[Intervention-related demands: Criteria for an operating room-specific patient classification. A qualitative focus group study]. / Eingriffsbezogene Anforderungen: Kriterien einer OP-spezifischen Patientenklassifikation.

Intervention-related demands: Criteria for an operating room-specific patient classification. A qualitative focus group study Abstract: Background: Optimal workforce deployment in the operating room-setting has gained high priority in the context of an economized health care system and the development of skill-grade mix. Therefore, mapping intervention-related demands on perioperative nurses as precisely as possible is a frequently discussed need. A surgery-specific patient classification might be helpful. Aim: This paper aims to present core elements of perioperative nursing care in the Swiss-German context and to establish a link to the Perioperative Nursing Data Set (PNDS). Methods: Three focus group interviews with perioperative nurses took place at a university hospital in the German-speaking part of Switzerland. Data analysis was performed in analogy to qualitative content analysis according to Mayring. The content structuring of the categories was based on the relevant PNDS taxonomies. Results: Intervention-related requirements can be divided into three areas: "patient safety", "nursing and caring", and "environmental factors". The conjunction with the PNDS taxonomy serves as a theoretical foundation. Conclusions: Elements of the PNDS taxonomies can describe the demands on perioperative nurses in the Swiss-German context. The identified definition of intervention-related demands can contribute to the visibility of perioperative nursing and promote professionalization as well as practice development in the operating room-setting.

Comparing perspectives: patients' and health care professionals' views on spiritual concerns and needs in chronic pain care - a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: The spiritual aspect of care is an often neglected resource in pain therapies. The aim of this study is to identify commonalities and differences in chronic pain patients' (CPP) and health care professionals' (HCP) perceptions on the integration of spiritual care into multimodal pain therapy. METHODS: We conducted a qualitative exploratory study with 42 CPPs and 34 HCPs who were interviewed in 12 separate groups in five study centres specialising in chronic pain within German-speaking Switzerland. The interviews were transcribed and subjected to a qualitative content analysis. Findings were generated by juxtaposing and analysing the statements of (a) HCP about HCP, (b) HCP about CPP, (c) CPP about HCP, and (d) CPP about CPP. RESULTS: Views on spiritual concerns and needs in chronic pain care can be described in three distinct dimensions: function (evaluating the need / request to discuss spiritual issues), structure (evaluating when / how to discuss spiritual issues) and context (evaluating why / under which circumstances to discuss spiritual issues). CPPs stress the importance of HCPs recognizing their overall human integrity, including the spiritual dimension, and would like to grant spiritual concerns greater significance in their therapy. HCPs express difficulties in addressing and discussing spiritual concerns and needs with chronic pain patients. Both parties want clarification of the context in which the spiritual dimension could be integrated into treatment. They see a need for greater awareness and training of HCPs in how the spiritual dimension in therapeutic interactions might be addressed. CONCLUSIONS: Although there are similarities in the perspectives of HCPs and CPPs regarding spiritual concerns and needs in chronic pain care, there are relevant differences between the two groups. This might contribute to the neglect of the spiritual dimension in the treatment of chronic pain. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This study was part of a larger research project, registered in a primary (clinicaltrial.gov: NCT03679871 ) and local (kofam.ch: SNCTP000003086 ) clinical trial registry.

[Spirituality and health care. The perspective of patients with chronic pain]. / Spiritualität und Behandlung. Die Perspektive von Patienten mit chronischen Schmerzen.

BACKGROUND: Chronic pain affects all aspects of human life, which raises spiritual questions that should be included within the framework of multimodal care. OBJECTIVES: We investigated the perspective of patients with chronic pain around spiritual concerns and their potential integration into care. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted five focus group interviews and two small group interviews. In total, 42 patients with chronic pain in outpatient or inpatient pain care at the time of the study participated. The interviews were transcribed and thematically analyzed. RESULTS: Three themes emerged: (1) Chronic pain permeates the entity of a person's existence. (2) Spiritual resources are potentially supportive in living with chronic pain. (3) Patients appreciate the opportunity to engage with health care professionals in a dialog that encompasses spiritual concerns. For participants, these concerns have considerable relevance. In many cases participants associated them with religious convictions, but not exclusively. They often related feeling that their pain experience was dismissed. CONCLUSION: Finding strategies for effectively dealing with chronic pain represents a turning point in life. Open discussion with health care professionals that allow for spiritual issues facilitates this process.

Exploring learning processes associated with a cancer pain self-management intervention in patients and family caregivers: A mixed methods study.

AIM: Explore learning processes associated with a psychoeducational pain selfmanagement intervention. BACKGROUND: Self-management of cancer pain is challenging for patients and their family caregivers (FCs). While psychoeducational interventions can support them to handle these tasks, it remains unclear how learning processes are hampered or facilitated. METHODS: A convergent parallel mixed methods design with qualitative data collection embedded in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) was used. Outpatients with cancer and FCs were recruited from three Swiss university hospitals. The six-week intervention consisted of education, skills building, and nurse coaching. Quantitative data on pain management knowledge and self-efficacy were analyzed using multilevel models. Patients and FCs were interviewed post-RCT regarding their learning experiences. Qualitative data analysis was guided by interpretive description. Finally, quantitative and qualitative data were integrated using case level comparisons and a meta-matrix. RESULTS: Twenty-one patients and seven FCs completed this study. The group-by-time effect showed increases in knowledge (p = 0.035) and self-efficacy (p = 0.007). Patients' and FCs' learning through experience was supported by an intervention nurse, who was perceived as competent and trustworthy. After the study, most intervention group participants felt more confident to implement pain self-management. Finally, data integration showed that declining health hampered some patients' pain self-management. CONCLUSIONS: Competent and trustworthy nurses can support patients' and FCs' pain self-management by providing individualized interventions. Using a diary, jointly reflecting on the documented experiences, and addressing knowledge deficits and misconceptions through the use of academic detailing can facilitate patients' and FCs' learning of critical skills.

Inter- und intraprofessionelle Zusammenarbeit in Krisensituationen auf der Intensivstation am Beispiel von COVID-19.

Interprofessional and intraprofessional collaboration in crises situations in the intensive care unit regarding COVID-19 - a qualitative, retrospective analysis Abstract. Background: Interprofessional collaboration is elementary in the intensive care unit, a success factor in difficult patient situations and complex therapies. The COVID-19-pandemic challenged newly composed treatment teams, however, experience does not exist. Aim: We analyzed personal experiences and views on inter- and intraprofessional collaboration in intensive care units during the COVID-19-pandemic and identified influencing factors. Methods: We used a qualitative, retrospective study design, collected data from physicians, nurses in intensive care, anesthesia and surgery and physiotherapists during group discussions using the story / dialogue method. We analyzed the data according to Mayring's Qualitative content analysis. Results: We identified two main categories, each with three sub-categories: 1. Mastering a exceptional situation actively (Recognizing a common goal; Acting in solidarity; Getting to know each other in inter- / intraprofessional collaboration), 2. Having overcome the exceptional situation in retrospect (Maintaining personal contacts; Gaining new knowledge and perspectives; Taking what has been learned into the future). The participants rated the interprofessional and intraprofessional collaboration as good to very good. Conclusions: Factors promoting collaboration and positive experiences are to be incorporated into everyday work. The intraprofessional management team thereby defines common goals and values for the best possible patient care.

Erfahrungen bei der Anwendung einer interprofessionellen Anamnese im Krankenhaus.

Experiences with the application of an interprofessional anamnesis in hospitals - A qualitative accompanying study Abstract. Background: Interprofessional cooperation is a key issue today when addressing quality improvement and process optimization in the healthcare sector. Interprofessional documentation systems play an important role here. AIM: This article describes the experiences of 19 nurses and physicians in an acute care hospital before and after the introduction of an interprofessional anamnesis. The aim was to show whether and how interprofessional cooperation changed during the ten months study period. METHODS: The data are based on three group discussions at three different times with six to seven newly recruited participants in an interprofessional composition. The data analysis was carried out using the documentary method after Bohnsack. RESULTS: The group discussions document different phases of a developing interprofessional cooperation. By recognizing different professional perspectives and process structures, areas of responsibility could be clarified and trust could be built. This enabled the participants to benefit from the new cooperation and to introduce further common improvement requests. CONCLUSIONS: An interprofessionally developed working tool, such as shared instruments for taking and recording the anamnesis, can have a positive influence on interprofessional cooperation. Interprofessional exchange formats appear to have a beneficial effect on this development process.

Hospital-based bereavement care provision: A cross-sectional survey with health professionals.

BACKGROUND: An in-hospital death is a profound experience for those left behind and has been associated with family members' psychological morbidity. Supporting bereaved family members is an essential part of end-of-life care and includes attentive presence, information-giving, and emotional and practical support. The actual adoption of hospital-based bereavement care, however, remains little understood. AIM: To investigate hospital-based bereavement care provision and associated barriers. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey using an online questionnaire. SETTING/PARTICIPANTS: Health professionals (n = 196) from two University-affiliated acute and psychiatric hospitals in Switzerland. RESULTS: The most frequent bereavement services (⩾40%) were viewing the deceased, giving information on available support, and making referrals; the most often named barriers were lack of time and organizational support. Acute care health professionals faced statistically significant more structural barriers (55.1% vs 21.4% lack of time, 47.8% vs 25.9% lack of organizational support) and felt insufficiently trained (38.4% vs 20.7%) compared to mental health professionals (p ⩽ 0.05). Nurses provided more immediate services compared to physicians, such as viewing the deceased (71.3% vs 49.0%) and sending sympathy cards (37.4% vs 16.3%) (p ⩽ 0.01). In contrast, physicians screened more often for complex bereavement disorders (10.2% vs 2.6%) and appraised bereavement care as beyond their role (26.5% vs 7.8%) (p ⩽ 0.05). CONCLUSION: The study indicates that many barriers to bereavement care exist in hospitals. More research is required to better understand enabling and limiting factors to bereavement care provision. A guideline-driven approach to hospital-based bereavement care that defines best practice and required organizational support seems necessary to ensure needs-based bereavement care.

Capturing interprofessional collaboration between physicians and nurses in an acute care setting. A validation study of the revised German version of the Collaborative Practice Scales.

The relevance of interprofessional collaboration (IPC) is widely acknowledged. Given the lack of a fully validated instrument in the German language for measuring the level of IPC, we built upon the current, albeit psychometrically weak, German-language version of the instrument to devise a new version with improved wording and for subsequent psychometric testing. In a tertiary hospital in German-speaking Switzerland, 160 physicians and 374 nurses completed the revised Collaborative Practice Scales in German (CPS-G) and additional scales regarding positive and negative activation at work and regarding job demands and job resources. A confirmatory factor analysis of the CPS-G was performed, and internal consistency estimates were computed. Partial correlations between the CPS-G and the additional scales were examined for criterion validity. The model fit of the CPS-G was good for physicians (χ2/df = 2.38, p < .001; CFI = .923; RMSEA = .051, 90%-CI (0.037-0.065)) and moderate for nurses (χ2/df = 5, p < .001; CFI = .919; RMSEA = .087, 90%-CI (0.072-0.102)) supporting the two-factor structure of the original English version. Reliability was acceptable in all sub-scales for physicians (inclusion, α = 0.79; consensus, α = 0.80) and nurses (assertiveness, α = 0.77; understanding α = 0.82). As expected, the CPS-G physicians' subscales correlated positively with positive activation and job resources and negatively with negative activation and job demands, albeit not always statistically significantly. Similar correlations were found with the CPS-G nurses' subscales other than in one instance. The CPS-G showed good construct and criterion validity and acceptable internal consistency. It consequently represents a valid instrument ready for application to measure the level of interprofessional collaboration between nurses and physicians in acute care settings.

[Patients with psychiatric comorbidities in the acute hospital - a field of tension with interprofessional need for action - results from a pilot study]. / Patientinnen und Patienten mit psychiatrischen Komorbiditäten im Akutspital.

Patients with psychiatric comorbidities in the acute hospital - a field of tension with interprofessional need for action - results from a pilot study Abstract. Background: Psychiatric comorbidities are frequent in patients hospitalized in an acute care hospital. They often remain undetected or, if diagnosed, neglected. As long as the somatic disease can be properly cared for and treated, this usually remains unproblematic. However, the situation can quickly tip over if psychiatric comorbidities interfere with care and treatment leading to a higher level of care and adverse consequences for patients. Aim: We investigated the need for action for this patient group from the nurses' perspective in a Swiss-German university hospital. Method: In two group discussions, nurses described intense situations, followed by an evaluation of determining factors, insights gained and measures taken to control these situations and prevent them. Results: Nurses experience the described situations as stressful and express a great need for action for themselves and for the interprofessional team. Key points are vigilance in everyday clinical practice, specific knowledge acquisition and an easily accessible local support system. Conclusions: In an acute care hospital, psychiatric comorbidities must be taken into account. However, this requires advanced skills and an organizational, interprofessional approach.

Wann und wie berücksichtigen Intensivpflegende Schmerz im Behandlungsprozess von Patientinnen und Patienten auf der Intensivstation? - Eine qualitative Studie.

When and how do intensive care nurses consider pain in the treatment process of ICU patients? A qualitative study Abstract. Background: Pain management is important in the therapeutic spectrum of the intensive care unit. However, guideline recommendations are not consistently implemented. Strategies in clinical reasoning and decision-making regarding pain are hardly described. AIM: Guided by the question "When and how do intensive care nurses consider pain in the treatment process of patients with impaired consciousness and cognition?", we wanted to explore their patterns of thought and decision-making in the context of pain management. METHODS: As part of a Mixed Methods research program on pain assessment in nonverbal intensive care patients we performed a secondary analysis of data from the qualitative substudy using qualitative content analysis according to Mayring. RESULTS: Pain plays an important but subordinate role in the treatment process. After vital functions have been initially stabilized, intensive care nurses assess patients' consciousness and cognition in order to receive further information directly from them. Intensive care nurses differentiate between pain, anxiety, stress and discomfort. Their decisions are based on experience and intuition. CONCLUSIONS: Education promotes intensive care nurses' knowledge and awareness in pain management. Observational pain assessment instruments provide valid information. They support an analytical approach and thus the development of competence in clinical reasoning and decision-making.

Using Reflexive Thinking to Establish Rigor in Qualitative Research.

BACKGROUND: Reflexivity can be helpful in developing the methodological rigor necessary to attaining trustworthy qualitative study results. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate strategies of critical reflexive thinking during a qualitative enquiry rooted in a mixed-methods study. METHODS: Guided by the questions of Rolfe and colleagues from 2001 ("what," "so what," and "now what"), we applied reflexive thinking to all aspects of the investigation. RESULTS: Critical reflexive thinking strongly supported our efforts to establish methodological rigor and helped reveal shortcomings. DISCUSSION: Effective strategical use of reflexive thinking takes concerted effort. Both time and space are essential to applying reflexive thinking throughout the qualitative research process.

Critical factors for optimising skill-grade-mix based on principles of Lean Management - a qualitative substudy / Erfolgskritische Faktoren bei der Optimierung des Skill-Grade-Mix auf der Basis von Lean Management-Prinzipien - eine qualitative Teilstudie

Background: Due to scarce resources in health care, staff deployment has to meet the demands. To optimise skill-grade-mix, a Swiss University Hospital initiated a project based on principles of Lean Management. The project team accompanied each participating nursing department and scientifically evaluated the results of the project. Aim: The aim of this qualitative sub-study was to identify critical success factors of this project. Method: In four focus groups, participants discussed their experience of the project. Recruitment was performed from departments assessing the impact of the project retrospectively either positive or critical. In addition, the degree of direct involvement in the project served as a distinguishing criterion. Results: While the degree of direct involvement in the project was not decisive, conflicting opinions and experiences appeared in the groups with more positive or critical project evaluation. Transparency, context and attitude proved critical for the project's success. Conclusions: Project managers should ensure transparency of the project's progress and matching of the project structure with local conditions in order to support participants in their critical or positive attitude towards the project.

Assessment of Patient Participation in Physical Rehabilitation Activities: An Integrative Review.

PURPOSE: In addition to the amount and intensity of rehabilitation interventions and the number of therapies, the degree of patient participation in physical rehabilitation activities is key. For this reason, adequate information regarding participation is necessary to evaluate patient performance. This article reviews instruments designed to assess participation in physical rehabilitation activities. DESIGN: Integrative review. METHODS: Pubmed, CINAHL, PsycInfo, Embase, and Cochrane Library database were searched for publications between January 1976 and July 2012. Secondary searches were also conducted and reference lists scanned for relevant publications. FINDINGS: Fourteen articles reporting on three instruments were found. They differ with regard to their underlying theoretical concepts. Each instrument was tested in medical inpatient rehabilitation settings. CONCLUSIONS/CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Each instrument appears to be useful for assessing specific aspects of patient participation in rehabilitation activities. More theoretical work is needed to clarify the underlying concepts as these instruments are not yet ready for clinical application.

[Nursing care in the run-up to Swiss DRG ­ Nurses' experiences with interprofessional collaboration, leadership, work load and job satisfaction]. / Pflege im Vorfeld von SwissDRG - Erfahrungen von Pflegenden mit interprofessioneller Zusammenarbeit, Führungsverhalten, Arbeitslast und Arbeitszufriedenheit.

BACKGROUND: The literature reports critically on the consequences of the introduction of case-based hospital reimbursement systems, which hamper the delivery of professional nursing care. For this reason, we examined the characteristics of nursing service context factors (work environment factors) in acute care hospitals with regards to the introduction of the new reimbursement system in Switzerland. AIM: This qualitative study describes practice experiences of nurses in the context of the characteristics of the nursing service context factors interprofessional collaboration, leadership, workload and job satisfaction. METHODS: Twenty focus group interviews were conducted with a total of 146 nurses in five acute care hospitals. RESULTS: The results indicated that for quite some time the participants had observed an increase in complexity of nursing care and a growing invasiveness of clinical diagnostics and treatment. At the same time they noticed a decrease in patient length of stay. They strived to offer high quality nursing care even in situations where demands outweighed resources. Good interprofessional collaboration and supportive leadership contributed substantially to nurses' ability to overcome daily challenges. Job satisfaction was bolstered by interactions with patients. Also, the role played by the nursing team itself is not to be underestimated. CONCLUSIONS: From the participants' point of view, context factors harbor great potential for attaining positive patient outcomes and higher job satisfaction and have to be monitored repeatedly.

[Inflammatory bowel diseases: experiencing illness, therapy and care]. / Chronisch entzündliche Darmerkrankungen: Erleben von Krankheit, Therapie und Betreuung.

People affected by Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis experience a high level of suffering. A new generation of anti-tumour necrosis factor-α agents can alleviate the burden of symptoms considerably. In order to develop a need-centred care programme for this patient group, we conducted problem-centred interviews with nine patients about their experience of the disease, the therapy and the quality of nursing care. The evaluation was based on qualitative content analysis. Patients' statements revealed three general categories: (1) "the never ending story" of a life with IBD, (2) "the sudden change" due to successful therapy and (3) "the narrow path" of a new stage of life: the disease no longer dominated daily life. The results emphasise the necessity of specific care for this patient group in order to perceptibly enhance their self-management and quality of life. The study illuminates a developing field of ambulant nursing care, based on the knowledge of patients' needs in the context of a chronic disease characterised by an unpredictable and irregular course.

Randomized clinical trial to evaluate a cancer pain self-management intervention for outpatients.

Objective: Unrelieved pain is common in patients with advanced cancer. Although psychoeducational interventions were found to decrease pain, effects were moderate. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a pain self-management intervention compared with usual care and to explore participants' experiences with pain management and study participation. Methods: A multicenter randomized controlled trial design with post-trial interviews was used. Outpatients with cancer pain and their family caregivers were recruited from three Swiss university hospitals. The intervention group (IG) received the six-week intervention consisting of education, skills building, and nurse coaching. The control group (CG) received usual care. Outcome variables were analyzed using multilevel models. Interpretive description guided the qualitative study part. Results: Twenty-one patients with advanced cancer and seven family caregivers completed the study. The group x time effect showed a statistically significant decrease in average pain (P â€‹= â€‹0.04), but no significant group x time effect for worst pain (P â€‹= â€‹0.06). Pain scores, pain-related knowledge, Pain Management Index, self-efficacy, and performance status improved in the IG (P â€‹< â€‹0.05). Almost all of the interviewed participants perceived the pain management diary, tailored intervention sessions, and weekly support as useful. None experienced study participation as burdensome. Conclusions: This study was the first to test the efficacy of a psychoeducational cancer pain self-management intervention in a German-speaking context, with most patients receiving palliative care. Clinicians can recommend the use of pain management diaries. Tailoring interventions to an individual's situation and dynamic pain trajectory may improve patients' pain self-management. Registration number: This study has been registered via ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02713919.https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02713919?term=NCT02713919&draw=2&rank=1.

Including the Spiritual Dimension in Multimodal Pain Therapy. Development and Validation of the Spiritual Distress and Resources Questionnaire (SDRQ).

CONTEXT: Valid instruments for assessing spiritual resources and distress in pain therapy are scarce. The Spiritual Distress and Resources Questionnaire (SDRQ) was developed to fill this gap. GOALS: The objective of this study was to investigate the SDRQ's psychometric properties. METHODS: We presented the SDRQ to 219 patients with chronic pain conditions and examined its measurement properties, namely reliability and structural, convergent and discriminant validity. To investigate test-retest reliability, the SDRQ was presented a second time to a subsample of 58 randomly selected participants. RESULTS: Factor analysis required a grouping of the 22 SDRQ items into four subscales: spiritual distress, spiritual coping, immanence and transcendence, the latter two representing spiritual resources. Cronbach's alpha was high for spiritual distress (0.93), transcendence (0.85), and immanence (0.81) while it was somewhat lower but still satisfactory for spiritual coping (0.70). The construct validity of the SDRQ was shown by correlations with established measures in the field. Higher levels of spiritual distress were associated with signs of more severe illness, such as emotional distress and pain intensity. CONCLUSION: The results from this study suggest that the SDRQ is an easy-to-use, reliable and valid screening instrument for assessing spiritual distress, spiritual resources and spiritual coping in patients with chronic pain. The SDRQ has the potential to be used with patients suffering from other chronic diseases and to disseminate the palliative approach to pain treatment to other areas of medicine.

[Dialogal phenomenology in the context of nursing science, a critical examination of a rather unknown research method]. / Dialogische Phänomenologie im Rahmen der Pflegewissenschaft - Eine kritische Auseinandersetzung mit einer wenig bekannten Forschungsmethode.

Dialogal Phenomenology is an interpretive research method which in the German speaking world is relatively unknown in nursing science. It is based on the core concepts of Husserlian Phenomenology. First, in this article the method of Dialogal Phenomenology is being presented. Subsequently an exercise of about one year duration is reported. In this exercise two nurse scientists and two nursing experts examined - in an exemplary application of the method - the scientific potential of this method, its practicability and its potential relevance for reflexive nursing practice. As soon as the research team realised how the method is being practised and what its potential benefit for nursing practice is it terminated the exercise. The critical examination of the research method showed that it has great epistemological potential. However, its application under the given circumstances proved challenging.