Truth-telling to the seriously ill child - Nurses' experiences, attitudes, and beliefs.

BACKGROUND: Nurses play an integral role in the care of children hospitalised with a serious illness. Although information about diagnostics, treatments, and prognosis are generally conveyed to parents and caregivers of seriously ill children by physicians, nurses spend a significant amount of time at the child's bedside and have an acknowledged role in helping patients and families understand the information that they have been given by a doctor. Hence, the ethical role of the nurse in truth disclosure to children is worth exploring. METHODS: A systematic academic database and grey literature search strategy was conducted using CINAHL, Medline Psych Info, and Google Scholar. Keywords used included truth, children, nurse, disclosure, serious illness, and communication. A total of 17 publications of varying types were included in the final data set. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS: As this was a review of the literature, there were no direct human participants. Empirical studies included in the review had received ethics approval. RESULTS: Of the 17 articles included in the review, only one directly reported on the experiences of nurses asked to withhold the truth from patients. Empirical studies were limited to HIV-positive children and children diagnosed with cancer and the dying child. CONCLUSION: A paucity of literature exploring the experiences, attitudes, and beliefs of nurses with regard to truth-telling to seriously ill children is evident. Little consideration has been given to the role nurses play in communicating medical information to children in a hospital setting. The 17 articles included in the review focused on cancer, and HIV, diagnosis, and end-of-life care. Further research should be undertaken to explore the experiences and attitudes of nurses to clinical information sharing to children hospitalised with a wide range of serious illnesses and in diverse clinical scenarios.

A Massive Open Online Course Delivered Just-in-Time: A Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Just-in-time education enables knowledge improvement during health crises. This study was conducted to determine whether nurses' knowledge improved after participating in an innovative online education intervention designed to upskill subacute nurses to prepare for a health crisis. METHOD: The intervention was developed by university nursing academics and supported and promoted through a partnership with a government health department and clinical nurses. Quantitative data obtained with a pretest/post-test knowledge survey were analyzed with independent samples and paired t tests. RESULTS: Statistically significant improvements were seen in nurses' knowledge according to qualification level. The mean difference for knowledge improvement for registered nurses was 1.90, SD = 2.54, and the mean difference for knowledge improvement for enrolled nurses was 2.93, SD = 2.43 (mean difference = 1.03; 95% CI [0.04, 2.03]. CONCLUSION: The intervention was highly effective during the emergent and ongoing phases of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. This study showed that delivering just-in-time education can improve nurses' knowledge. [J Contin Educ Nurs. 2023;54(10):472-479.].