Factors affecting the professional functioning of health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study.

AIM: To examine personal and organisational factors related to professional functioning of nurses and physicians during the COVID-19 pandemic. BACKGROUND: Exposure to COVID-19-related stressors has been associated with lower self-reported professional functioning among health care workers. METHODS: A cross-sectional study among 115 hospital workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Israel was designed to explore (a) personal professional functioning, (b) clarity of guidelines, (c) work organisation by the management, and (d) health care workers' feeling of contribution to a global effort. RESULTS: A feeling of contribution to a global effort while treating patients with COVID-19 mediated the relationships between work organisation by the management and professional functioning (ß = .05, p < .05). The clarity of guidelines for routine procedures (ß = .21, p < .05) and a feeling of ß contribution to a global effort (ß = .34, p < .01) positively predicted professional functioning of nurses and physicians during COVID-19 pandemic (R2 = .19, p < .01). CONCLUSIONS: In order to achieve optimal functioning of health care workers in an emergency, managers should provide clear guidelines and promote workers' feelings of contribution to a global effort. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: The provision of clear guidelines and protocols is essential for efficient emergency management. Expressing appreciation for health care workers and providing positive feedback may improve professional functioning.

MEasuring Nutrition risk in hospitalized patients: MENU, a hospital-based prevalence survey.

BACKGROUND: Depending on the definition used, malnutrition is prevalent among 20-50% of hospitalized patients. Routine nutritional screening is necessary to identify patients with or at increased risk for malnutrition. The Nutrition Risk Screening (NRS 2002) has been recommended as an efficient tool to identify the risk of malnutrition in adult inpatients. OBJECTIVES: To utilize the NRS 2002 to estimate the prevalence of malnutrition among newly hospitalized adult patients, and to identify risk factors for malnutrition. METHODS: During a 5 week period, all adult patients newly admitted to all inpatient departments (except Maternity and Emergency) at Wolfson Medical Center, Holon, were screened using the NRS 2002. An answer of "yes" recorded for any of the Step 1 questions triggered the Step 2 screen on which an age-adjusted total score > or = 3 indicated high malnutrition risk. RESULTS: Data were obtained from 504 newly hospitalized adult patients, of whom 159 (31.5%) were identified as being at high risk for malnutrition. Malnutrition was more prevalent in internal medicine than surgical departments: 38.6% vs. 19.1% (P < 0.001). Body mass index was within the normal range among subjects at high risk for malnutrition: 23.9 +/- 5.6 kg/m2 but significantly lower than in subjects at low malnutrition risk: 27.9 +/- 5.3 kg/m2 (P < 0.001). Malnutrition risk did not differ by gender or smoking status, but subjects at high malnutrition risk were significantly older (73.3 +/- 16.2 vs. 63.4 +/- 18.4 years, P < 0.001). Total protein, albumin, total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein-cholesterol, hemoglobin and % lymphocytes were all significantly lower, whereas urea, creatinine and % neutrophils were significantly higher in patients at high malnutrition risk. CONCLUSIONS: Use of the NRS 2002 identified a large proportion of newly hospitalized adults as being at high risk for malnutrition. These findings indicate the need to intervene on a system-wide level during hospitalization.