The impact of logo-therapy on disease acceptance and self-awareness of patients undergoing hemodialysis; a pre-test-post-test research.

BACKGROUND: Acceptance is considered a key variable in chronic diseases such as chronic renal failure. To achieve adaptation and acceptance, people face obstacles, and identifying these obstacles primarily requires self-awareness. logo-therapy can help a person achieve this goal. To this end, this study aimed to investigate the effect of logo-therapy on disease acceptance and self-awareness of patients undergoing hemodialysis referred to a medical centers supervised by Kerman medical science university in 2021. METHODS: This quasi-experimental study was conducted with a pre-test-post-test research design on 80 patients with chronic renal failure undergoing hemodialysis in Kerman. The patients who met the inclusion criteria were selected using convenience sampling and were then randomly assigned to intervention and control groups (40 patients in each group). The logo-therapy training program was performed for the participants in the intervention group during 4 sessions of 45-60 min, individually and three times a week. The instruments used for data collection were a demographic information questionnaire, the Acceptance of Illness Scale (AIS), and the Self-Awareness Outcomes Questionnaire (SAOQ). The collected data were analyzed using SPSS software (version 22). RESULTS: The analysis didn't show a significant difference in the acceptance of illness scores in the intervention group before and after the intervention (P > 0.05). Besides, a statistically significant difference was observed between the intervention and control groups in terms of self-awareness, indicating that the intervention improved the dialysis patients' self-awareness (P < 0.05). Also, the patients' age, marriage length, and the number of children had statistically significant correlations with self-awareness and acceptance (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The results of this study showed that meaning therapy intervention can positively affect disease acceptance and self-awareness of patients undergoing hemodialysis. Since logo-therapy has been effective in other patients and the patients in this study, health officials and managers are recommended to use this intervention method to promote disease acceptance and self-awareness in these patients.

Causes of futile care from the perspective of intensive care unit nurses (I.C.U): qualitative content analysis.

BACKGROUND: Medical care that has therapeutic effects without significant benefits for the patient is called futile care. Intensive Care Units are the most important units in which nurses provide futile care. This study aimed to explain the causes of futile care from the perspective of nurses working in Intensive Care Units are. METHOD: The study was conducted using a qualitative approach. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyze the data. Study participants were 17 nurses who were working in the Intensive Care Units are of hospitals in the north of Iran. They were recruited through a purposeful sampling method. Data was gathered using in-depth, semi-structured interviews from March to June 2021. Recruitment was continued until data saturation was reached. RESULTS: Two main themes, four categories, and thirteen subcategories emerged from the data analysis. The main themes were principlism and caring swamp. The categories were moral foundation, professionalism, compulsory care, and patient's characteristics. CONCLUSION: In general, futile care has challenged nursing staff with complex conflicts. By identifying some of these conflicts, nurses will be able to control such situations and plan for better management strategies. Also, using the findings of this study, nursing managers can adopt supportive strategies to reduce the amount of futile care and thus solve the specific problems of nurses in intensive care units such as burnout, moral stress, and intention to leave.

Cancer patients' perspectives on dignity in care.

BACKGROUND: Since "dignity" is one of the fundamental rights of every patient, consideration for patients' dignity is essential. Unfortunately, in many cases, especially in cancer patients, dignity is not fully respected. Dignity is an abstract concept, and there are only a few comprehensive studies on the dignity of cancer patients in Iran. RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the perception of Iranian cancer patients on human dignity. RESEARCH DESIGN: A qualitative research approach was used as the study design. The data were collected through individual semi-structured interviews and analyzed using the qualitative content analysis method. PARTICIPANTS AND RESEARCH CONTEXT:  This study was conducted on cancer patients in internal medicine wards in Iran. The data were gathered through semi-structured interviews from May 2017 to February 2018. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS: The study protocol was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of medical universities located in Southwest of Iran. The ethical principles were carefully followed throughout the study. FINDINGS: Based on the results of the interviews, 3 main themes and 11 categories were determined. The main themes were identified as the "personal space and privacy," "respect for human values," and "moral support." DISCUSSION: The results of the present study showed the necessity of care for cancer patients in a respectful manner. The key elements in such care were the preservation of their personal space and privacy, respect for their values, and the provision of adequate moral support. These measures will have a positive effect on the perception of such patients on human dignity. CONCLUSION: Considering the special care required by cancer patients, the Iranian healthcare and hygiene managers should design and implement a care plan that includes the ethical principles related to human dignity.

The relationship between nursing instructors' clinical teaching behaviors and nursing students' learning in Tabriz University of Medical Sciences in 2016.

Background: Clinical teaching is at the core of the nursing profession. However, clinical teaching may not empower students to gain clinical competency and skills. In this context, the performance of instructors is one of the main determinants of effective clinical teaching. Therefore, the present study aimed to determine the relationship between nursing instructors' clinical teaching behaviors and students' learning. Methods: This descriptive, correlational study was conducted with 267 nursing students selected through convenience sampling. The data were collected using the Nursing Clinical Teacher Effectiveness Inventory, developed by Knox and Morgan. The questionnaire included two parts: the extent to which nursing instructors used teaching behaviors and the effectiveness of these behaviors on students' learning. The data were entered into the SPSS statistical software, version 19, and were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics and the Pearson's correlation coefficient. Results: The results showed a significant positive relationship between the extent to which nursing instructors used teaching behaviors and the effectiveness of these behaviors on students' learning (P = 0.001). In terms of the utilization of teaching behaviors, the highest average rates were related to the dimensions of interpersonal relations and teaching abilities, while the lowest average rates were found for the evaluation dimension. With regard to the effectiveness of these teaching behaviors on learning, the dimensions of teaching ability and evaluation gained the highest and lowest average rates, respectively. Discussion: Instructors' capabilities have to be improved regarding the effective utilization of some behaviors related to evaluation, personal characteristics, and nursing competency. In this respect, the use of comprehensive teaching programs can be quite beneficial.

The design and psychometric evaluation of the Supportive-Care Needs Scale (ZOKH-SCNS29) in patients living with cancer.

BACKGROUND: Understanding the needs of cancer patients and planning to meet these needs is a major concern of the health system. AIM: The present study aimed to design and conduct a psychometric evaluation of supportive-care needs scale in patients with cancer. METHODS: This study was conducted in both qualitative and quantitative stages. In the qualitative phase, the questionnaire items were generated by analysing the data from 16 interviews, after which, face, content and construct validity were tested. To construct the validity, the questionnaire was completed by 229 cancer patients. The reliability of the questionnaire was assessed by internal consistency. Data were analysed using SPSS (version 18). FINDINGS: In this study, 4 factors were extracted from 29 items through exploratory factor analysis: 'Need to be understood by the spouse and family' (10 items), 'Need to manage existential and psychological challenges' (7 items), 'Need to manage lack of knowledge about the disease' (7 items), 'Need organisational-therapeutic support '(5 items). These factors accounted for 50.1%. of the total variance. Internal consistency was 0.88, and also the Cronbach's alpha coefficient was also 0.89 after construct validity for the scale items'. The Cronbach's alpha was 0.91 after the construct validity. CONCLUSION: The findings of the present study showed that this supportive care needs scale is a valid and reliable scale for identifying the supportive care needs of patients with cancer.