezas e fragilidades e competências para a continuidade do cuidado. Na admissão e alta, os enfermeiros realizam entrevista e exame físico do paciente. Os pontos positivos foram a comunicação e o conhecimento do contexto familiar da equipe multiprofissional hospitalar e os negativos, a falta de sistema informatizado, a integração dos profissionais do hospital com a atenção primária, o enfermeiro gestor de altas e o protocolo de contrarreferência. A continuidade do cuidado requer, dos enfermeiros, experiência profissional, conhecimento sobre a rede de atenção, habilidades de comunicação, liderança e tomada de decisão. Conclusão e implicações para a prática os enfermeiros compreendem a importância da continuidade do cuidado, entretanto, algumas fragilidades encontradas na instituição dificultam a realização dessas práticas.

Resumen Objetivo conocer las prácticas de los enfermeros de un hospital universitario en la continuidad de los cuidados de la atención primaria. Método estudio exploratorio, descriptivo y cualitativo, realizado entre agosto y noviembre de 2019, en un hospital universitario del sur de Brasil, con 21 enfermeros y la Directora de Enfermería, aplicando, respectivamente, instrumento online en la plataforma Survey Monkey y una entrevista semiestructurada. Los datos recogidos se sometieron a un análisis de contenido según Minayo. Resultados emergiron tres categorías: prácticas de los enfermeros; fortalezas y fragilidades y competencias para la continuidad del cuidado. En el momento del ingreso y del alta, los enfermeros entrevistan y realizan una exploración física del paciente. Los aspectos positivos fueron la comunicación y el conocimiento del contexto familiar por parte del equipo multiprofesional del hospital, y los negativos la falta de un sistema informatizado; la integración de los profesionales del hospital con la atención primaria; la enfermera gestora del alta y el protocolo de contrarreferencia. La continuidad de los cuidados requiere la experiencia profesional de los enfermeros, el conocimiento de la red asistencial, la capacidad de comunicación, el liderazgo y la toma de decisiones. Conclusión e implicaciones para la práctica Los enfermeros entienden la importancia de la continuidad de los cuidados, sin embargo, algunas debilidades encontradas en la institución dificultan la implementación de estas prácticas.

Abstract Objective to understand the practices of nurses from a university hospital in the continuity of care for primary care. Method an exploratory, descriptive, and qualitative study, conducted between August and November 2019, in a university hospital in Southern Brazil, with 21 nurses and the director of Nursing, applying, respectively, an online instrument in the Survey Monkey platform and a semi-structured interview. The data collected was submitted to Content Analysis according to Minayo. Results three categories emerged: nurses' practices; strengths and weaknesses, and competencies for continuity of care. On admission and discharge, nurses interview and physically examine the patient. The positive aspects were communication and knowledge of the family context by the multiprofessional hospital team, and the negative aspects were the lack of a computerized system, the integration of hospital professionals with primary care, the nurse discharge manager and the counter-reference protocol. Continuity of care requires from nurses professional experience, knowledge about the care network, communication skills, leadership, and decision making. Conclusion and implications for practice nurses understand the importance of continuity of care, however, some weaknesses found in the institution make it difficult to carry out these practices.

Nursing recommendations for facing dissemination of COVID-19 in Brazilian Nursing Homes.

OBJECTIVE: to develop a protocol of recommendations for facing dissemination of COVID-19 in Brazilian Nursing Homes. METHOD: a study of experts' recommendations using a structured form applied through the Delphi Technique, obtaining 100% agreement among professionals after four rounds of analysis. The population comprised six nurses members of the Scientific Department of Gerontological Nursing of the Brazilian Association of Nursing (Associação Brasileira de Enfermagem). RESULTS: the protocol was structured in a nucleus of nursing interventions to face the spread of COVID-19 in Nursing Homes, consisting of 8 actions. FINAL CONSIDERATIONS: the protocol can help nurse managers to organize assistance to face the pandemic, which can be adaptable to each reality, making training nurses and health teams easier.

Nursing recommendations for facing dissemination of COVID-19 in Brazilian Nursing Homes / Recomendaciones para abordar la propagación de COVID-19 en Hogares para Ancianos / Recomendações para o enfrentamento da disseminação da COVID-19 em Instituições de Longa Permanência para Idosos

ABSTRACT Objective: to develop a protocol of recommendations for facing dissemination of COVID-19 in Brazilian Nursing Homes. Method: a study of experts' recommendations using a structured form applied through the Delphi Technique, obtaining 100% agreement among professionals after four rounds of analysis. The population comprised six nurses members of the Scientific Department of Gerontological Nursing of the Brazilian Association of Nursing (Associação Brasileira de Enfermagem) Results: the protocol was structured in a nucleus of nursing interventions to face the spread of COVID-19 in Nursing Homes, consisting of 8 actions. Final considerations: the protocol can help nurse managers to organize assistance to face the pandemic, which can be adaptable to each reality, making training nurses and health teams easier.

RESUMEN Objetivo: desarrollar un protocolo de recomendaciones para abordar la propagación de COVID-19 en hogares para ancianos. Método: estudio de recomendaciones de expertos utilizando una forma estructurada aplicada utilizando la técnica Delphi, obteniendo un 100% de acuerdo entre profesionales después de cuatro rondas de análisis. La población estaba compuesta por seis enfermeras que son miembros del departamento científico de enfermería gerontológica de la Asociación Brasileña de Enfermería (Associação Brasileira de Enfermagem). Resultados: el protocolo se estructuró en un núcleo de intervenciones de enfermería para enfrentar la difusión de COVID-19 en Hogares para Ancianos y consta de 8 acciones. Consideraciones finales: el protocolo puede ayudar a los gerentes de enfermería a organizar la asistencia para enfrentar la pandemia, que puede adaptarse a cada realidad, facilitando la capacitación de los equipos de enfermería y salud.

RESUMO Objetivo: elaborar um protocolo de recomendações para o enfrentamento da disseminação da COVID-19 em Instituições de Longa Permanência para Idosos. Método: estudo de recomendações de especialistas utilizando-se um formulário estruturado aplicado por meio da Técnica Delphi, obtendo-se 100% de concordância entre os profissionais após quatro rodadas de análise. A população foi constituída por seis enfermeiros membros do Departamento Científico de Enfermagem Gerontológica da Associação Brasileira de Enfermagem. Resultados: o protocolo foi estruturado em um núcleo de intervenções de enfermagem para o enfrentamento da disseminação da COVID-19 em Instituições de Longa Permanência para Idosos, consistindo em 8 ações. Considerações finais: o protocolo poderá auxiliar os enfermeiros gestores a organizar a assistência para enfrentar a pandemia, que pode ser adaptável a cada realidade, facilitando o treinamento das equipes de enfermagem e saúde.

Efetividade da consulta de enfermagem na adesão ao tratamento da hipertensão arterial sistèmica / Effectiveness of nursing appointments in adherence to hypertension treatment / Eficacia de la consulta de enfermería en adherencia al tratamiento de la hipertensión arterial sistémica

RESUMO Objetivo Avaliar a adesão ao tratamento medicamentoso e não-medicamentoso de usuários de um serviço de atenção primária diagnosticados com hipertensão arterial sistémica antes e após a implementação da consulta de enfermagem sistematizada. Métodos Ensaio clínico não-controlado realizado em uma Estratégia Saúde da Família de Minas Gerais, onde 14 participantes foram acompanhados por meio da assistência sistematizada de enfermagem entre os meses de outubro de 2016 e setembro de 2017. Resultados Verificou-se uma diferença estatisticamente significativa na adesão ao tratamento da hipertensão arterial sistêmica após as intervenções de enfermagem (p=0,102), que foram realizadas individualmente e coletivamente. "Disposição para controle aumentada do regime terapêutico" e "Estilo de vida sedentário" foram os Diagnósticos de Enfermagem mais prevalentes. Conclusão A assistência sistematizada de enfermagem pode beneficiar pessoas diagnosticadas com hipertensão arterial sistêmica na atenção primária em saúde. Faz-se necessário o fortalecimento da utilização do processo de enfermagem e da identidade do enfermeiro no cuidado das condições crónicas.(AU)

ABSTRACT Objective To assess adherence to both drug and non-drug therapy by users of primary care services diagnosed with systemic arterial hypertension before and after the implementation of systematic nursing appointments. Material and Methods Open clinical trial held in a Family Health Strategy center of the state of Minas Gerais, in which 14 participants were followed up through systematic nursing care from October 2016 to September 2017. Results Data showed a statistically significant difference in adherence to systemic arterial hypertension therapy after conducting nursing interventions (p=0,102), both individually and in group. The most prevalent nursing diagnoses were "Readiness for enhanced health literacy" and "Sedentary lifestyle". Conclusion Systematic nursing care may benefit people diagnosed with systemic arterial hypertension treated by primary care services. It is necessary to consolidate the use of nursing processes as well as the nurse identity in the context of chronic care.(AU)

RESUMEN Objetivo Evaluar el cumplimiento de la medicación y el tratamiento no farmacológico de los usuarios de un servicio de atención primaria diagnosticado con hipertensión arterial sistémica antes y después de la implementación de la consulta de enfermería sistematizada. Métodos Ensayo clínico no controlado realizado en una Estrategia de salud familiar de Minas Gerais, donde 14 participantes fueron seguidos a través de cuidados sistemáticos de enfermería entre los meses de octubre de 2016 y septiembre de 2017. Resultados Hubo una diferencia estadísticamente significativa en el cumplimiento del tratamiento de la hipertensión arterial sistémica después de las intervenciones de enfermería (p=0,102), que se realizaron individual y colectivamente. La "disposición para un mayor control del régimen terapéutico" y el "estilo de vida sedentario" fueron los diagnósticos de enfermería más frecuentes. Conclusión La atención de enfermería sistematizada puede beneficiar a las personas diagnosticadas con hipertensión arterial sistémica en la atención primaria de salud. Es necesario fortalecer el uso del proceso de enfermería y la identidad de la enfermera en el cuidado de afecciones crónicas.(AU)

Strengthening nursing surveillance in general wards: A practice development approach.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To explore the context and culture of nursing surveillance on an acute care ward. BACKGROUND: Prevention of patient deterioration is primarily a nursing responsibility in hospital. Registered nurses make judgements and act on emerging threats to patient safety through a process of nursing surveillance. Organisational factors that weaken nursing surveillance capacity on general wards increase the need for patient rescue at the end point of clinical deterioration with poorer outcomes. Yet little is known about cultures that enable and sustain ward nursing surveillance for patient safety. DESIGN: Workplace observations and semistructured interviews using a critical lens as the first stage of a larger emancipatory practice development project. METHODS: Researcher immersion including 96 hr of nonparticipant observation with 12 semistructured interviews during July-August 2017. This study adhered to the COREQ guidelines. RESULTS: We offer a metaphor of nursing surveillance as the threads that support the very fabric of acute care nursing work. These hidden threads enable nurses to weave the tapestry of care that keeps patients safe. This tapestry is vulnerable to internal and external forces, which weaken the structure, putting patients and staff at risk. CONCLUSION: Understanding local context is essential to supporting practice change. This workplace observation challenges us to find ways to creatively engage nurses with the underlying cultural and systems issues that so often remain hidden from view in the deteriorating patient literature. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Building cultural values that strengthen nursing surveillance is a prerequisite for safe and effective hospital care. As such, practice-based research that empowers frontline nurses and teams to develop person-centred workplace cultures can hold the key to unlocking sustainable improvements in patient safety.

An Evaluation of Simulation Debriefings on Student Nurses' Perceptions of Clinical Reasoning and Learning Transfer: A Mixed Methods Study.

To aim of this study was to explore undergraduate nursing student (n = 256) perceptions of clinical reasoning ability and learning transfer after participating in either a standard post simulation debriefing or a debriefing based on transfer of learning principles. BACKGROUND: It is assumed that students will transfer what they have learned from simulation to real world practice, however, some students are unable to identify the relevance of simulated learning experiences if scenarios are dissimilar to clinical placement settings. The nature and extent what is able to be transferred from simulated to real settings is unclear, particularly in relation to complex processes such as clinical reasoning. Transfer of learning to a new situation involves deliberate cognitive effort, including reflection and mindful abstraction of central attributes of a problem. As reflection is a key element in learning transfer, the debriefing element of simulation was seen to be a platform for this study. METHOD: A convergent parallel mixed methods design used a pre-test, post-test survey and focus group interviews. RESULTS: No statistically significant difference in post-test clinical reasoning scores between groups was found. There was a statistically significant improvement in 12 out of 15 criteria among the control group and in 8 of the criteria among the intervention group. Qualitative findings provided some evidence that learning had transferred to clinical settings. Evidence of "near" transfer was more evident than "far" transfer. CONCLUSION: Positive findings included that all students perceived they had transferred the skills of patient assessment and effective communication during episodes of patient care. The concept of a "framework" being verbalized by many of the intervention group during practice is a promising finding and may be a useful direction for further research focusing on the instructional demonstration of explicitly promoting a level of abstraction of problems and prompting participants to search for conceptual connections. This may indicate retained idea or concepts from the debriefing which may be useful in future practice.

Measuring instrument: knowledge, attitudes and practices of people with pulmonary tuberculosis / Instrumento de medição: conhecimentos, atitudes e práticas de indivíduos com tuberculose pulmonar / Instrumento de medición: conocimientos, actitudes y prácticas en personas con tuberculosis pulmonar

ABSTRACT Objective: to build an instrument to attain reliable and valid measurements of the knowledge, attitudes and practices of patients with pulmonary tuberculosis. Methods: methodological study that measured the sensitivity, reliability and validity of the instrument content. Studies of reliability and content validity comprehensibility involved 234 patients with pulmonary tuberculosis. Results: an integrative review was conducted for theoretical foundation. The sensitivity study comprised 30 patients with pulmonary tuberculosis, who had greater knowledge on tuberculosis (12.03) than the control group (9.93). Factor analysis showed that 7 factors explained 67.8% of the variance. Content validity identified a 98.3 % comprehensibility, and the expert trial assessed the sufficiency, clarity, relevance and coherence criteria, showing agreement between judges. Conclusions: the instrument has studies of sensitivity, reliability and content validity that showed it can be applied to patients with pulmonary tuberculosis; nevertheless, cultural and semantic adaptations must be developed for other scenarios.

RESUMO Objetivo: elaborar um instrumento que permita obter medidas confiáveis e válidas sobre os conhecimentos, atitudes e práticas de pacientes com tuberculose pulmonar. Métodos: estudo metodológico que avalia a sensibilidade, a confiabilidade e a validade do conteúdo do instrumento. Para avaliar a confiabilidade e a compreensibilidade da validade de conteúdo, participaram deste estudo 234 pacientes com tuberculose pulmonar. Resultados: realizou-se uma revisão integrativa como fundamentação teórica. No estudo da sensibilidade, participaram 30 pacientes com tuberculose pulmonar que tinham mais conhecimentos sobre a tuberculose (12,03) do que o grupo controle (9,93). Na análise fatorial verificou-se 7 fatores que explicavam 67,8% da variância. Na validade de conteúdo identificou-se uma compreensibilidade de 98,3%, e, na avaliação dos especialistas, analisou-se os critérios de suficiência, clareza, pertinência e coerência, que mostraram concordância entre os especialistas. Conclusões: o instrumento conta com estudos de sensibilidade, confiabilidade e validade de conteúdo que mostraram ser possíveis de aplicar em pacientes com tuberculose pulmonar; no entanto, é necessário desenvolver adaptações culturais e semânticas em outros contextos.

RESUMEN Objetivo: construir un instrumento que permita obtener medidas confiables y válidas sobre los conocimientos, actitudes y prácticas de los pacientes con tuberculosis pulmonar. Métodos: estudio metodológico que midió la sensibilidad, confiabilidad y validez de contenido del instrumento. En los estudios de confiabilidad y comprensibilidad de validez de contenido participaron 234 pacientes con tuberculosis pulmonar. Resultados: se realizó una revisión integrativa para la fundamentación teórica. En el estudio de sensibilidad participaron 30 pacientes con tuberculosis pulmonar que tenían mejores conocimientos sobre la tuberculosis (12,03) que el grupo control (9,93). En el análisis factorial se evidenciaron 7 factores que explicaban el 67,8 % de la varianza. En la validez de contenido se identificó una comprensibilidad del 98,3 % y en el juicio de expertos se evaluaron los criterios de suficiencia, claridad, relevancia y coherencia, los cuales mostraron concordancia entre los jueces. Conclusiones: el instrumento cuenta con estudios de sensibilidad, confiabilidad y validez de contenido que evidenciaron que puede ser aplicado a los pacientes con tuberculosis pulmonar; no obstante, es necesario desarrollar adaptaciones culturales y semánticas para otros escenarios.

Clinical Reasoning: A State of the Science Report.

Clinical reasoning is the cognitive process that nurses use to gather and incorporate information into a larger bank of personal knowledge. This incorporated information guides therapeutic actions, and helps determine client care. Since the process guides therapeutic actions regarding client care, failure to use the process effectively leads to poor clinical decision-making, inappropriate actions, or inaction. Because of the criticality of this process, this paper presents an analysis of the literature that reveals the current state of the science of clinical reasoning, identifies gaps in knowledge, and elucidates areas for future research. A systematic review of the databases the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC), PsychInfo, the Education Full Text (H.W. Wilson), and PubMed revealed 873 articles on the topic of clinical reasoning. Quality appraisal narrowed the field to 27 pieces of literature. Appendix A gives the State of the Science Coding Sheet used to identify the selections used in this research. Appendix B contains a summary of this literature. Although analysis of this literature shows that three theories exist on how to utilize most effectively the clinical reasoning process presently; a clear consistent definition is lacking. Additional research should focus on closing gaps that exist in defining the process, understanding the process, establishing linkages to non-clinical reasoning processes, and developing measures to both develop and accurately measure clinical reasoning.

Development of a Clinical Decision Support System for Living Kidney Donor Assessment Based on National Guidelines.

BACKGROUND: Live donor nephrectomy is an operation that places the donor at risk of complications without the possibility of medical benefit. Rigorous donor selection and assessment is therefore essential to ensure minimization of risk and for this reason robust national guidelines exist. Previous studies have demonstrated poor adherence to donor guidelines. METHODS: We developed a clinical decision support system (CDSS), based on national living donor guidelines, to facilitate the identification of contraindications, additional investigations, special considerations, and the decision as to nephrectomy side in potential living donors. The CDSS was then tested with patient data from 45 potential kidney donors. RESULTS: The CDSS comprises 17 core tasks completed by either patient or nurse, and 17 optional tasks that are triggered by certain patient demographics or conditions. Decision rules were able to identify contraindications, additional investigations, special considerations, and predicted operation side in our patient cohort. Seventeen of 45 patients went on to donate a kidney, of whom 7 had major contraindications defined in the national guidelines, many of which were not identified by the clinical team. Only 43% of additional investigations recommended by national guidelines were completed, with the most frequently missed investigations being oral glucose tolerance testing and routine cancer screening. CONCLUSIONS: We have demonstrated the feasibility of turning a complex set of national guidelines into an easy-to-use machine-readable CDSS. Comparison with real-world decisions suggests that use of this CDSS may improve compliance with guidelines and informed consent tailored to individual patient risks.

Turning education into action: Impact of a collective social education approach to improve nurses' ability to recognize and accurately assess delirium in hospitalized older patients.

BACKGROUND: Although cognitive impairment including dementia and delirium is common in older hospital patients, it is not well recognized or managed by hospital staff, potentially resulting in adverse events. This paper describes, and reports on the impact of a collective social education approach to improving both nurses' knowledge of, and screening for delirium. METHODS: Thirty-four experienced nurses from six hospital wards, became Cognition Champions (CogChamps) to lead their wards in a collective social education process about cognitive impairment and the assessment of delirium. At the outset, the CogChamps were provided with comprehensive education about dementia and delirium from a multidisciplinary team of clinicians. Their knowledge was assessed to ascertain they had the requisite understanding to engage in education as a collective social process, namely, with each other and their local teams. Following this, they developed ward specific Action Plans in collaboration with their teams aimed at educating and evaluating ward nurses' ability to accurately assess and care for patients for delirium. The plans were implemented over five months. The broader nursing teams' knowledge was assessed, together with their ability to accurately assess patients for delirium. RESULTS: Each ward implemented their Action Plan to varying degrees and key achievements included the education of a majority of ward nurses about delirium and the certification of the majority as competent to assess patients for delirium using the Confusion Assessment Method. Two wards collected pre-and post-audit data that demonstrated a substantial improvement in delirium screening rates. CONCLUSION: The education process led by CogChamps and supported by educators and clinical experts provides an example of successfully educating nurses about delirium and improving screening rates of patients for delirium. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ACTRN 12617000563369.

Improving Patient Safety through the Use of Nursing Surveillance.

Surveillance and monitoring each represent a distinct process in patient care. Monitoring involves observation, measurement, and recording of physiological parameters, while surveillance is a systematic, goal-directed process based on early detection of signs of change, interpretation of the clinical implications of such changes, and initiation of rapid, appropriate interventions. Through use of an illustrative clinical example based on Early Warning System scoring and rapid response teams, this article seeks to distinguish between nurse monitoring and surveillance to demonstrate the impact of surveillance on improving both care processes and patient care. Using a clinical example, differences between surveillance and monitoring as a trigger for deployment of the rapid response team were reviewed. The use of surveillance versus monitoring resulted in a mean reduction in rapid response team deployment time of 291 minutes. The median hospital length of stay for patients whose clinical care included using surveillance to initiate the deployment of the rapid response team was reduced by 4 days. Monitoring relies on observation and assessment while nursing surveillance incorporates monitoring with recognition and interpretation of the clinical implications of changes to guide decisions about subsequent actions. The clinical example described here supports that the use of an automated surveillance system versus monitoring had a measurable impact on clinical care.

Newly graduated nurses' use of knowledge sources in clinical decision-making: an ethnographic study.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To explore which knowledge sources newly graduated nurses' use in clinical decision-making and why and how they are used. BACKGROUND: In spite of an increased educational focus on skills and competencies within evidence-based practice, newly graduated nurses' ability to use components within evidence-based practice with a conscious and reflective use of research evidence has been described as being poor. To understand why, it is relevant to explore which other knowledge sources are used. This may shed light on why research evidence is sparsely used and ultimately inform approaches to strengthen the knowledgebase used in clinical decision-making. DESIGN AND METHODS: Ethnographic study using participant-observation and individual semistructured interviews of nine Danish newly graduated nurses in medical and surgical hospital settings. RESULTS: Newly graduates use of knowledge sources was described within three main structures: 'other', 'oneself' and 'gut feeling'. Educational preparation, transition into clinical practice and the culture of the setting influenced the knowledge sources used. The sources ranged from overt easily articulated knowledge sources to covert sources that were difficult to articulate. The limited articulation of certain sources inhibited the critical reflection on the reasoning behind decisions. Reflection is a prerequisite for an evidence-based practice where decisions should be transparent in order to consider if other evidentiary sources could be used. CONCLUSION AND RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Although there is a complexity and variety to knowledge sources used, there is an imbalance with the experienced nurse playing a key role, functioning both as predominant source and a role model as to which sources are valued and used in clinical decision-making. If newly graduates are to be supported in an articulate and reflective use of a variety of sources, they have to be allocated to experienced nurses who model a reflective, articulate and balanced use of knowledge sources.

Development of a Multimedia Dysphagia Assessment Learning System Using Responsive Web Design: From e-Learning to m-Learning.

Swallowing problems have significant affect the health outcome of some residents in long-term care facilities. Nursing staff who care these residents should have the ability of assessing dysphagia. However, nursing continued education to improve the performance of dysphagia assessment is still challenged. To enhance nurses' capability of dysphagia assessment, a Multimedia Dysphagia Assessment learning System was developed for nursing staff in long-term care institutions. This system was evaluated by performing a user usability test.

Overcoming redundancies in bedside nursing assessments by validating a parsimonious meta-tool: findings from a methodological exercise study.

RATIONALE: There is growing interest in validating tools aimed at supporting the clinical decision-making process and research. However, an increased bureaucratization of clinical practice and redundancies in the measures collected have been reported by clinicians. Redundancies in clinical assessments affect negatively both patients and nurses. METHODS: To validate a meta-tool measuring the risks/problems currently estimated by multiple tools used in daily practice. A secondary analysis of a database was performed, using a cross-validation and a longitudinal study designs. In total, 1464 patients admitted to 12 medical units in 2012 were assessed at admission with the Brass, Barthel, Conley and Braden tools. Pertinent outcomes such as the occurrence of post-discharge need for resources and functional decline at discharge, as well as falls and pressure sores, were measured. Explorative factor analysis of each tool, inter-tool correlations and a conceptual evaluation of the redundant/similar items across tools were performed. Therefore, the validation of the meta-tool was performed through explorative factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and the structural equation model to establish the ability of the meta-tool to predict the outcomes estimated by the original tools. RESULTS: High correlations between the tools have emerged (from r 0.428 to 0.867) with a common variance from 18.3% to 75.1%. Through a conceptual evaluation and explorative factor analysis, the items were reduced from 42 to 20, and the three factors that emerged were confirmed by confirmatory factor analysis. According to the structural equation model results, two out of three emerged factors predicted the outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: From the initial 42 items, the meta-tool is composed of 20 items capable of predicting the outcomes as with the original tools.

A Research Agenda for Gero-Oncology Nursing.

OBJECTIVES: The global challenge of accessible, affordable cancer care for all older adults requires a new research agenda for gero-oncology nursing to guide investigator skill development, identify priority areas for investigation, and direct resource distribution. DATA SOURCES: Published peer-reviewed literature and web-based resources. CONCLUSION: A cross-cutting theme of the research agenda is the need to determine the gero-oncology nursing care that will preserve economic resources, promote function, provide symptom management, and incorporate patient preferences. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE: In partnership with interprofessional colleagues, gero-oncology nurse scientists are poised to conduct global research that improves access to quality cancer care.