Measuring Self-Care: A Description of the Family of Disease-Specific and Generic Instruments Based on the Theory of Self-Care of Chronic Illness.

BACKGROUND: In recent years, there has been an exponential increase in attention paid to the patient-reported outcome of self-care. Many investigators have used one of the families of self-care instruments freely available on the website www.self-care-measures.com. These self-care measures have been translated into many languages, which are also available on the website. The measures include both disease-specific and generic instruments, which are based on a common theoretical framework, the Middle Range Theory of Self-Care of Chronic Illness. PURPOSE: The purpose of this article is to illustrate similarities among the instruments and to standardize their scoring, analysis, and use. We describe the Self-Care of Heart Failure Index, the Self-Care of Coronary Heart Disease Inventory, the Self-Care of Hypertension Inventory, the Self-Care of Diabetes Inventory, the Self-Care of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Inventory, the Self-Care of Chronic Illness Inventory, and the Self-Care Inventory. Detailed guidance on scoring, translation, and analysis is provided. Complementary measures of self-care self-efficacy and those used to measure caregiver contributions to patient self-care are briefly described. CONCLUSIONS: Many of the common questions of instrument users are answered in this article. Following this guidance will facilitate consistent use of the instruments, which will enable users to compare their results to those of others worldwide and facilitate future reviews and meta-analyses.Clinical ImplicationsThis review, emphasizing standard scoring and interpretation, is useful for clinicians and researchers across various populations and settings.

Generic and disease-specific caregiver contribution to self-care in a population with multiple chronic conditions: A comparative study.

AIM: Describe and compare generic and disease-specific caregiver contribution (CC) to self-care behaviours in the dimensions of self-care maintenance, self-care monitoring and self-care management in multiple chronic conditions (MCCs). DESIGN: Multicentre cross-sectional study. METHODS: We enrolled caregivers of patients with MCC, from April 2017 to November 2022, if they were (a) 18 years of age or older and (b) identified by the patient as the principal unpaid informal caregiver. The Caregiver Contribution to Self-Care of Chronic Illness Inventory, Caregiver Contribution to Self-Care of Heart Failure Index, Caregiver Contribution to Self-Care of COPD Inventory and Caregiver Contribution to Self-care of Diabetes Inventory were used to measure generic and disease-specific contribution to patient self-care. Descriptive statistics, Student's t-tests and Pearson's correlation coefficients were used. RESULTS: We found adequate generic CC for self-care monitoring but inadequate CC in self-care maintenance and management. All CC to disease-specific self-care maintenance, monitoring and management scales' scores were inadequate, except for caregivers of diabetic patients in which we observed an adequate score in the CC to self-care maintenance and self-care management scales in those practice insulin therapy. CONCLUSION: Caregivers experience difficulties in performing behaviours of contribution to their patients affected by chronic conditions. Caregivers of patients with MCCs contribute more to self-care in aspects related to provider prescriptions and less to lifestyle changes. IMPLICATIONS FOR THE PROFESSION AND/OR PATIENT CARE: Healthcare professionals have to know in which behaviours caregivers show gaps and reflect on the reasons for poor CC to self-care to develop interventions to enhance these behaviours. IMPACT: This study underlines the importance of choosing the most appropriate instrument for measuring CC to self-care, considering the caregiver's characteristics. REPORTING METHOD: We adhered to STROBE guidelines. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: Caregivers of patients affected by MCCs were enrolled.

Psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Self-Care in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Inventory based on the Middle-Range Theory of Self-Care of Chronic Illness.

AIMS: To test the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Self-Care in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Inventory on a sample of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in China. BACKGROUND: Measuring the self-care of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is vital to promote the performance of effective self-care behaviours. However, few instruments have been developed to measure self-care in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and the existing instruments lack theoretical support and satisfactory psychometrics properties. The Self-Care in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Inventory based on Middle-Range Theory of Self-Care of Chronic Illness has been developed and tested previously in Italian and US population. DESIGN: A cross-sectional instrument development study. METHODS: Construct validity was tested by confirmatory factor analysis and hypothesis testing, and reliability internal consistency using factor score determinacy coefficients. RESULTS: A convenience sample of 185 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease was recruited from September 2020 to January 2022. The instrument consists of three scales: self-care maintenance, self-care monitoring and self-care management. Confirmatory factor analysis performed on the three scales produced good fit indices. The internal consistency was adequate with factor score determinacy coefficients ranging from 0.891 to 0.953 in Self-Care Maintenance Scale, 0.990 to 0.993 in Self-Care Monitoring Scale and 0.750 to 0.976 in Self-Care Management Scale. CONCLUSIONS: The Chinese version of the Self-Care in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Inventory has acceptable reliability and validity. Some differences from the original instrument were identified. Further validation studies should be conducted to confirm the psychometric properties of the instrument in Chinese population.

The influence of social support on self-care is mediated by self-efficacy and depression in chronic illness: key findings from the 'SODALITY' observational study.

Objectives: Family is a major source of support for older chronically-ill patients and known to be associated with better self-care. Depression and self-care self-efficacy are associated with healthy behaviors and thus may serve as mechanisms by which family support influences self-care.We explored depression and self-care self-efficacy as mediators of the relationship between perceived family support and self-care.Methods: Five hundred forty-one older adults with multiple chronic illnesses were recruited from outpatients and community settings. Three structural equation models (SEM) were fit on cross-sectional data. We measured perceived family support (subscale of the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, scores range 1-7), depression (Patient Health Questionnaire, scores range 0-27), selfcare self-efficacy (Self-Care Self Efficacy Scale, standardized scores range 0-100), and self-care maintenance, monitoring, and management (Self-care of Chronic Illness Inventory, standardized scores range 0-100).Results: Participants (mean age = 76.6±7.3 yrs) were predominantly females (55.6%). In the full sample, depression and self-care self-efficacy mediated the relationship between perceived family support and self-care; in the gender-stratified SEM, men's depression was no longer a significant mediator. Depression and self-care self-efficacy were significant mediators of the relation between perceived family support and self-care.Conclusion: In older chronically-ill patients, interventions addressing perceived family support may facilitate a rapid improvement in self-care self-efficacy and a decrease in depressive symptoms, particularly among women.

The influence of dyad sex combination on patient self-care and caregiver contribution to self-care in multiple chronic conditions: An observational study.

INTRODUCTION: We know that patient and caregiver sex influence patient self-care and caregiver contribution to self-care in multiple chronic conditions. However, the role of dyad sex combination (e.g., male patient and female caregiver, female patient and male caregiver, male patient and caregiver, and female patient and caregiver) in influencing patient self-care and caregiver contribution to self-care remains unexplored. Our aim was to investigate the relationship between patient and caregiver sex combination and patient self-care and caregiver contribution to self-care in multiple chronic conditions. DESIGN: Multicentre cross-sectional study. METHODS: We enrolled patients with multiple chronic conditions and caregiver dyads in outpatient and community settings from April 2017 to December 2019. We used the Self-Care of Chronic Illness Inventory and the Caregiver Contribution to Self-Care of Chronic Illness Inventory that measure, from the patient and caregiver perspective, self-care maintenance (i.e., behaviors to maintain illness stability), self-care monitoring (i.e., monitoring of illness signs and symptoms), and self-care management (i.e., behaviors to manage signs and symptoms). We used multivariate analysis of covariance to evaluate the association between sex and self-care and caregiver contribution to self-care. RESULTS: We recruited 540 patient-caregiver dyads. Male patients cared by female caregivers performed higher self-care maintenance compared to female patients cared by female caregivers. Female caregivers caring for female patients performed higher caregiver contribution to self-care monitoring compared to male caregivers caring for female or male patients. CONCLUSIONS: Clinicians should consider the influence of patient and caregiver sex combination on self-care and caregiver contribution to self-care in multiple chronic conditions to provide tailored interventions. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Healthcare professionals should consider the patient and caregiver sex combination in the dyad to tailor better interventions aimed at improving patient self-care and caregiver contribution to self-care in multiple chronic conditions.

The influence of patient and caregiver depression on patient self-care and caregiver contribution to self-care in ostomy: A dyadic analysis.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To explore the association between patient and caregiver depression and patient self-care and caregiver contribution to self-care in the context of ostomy care. BACKGROUND: Self-care is essential for ostomy patients and their caregivers. The ostomy self-care process can be considered a dyadic phenomenon in which the patient and the caregiver interact together and work as a team. The presence of depressive symptoms may limit the patient's ability to perform self-care and caregivers' abilities to engage in caregiving tasks. Research into the dyadic influence of depression on self-care behaviours from the perspective of ostomates and their caregivers is still in its infancy. DESIGN: Secondary analysis of a multicentre, cross-sectional study. The STROBE checklist was used to report the present study. METHODS: Patient-caregiver dyads were recruited from eight ostomy outpatient clinics from February 2017 to May 2018. Depression was assessed with the nine-item Patient Health Questionnaire in both patients and caregivers. Patient self-care was evaluated with the Ostomy Self-Care Index, and caregiver contribution to self-care was assessed with the Caregiver Contribution to Ostomy Self-Care Index. Both instruments measure the dimensions of maintenance, monitoring and management. The actor-partner interdependence model was performed for the dyadic analysis. RESULTS: In total, 252 patient-caregiver dyads (patients: 69.8% male, mean age 70.05; caregivers: 80.6% female, mean age 58.7) were enrolled. Patient depression was positively associated with caregiver contribution to self-care maintenance. Caregiver depression was negatively associated with self-care management. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: These findings add a better understanding of the reciprocal influence of dyadic depression on patient and caregiver contributions to self-care in ostomy contexts was found. Patient and caregiver depression influence patient self-care and caregiver contribution to self-care. Therefore, clinicians should assess and treat depression in both members of the dyad to improve self-care.

Psychometric testing of the nurses professional values scale-revised on family and community health nurses.

BACKGROUND: Family and Community Health Nurses (FCHNs) are at a higher risk of experiencing emotional exhaustion and feelings of low personal accomplishment. Higher levels of professional identity may decrease these negative feelings. Its measurement could produce positive effects for FCHNs and the quality of care they offer. AIM: This study aims to evaluate the psychometric properties (validity and reliability) of the Nurses Professional Values Scale-Revised (NPVS-R) on FCHNs in Italy. RESEARCH DESIGN: A cross-sectional research design was used. PARTICIPANTS AND RESEARCH CONTEXT: A convenience sample of FCHNs was recruited in an out-of-hospital setting from Italy. A total of 202 nurses were eligible (mean age of 41.11 ± 10.55 years; 78.2% female). ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS: The study was performed in accordance with the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki. Participants were asked for their consent and were guaranteed anonymity in the information collected. The study was approved by the internal review board of the university. RESULTS: Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) supported a unidimensional factorial structure of the NPVS-R with an adequate fit to the data. Internal consistency reliability was also supported. The construct validity was further reinforced by the concurrent validity results showing a positive and significant correlation of professional identity with job satisfaction. CONCLUSION: The NPVS-R is a valid and reliable instrument to measure professional identity among FCHNs. It can be used in clinical practice to improve FCHNs' psychological-emotional feelings and quality of care provided, in research to allow comprehensive understanding of professional identity, and in educational settings to monitor the professional identity levels of Family and Community Health Nursing students.

Further Evidence of Psychometric Performance of the Self-care of Diabetes Inventory in Adults With Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes.

BACKGROUND: The Self-care of Diabetes Inventory (SCODI) is a theory-based tool that measures self-care, a key strategy in the appropriate treatment of diabetes. However, despite the clinical differences between people with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (T1DM) and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM), the psychometric properties of the SCODI were only tested in mixed samples. PURPOSE: This study aims to test the psychometric performances of the SCODI in two separate groups of adults with T1DM and T2DM. METHODS: This is a secondary analysis from two previous multicentre cross-sectional observational studies involving patients with T1DM (n = 181) and T2DM (n = 540). We tested dimensionality with confirmatory factor analysis and reliability with a multidimensional model-based coefficient for every scale of the SCODI: self-care maintenance, self-care monitoring, self-care management, and self-care self-efficacy. RESULTS: We found that the SCODI showed the same dimensionality, with minimal variation in factor loadings for each factor and each scale among T1DM and T2DM groups. High reliability for each scale in both groups was also found (self-care maintenance: T1DM = 0.86, T2DM = 0.83; self-care monitoring: T1DM = 0.84, T2DM = 1.00; self-care management: T1DM = 0.87, T2DM = 0.86; self-care self-efficacy: T1DM = 0.88; T2DM = 0.86). CONCLUSION: The SCODI can be used for measuring self-care in people with T1DM, T2DM, or mixed groups using identical scoring procedures. Considering the well-known differences between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes diseases and patients' characteristics, our results support the generalizability of the self-care theory on which the instrument is based.

Patient Self-Care and Caregiver Contribution to Patient Self-Care of Chronic Conditions: What Is Dyadic and What It Is Not.

OBJECTIVES: Self-care of chronic conditions involves both patients and their informal caregivers and therefore might be considered as a dyadic phenomenon. Nevertheless, empirical evidence supporting a dyadic construct is unavailable. This study aimed to explore the existence of a dyadic construct in self-care maintenance, monitoring, and management in patients affected by chronic conditions and their informal caregivers. METHODS: This study used a cross-sectional design. We used the Self-Care of Chronic Illness Inventory and the Caregiver Contribution to Self-Care of Chronic Illness Inventory, which measure patient self-care and informal caregivers' contribution to self-care maintenance, monitoring and management. Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling was performed to verify the existence of dyadic latent constructs in each scale in patients and informal caregivers. RESULTS: A convenience sample of 493 patients and informal caregivers, with a mean age of 76.47 and 52.76 years, respectively, was studied. In the self-care maintenance scales, 2 correlated factors (r = 0.34, P < .001) were identified, indicating the presence of a dyadic second-order construct. In addition, 2 factors that were not correlated (r = 0.11, P = .064) were identified in the self-care monitoring scales, indicating the absence of a dyadic construct. Finally, we found a 3-factor model in the self-care management scales composed of both patient and caregiver items, indicating a dyadic first-order construct. CONCLUSIONS: Knowing which care behaviors are dyadic in chronic conditions is important for tailoring interventions to improve self-care. Self-care maintenance and management would benefit from dyadic interventions, while self-care monitoring would not. The results of this study may illuminate future theoretical and scientific developments in dyadic care of chronic illness.

Measuring self-care in the general adult population: development and psychometric testing of the Self-Care Inventory.

BACKGROUND: Self-care is important at all stages of life and health status to promote well-being, prevent disease, and improve health outcomes. Currently, there is a need to better conceptualize self-care in the general adult population and provide an instrument to measure self-care in this group. Therefore, the aim of this study was to develop and evaluate the Self-Care Inventory (SCI), a theory-based instrument to measure self-care in the general adult population. METHODS: Based on the Middle Range Theory of Self-Care, the 20-item SCI was developed with three scales: Self-Care Maintenance (8 items), Self-Care Monitoring (6 items), and Self-Care Management (6 items). A cross sectional study with a US-based sample (n = 294) was conducted to test the SCI. Internal validity was assessed with Confirmatory Factor Analysis. Internal consistency reliability was assessed with Cronbach alpha for unidimensional scales or composite reliability and the global reliability index for multidimensional scales. Construct validity was investigated with Pearson correlation to test the relationship between general self-efficacy, positivity, stress, and self-care scores. RESULTS: The Self-Care Maintenance and Management scales were multidimensional and the Self-Care Monitoring scale was unidimensional. The global reliability index for multidimensional scales was 0.85 (self-care maintenance) and 0.88 (self-care management). Cronbach alpha coefficient of the self-care monitoring scale was 0.88. Test-retest reliability was 0.81 (self-care maintenance), 0.91 (self-care monitoring), and 0.76 (self-care management). The General Self-Efficacy Scale was positively related to all three self-care scale scores: self-care maintenance r = 0.46, p < 0. 001, self-care monitoring r = 0.31, p < 0. 001, and self-care management r = 0.32, p < 0. 001. The positivity score was positively related to self-care maintenance (r = 0.42, p < 0. 001), self-care monitoring (r = 0.29, p < 0. 001), and self-care management (r = 0.34, p < 0. 001) scores. The perceived stress was positively related to the self-care management (r = 0.20, p < 0. 001) score. CONCLUSIONS: The SCI is a theoretically based instrument designed to measure self-care in the general adult population. Preliminary evidence of validity and reliability supports its use in the general adult population.

The Association of Spirituality with Anxiety and Depression in Stroke Survivor-Caregiver Dyads: An Actor-Partner Interdependence Model.

BACKGROUND: Although several authors have analyzed the effects of spirituality on stroke survivors' physical functioning and on their own caregiver's outcomes, such as quality of life, only few authors have explored the interaction between spirituality and anxiety and depression using a dyadic approach. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to analyze the influence of spirituality in the stroke survivor-caregiver dyad and specifically on anxiety and depression in both parties. METHODS: A total of 217 stroke survivor-caregiver dyads were enrolled at discharge from several rehabilitation hospitals in central and southern Italy. The actor-partner interdependence model was used to analyze the dyadic data. To verify the differences in the effects between survivors and caregivers, comparisons were made between the χ 2 values of the model in which actor and partner effects were constrained to be equal. RESULTS: The average age of stroke survivors and their caregivers at baseline was 71.2 and 52.7 years, respectively. Among the stroke survivors, there were slightly more men than women, whereas 65% of the caregivers were women. Most stroke survivors had had an ischemic stroke. Four statistically significant actor effects were identified. Higher survivors' and caregivers' spirituality was associated with higher survivor and caregiver anxiety. The only significant partner effect that was identified was the association between stroke survivor spirituality and caregiver depression. CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights the importance of studying spirituality in the population with stroke. Spirituality seems to play an important protective role in both stroke survivors' and caregivers' depression but not in anxiety.

Psychometric Testing of the Self-Care of Coronary Heart Disease Inventory Version 3.0.

BACKGROUND: In this updated Self-Care of Coronary Heart Disease Inventory (SC-CHDI) v3.0, items were added to better reflect the theory of self-care of chronic illness and revised based on recent research. The expanded SC-CHDI now reflects the theoretical concepts of self-care maintenance, monitoring, and management. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the SC-CHDI v3.0. METHODS: In a sample of adults with coronary heart disease, we tested the SC-CHDI v3.0 validity with confirmatory factor analysis. Reliability was calculated using Cronbach α, factor score determinacy coefficient, and global reliability index for multidimensional scales, with values > 0.70 considered adequate. RESULTS: The sample (n = 205) was predominantly male (79%) with a mean age of 65.3 ± 11.1 years. The self-care maintenance scale encompassed 2 distinct behaviors, namely, "illness related behaviors" and "health promoting behaviors," which reflect consulting and autonomous dimensions, respectively. The goodness-of-fit indices were adequate: χ2(25, N = 205) =31.86, P = .16, comparative fit index = 0.97, Tucker-Lewis Index = 0.95, root mean square error of approximation = 0.04 (90% confidence interval, 0.00-0.07), P = .705, and standardized root mean square residual = 0.045. Analysis of the new self-care monitoring scale yielded a single factor; goodness-of-fit indices were excellent: χ2(12, N = 205) =11.56, P = .48, comparative fit index = 1.00, Tucker-Lewis Index = 1.00, root mean square error of approximation < 0.001 (90% confidence interval, 0.000-0.07), P = .86, and standardized root mean square residual = 0.02. The self-care management scale had 2 dimensions of autonomous and consulting behavior with strong goodness-of-fit indices: χ2(7, N = 205) =6.57, P = .47, comparative fit index = 1.00, Tucker-Lewis Index = 1.00, root mean square error of approximation ≤ 0.001 (90% confidence interval, 0.00-0.08), P = .76, and standardized root mean square residual = 0.02. Reliability estimates were ≥0.80 for all scales. CONCLUSIONS: Our testing suggests that the SC-CHDI v3.0 is a sound measure of the essential elements of self-care for adults with coronary heart disease.

Self-care of patients with multiple chronic conditions and their caregivers during the COVID-19 pandemic: A qualitative descriptive study.

AIMS: Explore the self-care experiences of patients with multiple chronic conditions (MCCs) and caregivers' contributions to patient self-care during COVID-19 pandemic. DESIGN: A descriptive qualitative design was used. The COREQ checklist was used for study reporting. METHODS: Individual semi-structured interviews were used to collect data from patients with MCCs and caregivers selected from the dataset of an ongoing longitudinal study. Data analysis was performed through deductive thematic analysis. The middle-range theory of self-care of chronic illness, which entails the three dimensions of self-care maintenance, monitoring and management, was used as a theoretical framework to guide data collection and analysis. RESULTS: A total of 16 patients and 25 caregivers were interviewed from May to June 2020. The participants were mainly women, with a mean age for patients of 76.25 years and caregivers of 45.76 years; the caregivers were mainly the patients' children (72%). During the pandemic, some patients reported remaining unchanged in their self-care maintenance, monitoring and management behaviours, others intensified their behaviours, and others decreased them. Caregivers played an important role in protecting patients from the risk of contagion COVID-19 and in ensuring patients' self-care of chronic diseases through direct and indirect interventions. CONCLUSIONS: Critical events can modify the self-care experiences of chronically ill patients and caregivers' contributions, leading to maintenance, increase or decrease of self-care and contributions to self-care behaviours. IMPACT: Patients with MCCs and their caregivers can react in different ways in their performances of self-care and contribution to patients' self-care behaviours when ordinary daily life is disrupted; therefore, nurses should assess such performances during critical events to identify the individuals at risk of reduced self-care and promote the most suitable healthcare services (e.g. eHealth) to implement individualised interventions.

Moral distress in nursing students: Cultural adaptation and validation study.

BACKGROUND: Moral distress, defined as moral suffering or a psychological imbalance, can affect nursing students. However, many new instruments or adaptations of other scales that are typically used to measure moral distress have not been used for nursing students. AIM: This study aimed to translate, culturally adapt and evaluate the psychometric properties of an Italian version of the Moral Distress Scale for Nursing Students (It-ESMEE) for use with delayed nursing students (students who could not graduate on time or failed the exams necessary to progress to the next level). RESEARCH DESIGN: The study used a cross-sectional research design. PARTICIPANTS AND RESEARCH CONTEXT: Incidental sampling resulted in a sample of 282 delayed nursing students (mean age = 26.73 ± 4.43 years, 73% female) enrolled between May and August 2020 in a University of central Italy. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS: The research protocol was approved by the internal review board of the university, and all participants provided their written informed consent. RESULTS: The study confirmed a multidimensional second-order factorial structure for the It-ESMEE with five dimensions: improper institutional conditions to teach user care, authoritarian teaching practices, disrespect for the ethical dimension of vocational training, lack of competence of the teacher and commitment of ethical dimension of user care. The internal consistency was high (0.753-0.990 across the factors), and the standard error of measurement and smallest detectable change were adequate. DISCUSSION: The It-ESMEE is able to assess moral distress in delayed nursing students with good validity and reliability. It can be used in research and to determine moral distress levels, helping teachers to monitor the condition in nursing students. CONCLUSION: This instrument can help in comprehending moral distress, enabling students to develop coping and intervention strategies to maintain their well-being, and to ensure the quality of nurse education.

Defining nursing workload predictors: A pilot study.

AIM: To explore predictors of perceived nursing workload in relation to patients, nurses and workflow. BACKGROUND: Nursing workload is important to health care organisations. It determines nurses' well-being and quality of care. Nevertheless, its predictors are barely studied. METHODS: A cross-sectional prospective design based on the complex adaptive systems theory was used. An online survey asked nurses to describe perceived workload at the end of every shift. Data were gathered from five medical-surgical wards over three consecutive weeks. We received 205 completed surveys and tested multivariate regression models. RESULTS: Patient acuity, staffing resources, patient transfers, documentation, patient isolation, unscheduled activities and patient specialties were significant in predicting perceived workload. Nurse-to-patient ratio proved not to be a predictor of workload. CONCLUSIONS: This study significantly contributed to literature by identifying some workload predictors. Complexity of patient care, staffing adequacy and some workflow aspects were prominent in determining the shift workload among nurses. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Our findings provide valuable information for top and middle hospital management, as well as for policymakers. Identification of predictors and measurement of workload are essential for optimizing staff resources, workflow processes and work environment. Future research should focus on the appraisal of more determinants.

What determines physical, mental and emotional workloads on nurses? A cross-sectional study.

AIM: This study aimed to identify determinants of physical, mental and emotional nursing workloads. BACKGROUND: Workload has a physical, mental and emotional dimension. It influences employees' well-being and quality of care. Nevertheless, studies of specific predictors for each dimension of nurses' workload are scarce. METHODS: We used a cross-sectional prospective design based on the Job Demand-Resources theory. We asked nurses to describe workload perceived at the end of every shift over three consecutive weeks. Data were gathered from two academic hospitals, in seven medical-surgical wards. We received 259 responses and tested 2 multivariate regression models. RESULTS: Physical workload was predicted from all variables tested; mental workload was determined by patient complexity or isolation, adequacy of nurse staffing and skill-mix, and unscheduled activities; and emotional workload was predicted by all variables except adequacy of staffing and other people's education. CONCLUSIONS: Patient, nurse and workflow aspects influenced nurse's shift workload differently for each specific dimension. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Measurement and definition of predictors of workload in the work environment are essential. Recognizing the determinants of specific dimensions of workload facilitates identification of the most appropriate interventions to improve nurses' well-being in health care settings.

Psychometric properties of the clei-19 scale to assess clinical learning environment in nursing students: a multicenter observational study. / Proprietà psicometriche della scala CLEI-19 nella valutazione dell'apprendimento clinico degli studenti infermieri: studio osservazionale multicentrico.

INTRODUCTION: The clinical learning environment is the context of overlap between the educational system and the working environment. Here students apply the knowledge learned during theoretical teachings, acquire practical, relational and caring skills. It is fundamental for nursing training and there are several rating scales aimed at evaluating it: the presence and quality of the studies that investigate their performances are heterogeneous, so it is difficult to identify the best tool. The CLEI-19 scale is the most concise instrument and its performance has not been tested in the Italian context. OBJECTIVES: The study aims to evaluate the psychometric properties of the instrument in terms of factor structure and reliability. METHODS: A multicenter cross-sectional observational study was conducted in Italy, at the University of Milan-Bicocca. Two tools were used: a context data collection questionnaire and the Italian CLEI-19 scale. The data were analyzed through descriptive statistics, the scale's factorial structure was tested by Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling ESEM. The reliability of the scale was evaluated by Alpha and Omega coefficients. RESULTS: The sample consists of 1095 statistical units. The factor analysis shows the presence of two latent factors that have been called Internship Assistant and Internship Environment. They correlate significantly and the fit indices confirm the solidity of the two-factor model. Internal coherence was adequate or more than adequate for single factors and overall tool. CONCLUSIONS: The CLEI-19 scale is a reliable tool, which comprehensively investigates the two key components of the clinical learning environment: the Internship Assistant and the Environment. The employment simplifies the process of evaluating the internship environment, offers the possibility of improving its quality, facilitates the comparison between realities and enhances the perception of students.

Development and Psychometric Testing of the Caregiver Self-Efficacy in Contributing to Patient Self-Care Scale.

OBJECTIVES: Caregiver self-efficacy-a caregiver's belief in his/her ability to contribute to patient self-care-is associated with better patient and caregiver outcomes in single chronic conditions. It is, however, unknown if caregiver self-efficacy improves patient and caregiver outcomes in multiple chronic conditions (MCCs) because there is no instrument to measure this variable. We developed the 10-item Caregiver Self-Efficacy in Contributing to patient Self-Care (CSE-CSC) scale for that purpose, and we tested its psychometric characteristics in caregivers of patients with MCCs. METHODS: In this cross-sectional multisite study, we tested the structural validity of the CSE-CSC scale with exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, and we tested construct validity by correlating CSE-CSC scores with those of the Caregiver Contributions to Self-Care of Chronic Illness Inventory. We also tested reliability, and precision of the CSE-CSC scale. RESULTS: The 358 enrolled caregivers (mean age 54.6 years; 71.5% female) cared for patients with an average of 3.2 chronic conditions. Structural validity was good, and it showed 2 factors within the scale. Construct validity showed significant correlations between scores of the CSE-CSC scale and the Caregiver Contributions to Self-Care of Chronic Illness Inventory. Reliability coefficients were between 0.90 and 0.97. Measurement error yielded satisfactory results. CONCLUSIONS: The CSE-CSC scale is valid, reliable, and precise in measuring caregiver self-efficacy in contributing to patient self-care in MCCs. Because caregiver self-efficacy is a modifiable variable, the CSE-CSC scale can be used in clinical practice and research to improve patient and caregiver outcomes.

Psychometric properties of Pediatric Quality of Life multidimensional fatigue scale in Italian paediatric cancer patients: A multicentre cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: The original Pediatric Quality of Life-Multidimensional Fatigue Scale (PedsQL-MFS) developed in 2002 in the English language is a frequently used tool in paediatric oncology. It has been translated into several languages, and the aim of this study was to test the psychometric properties of the Italian version of this scale in paediatric patients with cancer. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional validation multicentre study. RESULTS: Acceptability was 100% for patients and 99.2% for parents. Confirmatory factor analysis of the three-factor model of the original scale yielded poor fit indices. A three-factor solution was found through exploratory structural equation modelling, with good fit indices. The internal consistency, evaluated through the Cronbach's alpha coefficient, ranged 0.71-0.92 for the total sample, both in the self-report and in the proxy-report questionnaire. CONCLUSION: The Italian version of the PedsQL-MFS for children and adolescents with cancer shows adequate psychometric characteristics of both the self- and proxy-report. Further research with larger samples is needed ensuring all age groups are appropriately represented.

Characteristics of dyadic care types among patients living with multiple chronic conditions and their informal caregivers.

AIMS: To examine the distribution of dyadic care types in multiple chronic conditions, compare self-care and caregiver contributions to patients' self-care in each care type and identify the patient and caregiver characteristics associated with each care type. DESIGN: Secondary analysis of a multicentre, cross-sectional study. METHODS: Patient-caregiver dyads were enrolled from outpatient clinics and community settings. The Dyadic Symptom Management Type Scale was used to categorize dyads by type. Self-care, self-efficacy, comorbidities and cognitive impairment were measured in patients, whereas caregiver contributions to patient self-care, self-efficacy, caregiver burden and hours of caregiving were measured in caregivers. Sociodemographic characteristics perceived social support and mutuality were measured in both patients and caregivers. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed. RESULTS: A sample of 541 patient-caregiver dyads was examined. The most frequent dyadic care type was the collaborative-oriented (63%). In the patient-oriented type, patients scored higher on self-care compared with caregivers; in the caregiver-oriented and collaborative types, caregivers scored higher than patients supporting the typology. The patient-oriented type was associated with younger, healthier male patients with better cognitive status, who scored higher for mutuality and whose caregivers scored lower for burden. The caregiver-oriented type was associated with older, less educated patients, with caregivers experiencing higher burden and unemployment. The collaborative type was associated with sicker patients, with the caregiver more probably to be female and employed, with higher perceived social support, mutuality and burden. The incongruent dyadic care type was associated with lower caregiver mutuality. IMPACT: In the context of multiple chronic conditions, clinicians should consider targeting any educational interventions aimed at improving patient self-care and caregiver contributions to self-care by dyadic care types.