Guidelines for conscientious objection in Spain: a proposal involving prerequisites and protocolized procedure.

Healthcare professionals often face ethical conflicts and challenges related to decision-making that have necessitated consideration of the use of conscientious objection (CO). No current guidelines exist within Spain's healthcare system regarding acceptable rationales for CO, the appropriate application of CO, or practical means to support healthcare professionals who wish to become conscientious objectors. As such, a procedural framework is needed that not only assures the appropriate use of CO by healthcare professionals but also demonstrates its ethical validity, legislative compliance through protection of moral freedoms and patients' rights to receive health care. Our proposal consists of prerequisites of eligibility for CO (individual reference, specific clinical context, ethical justification, assurance of non-discrimination, professional consistency, attitude of mutual respect, assurance of patient rights and safety) and a procedural process (notification and preparation, documentation and confidentiality, evaluation of prerequisites, non-abandonment, transparency, allowance for unforeseen objection, compensatory responsibilities, access to guidance and/or consultative advice, and organizational guarantee of professional substitution). We illustrate the real-world utility of the proposed framework through a case discussion in which our guidelines are applied.

Enteral nutrition management in critically ill adult patients and its relationship with intensive care unit-acquired muscle weakness: A national cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the incidence and determinants of ICU-acquired muscle weakness (ICUAW) in adult patients with enteral nutrition (EN) during the first 7 days in the ICU and mechanical ventilation for at least 48 hours. METHODS: A prospective, nationwide, multicentre cohort study in a national ICU network of 80 ICUs. ICU patients receiving invasive mechanical ventilation for at least 48 hours and EN the first 7 days of their ICU stay were included. The primary outcome was incidence of ICUAW. The secondary outcome was analysed, during days 3-7 of ICU stay, the relationship between demographic and clinical data to contribute to the onset of ICUAW, identify whether energy and protein intake can contribute independently to the onset of ICUAW and degree of compliance guidelines for EN. RESULTS: 319 patients were studied from 69 ICUs in our country. The incidence of ICUAW was 153/222 (68.9%; 95% CI [62.5%-74.7%]). Patients without ICUAW showed higher levels of active mobility (p = 0.018). The logistic regression analysis showed no effect on energy or protein intake on the onset of ICUAW. Overfeeding was observed on a significant proportion of patient-days, while more overfeeding (as per US guidelines) was found among patients with obesity than those without (42.9% vs 12.5%; p<0.001). Protein intake was deficient (as per US/European guidelines) during ICU days 3-7. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of ICUAW was high in this patient cohort. Early mobility was associated with a lower incidence of ICUAW. Significant overfeeding and deficient protein intake were observed. However, energy and protein intake alone were insufficient to explain ICUAW onset. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Low mobility, high incidence of ICUAW and low protein intake suggest the need to train, update and involve ICU professionals in nutritional care and the need for early mobilization of ICU patients.

Opinions of nurses regarding Euthanasia and Medically Assisted Suicide.

BACKGROUND: Safeguarding the right to die according to the principles of autonomy and freedom of each person has become more important in the last decade, therefore increasing regulation of Euthanasia and Medically Assisted Suicide (MAS). AIMS: To learn the opinions that the nurses of the autonomous region of Madrid have regarding Euthanasia and Medically Assisted Suicide. RESEARCH DESIGN: Cross-sectional descriptive study. PARTICIPANTS AND RESEARCH CONTEXT: All registered nurses in Madrid. The study was done by means of a self-completed anonymous questionnaire. The variables studied were social-demographic, giving opinions about Euthanasia and MAS. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS: Each participant was assured maximum confidentiality and anonymity, ensuring the ethical principles set out in the Declaration of Helsinki, as well as in the Organic Law 3/2018, on Personal Data Protection and guarantee of digital rights. FINDINGS: A total of 489 nurses answered the questionnaire. In total, 75.7% of the nurses confirmed that Euthanasia should be regulated in Spain. 66.3% indicated that information on Euthanasia should be provided jointly by doctors and nurses, and 42.3% considered that it could be applied by both medical and nursing professionals. A total of 87.2% advocated the participation of nurses in health policy, influencing the drafting of the law. In the face of possible regulation, 35% would request Conscientious Objection, being closely related to their religious beliefs. DISCUSSION: Different authors point out that nurses' perceptions and attitudes towards Euthanasia are conditioned by different factors, such as religion, gender, poor palliative care, legality and the patient's right to die. CONCLUSION: Nurses are positioned in favour of the regulation and practice of Euthanasia and MAS, depending on their age, years of experience, training, model of care and especially religious beliefs.

Moral distress, emotional impact and coping in intensive care unit staff during the outbreak of COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: From the beginning, the COVID-19 pandemic increased ICU workloads and created exceptionally difficult ethical dilemmas. ICU staff around the world have been subject to high levels of moral stress, potentially leading to mental health problems. There is only limited evidence on moral distress levels and coping styles among Spanish ICU staff, and how they influenced health professionals' mental health during the pandemic. OBJECTIVES: To assess moral distress, related mental health problems (anxiety and depression), and coping styles among ICU staff during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain. DESIGN: Cross-sectional. SETTINGS AND PARTICIPANTS: The study setting consisted of intensive care unit and areas converted into intensive care units in public and private hospitals. A total of 434 permanent and temporary intensive care staff (reassigned due to the pandemic from other departments to units) answered an online questionnaire between March and June 2020. METHODS: Sociodemographic and job variables, moral distress, anxiety, depression, and coping mechanisms were anonymously evaluated through a self-reported questionnaire. Descriptive and correlation analyses were conducted and multivariate linear regression models were developed to explore the predictive ability of moral distress and coping on anxiety and depression. RESULTS: Moral distress during the pandemic is determined by situations related to the patient and family, the intensive care unit, and resource management of the organisations themselves. intensive care unit staff already reached moderate levels of moral distress, anxiety, and depression during the first wave of the pandemic. Temporary staff (redeployed from other units) obtained higher scores in these variables (p = 0.04, p = 0.038, and p = 0.009, respectively) than permanent staff, as well as in greater intention to leave their current position (p = 0.03). This intention was also stronger in health staff working in areas converted into intensive care units (45.2%) than in normal intensive care units (40.2%) (p = 0.02). Moral distress, coupled with primarily avoidance-oriented coping styles, explains 37% (AdR2) of the variance in anxiety and 38% (AdR2) of the variance in depression. CONCLUSIONS: Our study reveals that the emotional well-being of intensive care unit staff was already at risk during the first wave of the pandemic. The moral distress they experienced was related to anxiety and depression issues, as well as the desire to leave the profession, and should be addressed, not only in permanent staff, but also in temporary staff, redeployed to these units as reinforcement workers.

The impact of ABCDE bundle implementation on patient outcomes: A nationwide cohort study.

BACKGROUND: The ABCDE bundle is a set of evidence-based practices to systematically reduce the risks of sedation, delirium, and immobility in intensive care patients. Implementing the bundle improves clinical outcome. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To investigate the association between patient outcomes and compliance with bundle components ABC (analgosedation algorithms), D (delirium protocol), and E (early mobilization protocol). DESIGN: A Spanish multicentre cohort study of adult patients receiving invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) for ≥48 h until extubation. METHODS: The primary outcome was pain level, cooperation to permit Medical Research Council Scale administration, patient days of delirium, and mobility. The secondary outcome was cumulative drug dosing by IMV days. Tertiary outcomes (ICU days, IMV days, bed rest days, ICU mortality, ICUAW) and independent variables (analgosedation, delirium, early mobilization protocols) were also studied. RESULTS: Data were collected from 605 patients in 80 ICUs and 5214 patient days with IMV. Two-thirds of the ICUs studied applied no protocols. Pain was not assessed on 83.6% of patient days. Patient cooperation made scale administration feasible on 20.7% of days. Delirium and immobility were found on 4.2% and 69.9% of days, respectively. Patients had shorter stays in ICUs with bundle protocols and fewer days of IMV in ICUs with delirium and mobilization bundle components (P = 0.006 and P = 0.03, respectively). Analgosedation protocols were associated with more opioid dosing (P = 0.02), and delirium and early mobilization protocols with more propofol (P = 0.001), dexmedetomidine (P = 0.001), and lower benzodiazepine dosing (P = 0.008). CONCLUSIONS: The implementation rate of ABCDE bundle components was very low in our Spanish setting, but when implemented, patients had a shorter ICU stay, more analgesia dosing, and lighter sedation. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Applying some but not all the bundle components, there is increased analgesia and light sedation drug use, decreased benzodiazepines, and increased patient cooperation and mobility, resulting in a shorter ICU stay and fewer days of IMV.

Variables associated with mobility levels in critically ill patients: A cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Early mobilization in the intensive care unit (ICU) helps improve patients' functional status at discharge. However, many barriers hinder this practice. AIM AND OBJECTIVES: To identify mobility levels acquired by critically ill patients and their variables. DESIGN: A multi-centre cohort study was conducted in adult patients receiving invasive mechanical ventilation for at least 48 hours. METHODS: The primary outcome was level of mobility according to the ICU mobility scale. The secondary outcome was human resource availability and existence of ABCDEF bundle guidelines. A logistic regression was performed, based on days 3 to 5 of the ICU stay and significant association with active mobility. RESULTS: Six hundred and forty-two patients were included from 80 ICUs. Active moving in and out of bed was found on 9.9% of patient-days from day 8 of the ICU stay. Bed exercises, or passive transfers, and immobility were observed on 45.6% and 42.2% of patient-days, respectively. Patients achieving active mobility (189/642, 29.4%) were in ICUs with more physiotherapist hours. Active mobility was more likely with a 1:4 nurse-patient ratio (odds ratio [OR] 3.7 95% confidence interval [CI] [1.2-11.2]), high MRC sum-score (OR 1.05 95% CI [1.04-1.06]) and presence of delirium (OR 1.01 95% CI [1.00-1.02]). By contrast, active mobility was hindered by higher BMI (OR 0.92 95% CI [0.88-0.97]), a 1:3 nurse-patient ratio (OR 0.54 95% CI [0.32-0.93]), or a shift-dependent nurse-patient ratio (OR 0.27 95% CI [0.12-0.62]). CONCLUSIONS: Immobility and passive mobilization were prevalent. A high MRC sum-score and presence of delirium are protective factors of mobilization. A 1:4 nurse-patient ratio shows a stronger association with active mobility than a 1:3 ratio. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Severity-criteria-based nurse-patient ratios hinder mobilization. Active mobilization may be enhanced by using nursing-intervention-based ratios, increasing physiotherapist hours, and achieving wider application of the ABCDEF bundle, resulting in more awake, cooperative patients.

Spanish regulation of euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide.

In March 2021, the Spanish Congress approved the law regulating euthanasia, that regulates both euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide (PAS). In this article, we analyse the Spanish law regulating euthanasia and PAS, comparing it with the rest of the European laws on euthanasia and PAS (Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg). Identified strengths of the Spanish law, with respect to other norms, are that it is a law with many safeguards, which broadly recognises professionals' right to conscientious objection and the specification that it makes on the prior comprehensive care of the patient, including the approach to care dependency. Regarding its shortcomings, the law does not differentiate well between euthanasia and PAS; it barely assigns a role to the healthcare team as a whole (similar to other regulations); it does not clarify the functions of the different professionals involved; it does not detail the specific composition and duration of theevaluation commission; it has not been accompanied by a prior or simultaneous regulation of palliative care; and, lastly, the period of time to implement the law is too short.

Enfermeria basada en la evidencia: revisión de alcance

RESUMEN Objetivos: Identificar la evidencia científica sobre el concepto, desarrollo y función, de la Enfermería Basada en la Evidencia (EBE) y analizar críticamente esta herramienta, sus elementos facilitadores y barreras para su implementación. Material y Método: Revisión de alcance según propuesta del Joanna Briggs Institute. Se consideró el rango de tiempo entre 1997 y 2019 para recuperar artículos y revisiones en inglés, portugués y español. Se utilizaron descriptores del tesauro Medical Subject Headings y términos booleanos para aplicar las estrategias de búsqueda en 4 bases de datos: PubMed, EBSCOhost, Scopus y Science Direct. Se complementó la búsqueda con la técnica de bola de nieve aplicada a la lista de referencias de los artículos relevantes seleccionados. Para evaluar la validez y el impacto de los resultados de los artículos de revisión y cualitativos se aplicó el Critical Appraisal Skills Programme Español (CASPE), y para estudios observacionales el Strengthening the Reporting of Observational studies in Epidemiology (STROBE). Para establecer los niveles de evidencia se utilizó Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care (CTPFCHC). Resultados: De 163.074 manuscritos iniciales, fueron seleccionados 44 para análisis y extraer datos referentes a: Historia de la EBE; Concepto y función de EBE; Etapas, barreras y facilitadores. Conclusiones: El concepto de EBE pone de manifiesto la necesidad de utilizar esta herramienta para planificar los cuidados mediante el uso del pensamiento crítico y reflexivo; la importancia de realizar el cuidado a la cabecera del paciente y cultivar un cuidado basado en la mejor evidencia, enmarcado, todo ello, en un contexto de humanización, así como considerar las barreras y facilitadores de esta herramienta.

ABSTRACT Objective: To identify the scientific evidence on the concept, development and function of Evidence-Based Nursing (EBN) and to critically analyze this tool, its facilitating elements and barriers for implementation. Material and Method: Scoping review according to the proposal of the Joanna Briggs Institute. The period between 1997 and 2019 was considered to retrieve articles and reviews in English, Portuguese and Spanish. Medical Subject Headings thesaurus descriptors and Boolean operators were used to apply search strategies in 4 databases: Pubmed, EBSCOhost, Scopus, Science Direct. The search was complemented with the snowball technique applied to the reference list of the relevant selected articles. The Critical Appraisal Skills Programme Español (CASPE) was used to assess the validity and impact of the articles review and qualitative results, and the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) was used for the observational studies. To establish the levels of evidence, The Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care (CTPFCHC) was used. Results: Out of 163,074 initial manuscripts, 44 were selected for analysis and data extraction regarding history of EBN; concept and function of EBN; stages, barriers and facilitators. Conclusions: The concept of EBN highlights the need to use this tool to plan nursing care through critical and reflective thinking; the importance of providing direct patient care and promoting care based on the best evidence, in a context of humanization and considering the tool's barriers and facilitators.

RESUMO Objetivo: Identificar as evidências científicas sobre o conceito, desenvolvimento e função da Enfermagem Baseada em Evidências (EBE) e analisar criticamente esta ferramenta, seus elementos facilitadores e as barreiras para sua implementação. Material e Método: Revisão do escopo de acordo com a proposta do Instituto Joanna Briggs. Considerou-se o período entre 1997 e 2019 para recuperar artigos e revisões em inglês, português e español. Foram utilizados descritores do tesauro Medical Subject Headings e operadores booleanos para aplicar estratégias de pesquisa en 4 bancos de dados diferentes: Pubmed, EBSCOhost, Scopus, Science Direct. A pesquisa foi complementada com a técnica de bola de neve aplicada à lista de referência dos artigos selecionados relevantes. O Critical Appraisal Skills Programme Español (CASPE) foi usado para avaliar a validade e o impacto da revisão dos artigos e os resultados qualitativos, e para os estudos de observação utilizou-se o Strengthening the Reporting of Observational studies in Epidemiology (STROBE). A Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care (CTPFCHC) foi utilizada para establecer os níveis de evidência. Resultados: Dos 163.074 manuscritos iniciais, 44 foram selecionados para análise e extração de dados referentes à história da EBN; conceito e função da EBN; etapas, barreiras e facilitadores. Conclusões: O conceito de EBN destaca a necessidade de utilizar esta ferramenta de planejamento de cuidado, através do uso do pensamento crítico e reflexivo; a importância de realizar o cuidado à beira do leito do paciente e promover cuidados baseados nas melhores evidências, em um contexto de humanização e considerando as barreiras e facilitadores desta ferramenta.

Opinions of nurses regarding conscientious objection.

BACKGROUND: In the last decades, there have been important developments in the scientific and technological areas of healthcare. On certain occasions this provokes conflict between the patients' rights and the values of healthcare professionals which brings about, within this clinical relationship, the problem of conscientious objection. AIMS: To learn the opinions that the Nurses of the Madrid Autonomous Community have regarding conscientious objection. RESEARCH DESIGN: Cross-cutting descriptive study. PARTICIPANTS AND RESEARCH CONTEXT: The nurses of 9 hospitals and 12 Health Centers in the Madrid Autonomous Community. The study was done by means of an auto completed anonymous questionnaire. The variables studied were social-demographical and their opinions about conscientious objections. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS: The study was approved by the Ethical Community of Clinical Research of the University Hospital Príncipe de Asturias. Participants were assured of maximum confidentiality and anonymity. FINDINGS: A total of 421 nurses answered the questionnaire. In total, 55.6% of the nurses confirmed they were religious believers, and 64.3% declared having poor knowledge regarding conscientious objection. The matters that caused the greatest objections were voluntary abortions, genetic embryo selection, refusal of blood transfusions, and therapy refusal. DISCUSSION: Different authors state that the most significant cases of conscientious objections for health professionals are those regarding carrying out or assisting in abortions, euthanasia, the practice of assisted reproduction and, finally, the prescription and dispensing of the morning-after pill. In our study, the most significant cases in which the nurses would declare conscientious objections would be the refusal to accept treatment, the selection of embryos after genetic diagnosis preimplantation, the patient's refusal to receive blood transfusions due to religious reasons and pregnant women's request for voluntary abortions within the first 14 weeks. CONCLUSION: Nurses' religious beliefs influence their opinions regarding conscientious objection. The nurses who declare themselves as religious believers object in a higher percentage than those without religious beliefs.