The lived experience of healthcare workers in quarantine: Findings of a systematic review, meta-synthesis and meta-summary.

AIMS: In pandemics, infection exposure and quarantine represent critical occupational risks for healthcare workers (HCWs). However, while the psychological consequences of HCWs' quarantine have been reviewed, other potential implications of quarantine on HCWs, such as those that are work-, professional-, social- and private-related, have not been summarised to date. Summarising quarantined HCWs' experiences in the current and past pandemics, as investigated with qualitative studies, might improve awareness of their needs, concerns, and the consequences of quarantine on their personal lives. Therefore, the lived experience of quarantined HCWs was reviewed and subjected to meta-synthesis and -summary. METHODS: A systematic review of qualitative studies followed by a meta-synthesis and -summary allowing an interpretative integration of the findings of qualitative studies, was performed. PubMed, CINHAL and Scopus databases were explored up to 31 January, 2021, without any limitation in time. The methodological quality of the studies was assessed using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme. Methods and findings are reported according to the Enhancing transparency in reporting the synthesis of qualitative research statement. RESULTS: A total of 635 records were retrieved and five studies were included. Overall, five themes summarised the lived experience of quarantined HCWs: 1) Being emotionally challenged; 2) Living the quarantine limitations; 3) Losing freedom; 4) Accepting the quarantine; and 5) Staying away from me. The most frequent categories across studies were 'Feeling stressed' and 'Being constrained' (both 100%). The least frequent were 'Feeling sad' (20%), 'Enjoying my family' (20%) and 'Being refused as a family member' (20%). CONCLUSIONS: The lived experience of HCWs is multidimensional, the implications of which also affect private spheres of life: the immediate family and wider relatives. Understanding and learning from HCWs' lived experiences might support policymakers, public health authorities and managers with the goal of maintaining the highest physical and mental health of staff during outbreaks. Timely services supporting HCWs, both during and after episode(s) of quarantine, are suggested to prevent additional burdens on frontline professionals.

Framing the time while designing and conducting reviews: A Focused Mapping Review and Synthesis.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To identify the profile of time restrictions and their justifications as reported on a set of published reviews. BACKGROUND: There is a body of methodological knowledge addressing how to design and perform reviews in their different designs. However, how the time restrictions should be set and the justifications that should be provided have received limited attention to date. DESIGN: A Focused Mapping Review and Synthesis following three steps (Focus, Mapping and Synthesis) was performed on 2021. The ENTREQ checklist was followed to report methods and findings. METHODS: All Journal of Clinical Nursing reviews published in online or printed version on 2020 (n = 85). Time limits imposed in the literature search, and justifications provided were mapped and synthetised with quantitative and a qualitative analysis. RESULTS: Time restrictions in reviews are not always reported and, when available, reflect three different profiles: (a) including all studies, to provide a comprehensive review; (b) selecting a period, to provide reviews for a contemporary practice; and (b) including only recent studies for reviews reflecting current practice. Reasons justifying time restrictions are not always reported; when documented, justifications regard changes in the practice, in the research or in the theory occurred over time, recent or ongoing. CONCLUSIONS: In exploring the date restrictions applied in reviews published over the course of a year, it emerged that the time of access to the sources and the justifications are not always indicated. The attributes of the emerging concepts of "comprehensive reviews," "contemporary practice reviews" and "current practice reviews" might be further developed to support researchers in selecting an appropriate time frame. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Reviews require improvements regarding the time restrictions and their justifications. Methodological efforts to standardise the approach ensuring transparency in review protocols and in the following review publication are recommended.

Missed nursing education: Findings from a qualitative study.

AIM: To understand what nursing education activities are missed in the daily life of nursing programmes, by also identifying antecedents and consequences of missed educational activities. DESIGN: A descriptive qualitative study according to the COnsolidated criteria for REporting Qualitative research guidelines. METHODS: A purposeful sample of 32 participants with different roles (nurse educators, clinical nurses, students, and administrative personnel) and working in different settings (university, administrative, healthcare service levels) were involved in three focus groups and nine face-to-face interviews from 2019-2020. Both focus groups and face-to-face interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. The data that emerged were thematically categorized by induction. FINDINGS: Missed Nursing Education reflects those educational activities needed in the process of nursing education that are missed or delayed. Direct educational activities missed include clinical rotations, classroom teaching and students' overall learning experience. Indirect missed educational activities concern continuing professional development of nursing faculty members, nursing discipline development and the organizational processes of the nursing programme. As antecedents, missed nursing education is triggered by factors at the organizational, nursing faculty, and student levels. Consequences have been reported for students, nursing faculty, clinical nurses, and patients. CONCLUSIONS: Missed Nursing Education can be considered a multifaceted, multicausal phenomenon, with multitargeted consequences. IMPACT: To date, missed nursing care has only been investigated in clinical practice. However, care also permeates the relationship between nurse educators and students. Thus, at the point of 'educational care' delivery, aspects can also be omitted. Educational activities at risk of being missed or delayed affect the quality of nursing education and, in the short- and in the long- terms, also the quality of patient care. Some Missed Nursing Education antecedents can be modified by appropriate strategies that should be addressed by policy, health care and academic institutions.

Hospital-acquired functional decline in older patients cared for in acute medical wards and predictors: Findings from a multicentre longitudinal study.

Describing the trajectories of hospital-associated functional decline in older patients admitted to acute medical units and identifying predictors at the individual, nursing, and hospital levels, were the aims of the study. A longitudinal survey among 12 acute medical units in which 1464 patients were consecutively enrolled and evaluated using the Barthel Index (BI), was performed. Functional decline was defined as a decrease in the BI of at least 5 points from admission to discharge. In all, 17.1% participants (n = 251) demonstrated functional decline. In accordance with multiple logistic regression analysis, 28.8% (R(2)) of the variance in the functional decline was explained by: confusion/disorientation (RR = 4.684; 95% CI = 3.144-6.978), admission from nursing homes (RR = 2.464; 95% CI = 1.642-3.697), daily care expressed in minutes offered by nursing aides (RR = 1.535; 95% CI = 1.275-1.849), higher workforce skill-mix (RR = 2.221; 95% CI = 1.763-2.797), bladder catheter insertion (RR = 1.599; 95% CI = 1.128-2.268), and higher BI score at admission (RR = 1.019; 95% CI = 1.014-1.024). Increasing the amount of care delivered by competent nurses-having a bachelors degree-providing and supervising direct-care activities, may reduce the occurrence of functional decline in older patients admitted to medical units.

[What are the alternatives to restraints in clinical practice? Results of a multicentre study]. / Quali alternative alle contenzioni fisiche sono applicate nella pratica quotidiana? Risultati di uno studio multi-metodo multicentrico.

. What are the alternatives to restraints in clinical practice? Results of a multicentre study. INTRODUCTION: Physical restraint is still very widespread and debated due to its implications; however, available literature focuses on prevention, neglecting recommendations on possible alternatives. OBJECTIVE: To explore whether and which alternatives nurses apply before deciding to restrain patients. METHOD: A two-phase multi-centre multi-method study was performed. In the first, a prevalence survey on restraints was conducted; in the second, a short interview was carried out with the nurses responsible for the care of restrained individuals to identify the alternatives implemented before deciding to restrain. RESULTS: 37 facilities in Friuli-Venezia Giulia region were included, 17 Nursing Homes (NHs), 10 Intermediate Units (IUs) and 10 Medical/Surgical wards. On the index day 1818 (78.2%) patients were present in the NHs, 157 in the IUs (6.8%) and 308 in the hospital wards (13.3%) (= 2283). A total of 28.9% (659/2283) patients were restrained (31.3% in NHs; 26.8% in IUs; 15.6% in hospitals). Only for 81 (12.3%) of them the restraints had been preceded by the application of an alternative (e.g., involving family members, lowering the bed, or using pillows). DISCUSSION: In the physical restrain decision-making process, nurses consider few alternatives, approximately one in every eight restraints, more frequently in IUs, less in NHs and never in hospital wards. Those used are simple, and depend on the context and the resources available.

Nursing minimum data sets: Findings from an umbrella review.

OBJECTIVES: This study explores the evidence available on Nursing Minimum Data Sets (NMDSs) by summarising: (a) the main methodological and reporting features of the reviews published in this field to date; (b) the recommendations developed and published in such reviews regarding the NMDSs, and (c) the categories and items that should be included in the NMDSs according to the available reviews. METHODS: An Umbrella Review was performed. A search of secondary studies published up to November 2021 that were focused on NMDSs for adult hospitalised patients was conducted using MEDLINE (via PubMed), CINAHL and Scopus databases. The included studies were critically evaluated by using the Checklist for Systematic Review and Research Syntheses. The full review process was performed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and the Meta-Analyses statement. RESULTS: From the initial 1311 studies that were retrieved, a total of eight reviews published from 1995 to 2018 were included. Their methodological quality was variable; these reviews offered four types of recommendations, namely at the overall, clinical, research and management levels. Additionally, seven NMDSs emerged with different purposes, elements, target populations and taxonomies. A list of categories and items that should be included in NMDSs have been summarised. CONCLUSIONS: Nurses are daily involved in the nursing care documentation; however, which elements are recorded is mainly defined at the local levels and relies on paper and pencil. NMDS might provide a point of reference, specifically in the time of health digitalisation. Alongside other priorities as underlined in available recommendations, and the need to improve the quality of the reviews in this field, there is a need to develop a common NMDS by establishing its core elements, deciding on a standardised language and identifying linkages with other datasets.

Implications of quarantine among healthcare professionals: findings from a scoping review.

Although quarantine has been largely used in the recent period of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), there has to date been no summary of the available literature regarding its implications among health care workers (HCWs). A scoping review was performed, following The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Review and the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Checklist. The CINAHL, PubMed, and SCOPUS databases were queried up to 31 January 2021. Nine studies ranging from low to high methodological quality, were included. These were conducted in diverse countries, predominantly regarding the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome and using cross-sectional designs. Quarantine was found to have multifaceted negative consequences that affected HCWs psychologically, professionally, personally, socially and economically. These findings could be useful as a framework for researchers while designing future study protocols, and for policy-makers or managers while establishing multidimensional effective strategies increasing HCWs' resilience and wellness.

Emotional concerns and coping strategies in Low Grade Glioma patients and reliability of their caregivers in reporting these concerns: Findings from a cross-sectional study.

PURPOSE: To explore the emotional concerns and coping strategies of patients with Low Grade Glioma (LGG) and whether or not their caregivers are reliable in reporting these concerns as surrogate informants. METHODS: An explorative cross-sectional study. Patients who had undergone a neurosurgical procedure at least one year before this study for LGG and who were capable of participating in a face-to-face interview were included. Each patient nominated a reference caregiver. Both the patient and the caregiver were interviewed independently, using the Beck Depression Inventory Scale, the State - Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Jalowiec Coping Scale. MAIN RESULTS: Forty-six patients and 46 caregivers were included. The average scores of the Beck scale were homogeneous between patients and caregivers (7.76 [CI 95% 5.76-9.75] vs. 6.23 [CI 95% 4.57-7.90]; p = 0.102). Patients reported significantly greater state and trait anxiety (44.26 [CI 95% 40.21-48.31] and 37.95 [CI 95% 34.97-40.94]), respectively compared to their caregivers (40.28 [CI 95% 36.64-43.91] and 35.17 [CI 95% 32.16-38.18]). The coping strategies enacted were homogeneous between patients and caregivers (82.78 [CI 95% 77.21-88.35] vs (80.93 [CI 95% 76.32-85.55]; p = 0.102) while the kind of strategies adopted were significantly diverse. CONCLUSIONS: Patients suffer from depression and greater state anxiety as compared to trait anxiety; moreover, they enact less than half of the available coping strategies. Caregivers may be involved as surrogate informants when necessary for health-care professionals to detect depression while more caution is advised for what concerns anxiety and the coping strategies enacted by patients.

Long-Term Cognitive Functioning and Psychological Well-Being in Surgically Treated Patients with Low-Grade Glioma.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this work is to provide an in-depth investigation of the impact of low-grade gliomas (LGG) and their surgery on patients' cognitive and emotional functioning and well-being, carried out via a comprehensive and multiple-measure psychological and neuropsychological assessment. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Fifty surgically treated patients with LGG were evaluated 40 months after surgery on their functioning over 6 different cognitive domains, 3 core affective/emotional aspects, and 3 different psychological well-being measures to obtain a clearer picture of the long-term impact of illness and surgery on their psychological and relational world. Close relatives were also involved to obtain an independent measure of the psychological dimensions investigated. RESULTS: Cognitive status was satisfactory, with only mild short-term memory difficulties. The affective and well-being profile was characterized by mild signs of depression, good satisfaction with life and psychological well-being, and good personality development, with patients perceiving themselves as stronger and better persons after illness. However, patients showed higher emotional reactivity, and psychological well-being measures were negatively affected by epileptic burden. Well-being was related to positive affective/emotional functioning and unrelated to cognitive functioning. Good agreement between patients and relatives was found. CONCLUSIONS: In the long-term, patients operated on for LGG showed good cognitive functioning, with no significant long-term cognitive sequelae for the extensive surgical approach. Psychologically, patients appear to experience a deep psychological change and maturation, closely resembling that of so-called posttraumatic growth, which, to our knowledge, is for the first time described and quantified in patients with LGG.

When are night shifts effective for nursing student clinical learning? Findings from a mixed-method study design.

BACKGROUND: Some nursing programmes offer night shifts for students while others do not, mainly due to the lack of evidence regarding their effectiveness on clinical learning. OBJECTIVES: The principal aims of the study were to describe nursing students' perceptions and to explore conditions influencing effectiveness on learning processes during night shifts. DESIGN: An explanatory mixed-method study design composed of a cross-sectional study (primary method, first phase) followed by a descriptive phenomenological study design (secondary method, second phase) in 2015. SETTING: Two bachelor of nursing degree programmes located in Northern Italy, three years in length and requiring night shifts for students starting in the second semester of the 1st year, were involved. PARTICIPANTS: First phase: all nursing students ending their last clinical placement of the academic year attended were eligible; 352 out the 370 participated. Second phase: a purposeful sample of nine students among those included in the first phase and who attended the highest amount of night shifts were interviewed. METHODS: First phase: a questionnaire composed of closed and open-ended questions was adopted; data was analyzed through descriptive statistical methods. Second phase: an open-ended face-to-face audio-recorded interview was adopted and data was analyzed through content analysis. RESULTS: Findings from the quantitative phase, showed that students who attended night shifts reported satisfaction (44.7%) less frequently than those who attended only day shifts (55.9%). They also reported boredom (23.5%) significantly more often compared to day shift students (p=0001). Understanding of the nursing role and learning competence was significantly inferior among night shift students as compared to day shift students, while the perception of wasting time was significantly higher among night shift students compared to their counterparts. Night shift students performed nursing rounds (288; 98.2%), non-nursing tasks (247; 84.3%) and/or less often managed clinical problems (insomnia 37; 12.6% and disorientation/confusion 32; 10.9%). Findings from the qualitative phase showed night shifts are experienced by students as a "time potentially capable of generating clinical learning": learning is maximized when students play an active role, encounter patients' clinical problems and develop relationships with patients, caregivers and staff. CONCLUSIONS: Night shifts remains ambiguous from the students' perspective and their introduction in nursing education should be approached with care, considering the learning aims expected by students in their clinical placements and the education of clinical mentors education who should be capable of effectively involving students in the process of night care by avoiding non-nursing tasks.

Post-operative shampoo effects in neurosurgical patients: a pilot experimental study.

BACKGROUND: Neurosurgical site infections are an important issue. Among the acknowledged preventive tactics, the non-shaving technique is well established in the neurosurgical setting. However, given that patient's hair around the surgical site may retain biologic material that emerges during the surgical procedure or that may simply become dirty, which may increase the risk of surgical site infections, if and when shampooing should be offered remains under debate. METHODS: A pilot experimental study was undertaken from 2011 to 2012. A series of neurosurgical patients not affected by conditions that would increase the risk of post-operative infection were assigned randomly to the exposed group (receiving shampoo 72 h after surgical procedure) or control group (receiving standard dressing surveillance without shampooing). Comfort, surgical site contamination (measured as the number of colony-forming units [CFU]), and SSIs at 30 d after surgery were the main study outcomes. RESULTS: A total of 53 patients were included: 25 (47.2%) received a shampoo after 72 h whereas 28 (52.8%) received standard care. Patients who received a shampoo reported a similar level of comfort (average=8.04; standard deviation [SD] 1.05) compared with those receiving standard care (average 7.3; SD 3.2) although this was not statistically significant (p=0.345). No statistically significant difference emerged in the occurrence of surgical site contamination between the groups, and no SSIs were detected within 30 d. CONCLUSIONS: In our pilot study, the results of which are not generalizable because of the limited sample of patients involved, a gentle shampoo offered 72 h after the surgical procedure did not increase the SSIs occurrence or the contamination of the surgical site, although it may increase the perception of comfort by patients. Further studies are strongly recommended involving a larger sample size and designed to include more diversified neurosurgical patients undergoing surgical procedures in different centers.

Clinical assessment instruments validated for nursing practice in the Italian context: a systematic review of the literature.

AIMS: With the aim to identify the instruments validated for Italian nursing practice, a systematic review of the literature was undertaken. RESULTS: A total of 101 instruments emerged. The majority (89; 88.1%) were developed in other countries; the remaining (14; 13.9%) were developed and validated in the Italian context. The instruments were developed to measure patient's problems (63/101; 62.4%), outcomes (27/101; 26.7%), risks (4/101; 4%) and others issues (7/101; 6.9%). The majority of participants involved in the validation processes were younger adults (49; 48.5%), older adults (40; 39.5%), children (4; 4%), adolescents (3; 3%), and children/adolescents (1; 1%). The instruments were structured primarily in the form of questionnaires (61; 60.4%), as a grid for direct observation (27; 26.7%) or in other forms (12; 11.9%). Among the 101 instruments emerged, there were 1 to 7 validation measures documented with on average 3.2 (95% CI 2.86-3.54) for each instrument. CONCLUSIONS: Developing validation studies giving priority to those instruments widely adopted in the clinical nursing practice is recommended.

Pre-operative stress, anxiety, depression and coping strategies adopted by patients experiencing their first or recurrent brain neoplasm: an explorative study.

The main aims of this study were to evaluate the intensity of stress, anxiety and depression as well as the effectiveness of coping strategies adopted pre-operatively in brain neoplasm patients. A descriptive-explorative study design was undertaken. During 2008, patients admitted to a large Italian hospital neurosurgical unit with their first (n = 21) or recurrent (n = 15) brain neoplasm, on the day before their surgical procedure, were consecutively recruited into the study. The Perceived Stress Scale, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and the Jalowiec Coping Scale were administered via face-to-face interview. Patients with their first occurrence of neoplasm perceived the same stress intensity as those with recurrent neoplasm (mean ± standard deviation: 14.9 ± 6.7 versus 17.2 ± 8.8, p = 0.36). They also reported the same likelihood of anxiety at a borderline level (odds ratio (OR) 4.88, 95%CI 0.42 to 40.97, p = 0.06) and at a clinically relevant level (OR 0.32, 95%CI 0.01 to 5.37, p = 0.35) as well as the same likelihood of depression at a borderline level (OR 1.25, 95%CI 0.20 to 8.40, p = 0.78). Only one case of clinically relevant depression emerged among patients at their first diagnosis. Patients at their first occurrence, as well as those at recurrence, reported that they adopted optimistic coping strategies (mean 2.20, 95%CI 2.01 to 2.38 versus mean 1.96, 95%CI 1.71 to 2.20) and sought support (mean 1.81, 95%CI 1.58 to 2.05 versus mean 1.89, 95%CI 1.63 to 2.15). According to the findings of this exploratory study, on the pre-operative day, brain neoplasm patients at their first diagnosis and at recurrence wish to confront the situation: they adopt optimistic coping strategies, they seek support and they wish to take a constructive problem-solving approach. Knowledge of the intensity of stress, anxiety and depression as well as the coping strategies adopted by the patients is important for clinicians in their efforts to tailor care to patients' individual needs.

Do nurses risk underestimating the problems of patients with frontal lobe neoplasms?

PURPOSE: Although the profile of the problems and risks associated with cancer patients has expanded over the past few years, and so has our available knowledge on the concordance between patients and nurses, there is a lack of evidence concerning neurosurgical patients. In comparison with patients who have neoplasm located in other lobes, those with frontal lobe cancer can suffer from personality changes, disinhibition, apathy, and higher-order attentional difficulties. Such behavior may give rise to a stigma, and consequently, pose a risk to have their problems misunderstood by caregivers, and be at greater risk than they are perceived to be. OBJECTIVE: To explore the risk of nurses underestimating the problems of patients who were operated on for frontal neoplasm, compared to patients suffering from neoplasms located in other cerebral lobes. METHODS: A prospective study was undertaken in 2008 in Italy. Patients admitted to the hospital with brain neoplasm were eligible for the study. For each patient with a frontal lobe neoplasm, a corresponding patient with a cerebral neoplasm located in either the temporal, parietal or occipital lobes was also included. Nurses working in the units involved and providing care to these patients were also included. On the afternoon of the 2nd postoperative day, the researcher interviewed both the patients, and the registered nurses (RNs) responsible for the patients' care, in regards to pain intensity, dependence in activities of daily living, anxiety and depression, and fear of falling, as each was perceived by patients and nurses. The level of concordance between the patients' and nurses' responses was calculated. RESULTS: Forty-six patients were considered (mean age 53.5 years); 23 had surgery for a frontal brain neoplasm and 23 for brain neoplasms located in either the temporal, parietal, or occipital areas. Overall, patients operated on for frontal lobe neoplasms had much of the same risks of underestimation of their problems, as patients with other cerebral neoplasms. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with frontal lobe neoplasms seemed, overall, to run the same risk of their problems being underestimated as patients with cerebral neoplasms located at other sites. Neurosurgical nurses tended to overestimate patients' problems, particularly in cases with neoplasms not located in the frontal lobe. This unexpected finding needs to be addressed with further research, and might warrant a different approach to caring for patients with frontal lobe neoplasms, whose problems are overestimated less, so that they might receive less supportive care.