Hereditary Cancer Syndrome Carriers: Feeling Left in the Corner.

OBJECTIVES: There is limited evidence on health promotion interventions in people with hereditary cancer syndromes or on their main sources of support and information. This study aimed to understand these patients' experiences and needs, including their information needs, their views on prevention and mental health, and the support they want from nurses. METHODS: This qualitative study included 22 people (8 previvors and 14 survivors) with hereditary breast and ovarian syndrome or Lynch syndrome from 10 European countries. Participants underwent individual semi-structured interviews, which were recorded and transcribed for reflexive thematic analysis. The patient and public involvement panel provided input on study design and thematic analysis. RESULTS: Patient experiences were similar regardless of the country and access to testing and screening. Participants reported receiving little information on the importance of health behaviors for cancer risk and expressed their wish to be followed by cancer professionals. They felt compelled to seek support and information from the internet and patient groups. The main themes identified were: (unmet) informational and support needs, seeing life in a different way, and limitations of health care providers. CONCLUSIONS: People with hereditary cancer syndromes need professionals to be involved in their long-term management and to provide reliable information. As genomics are increasingly integrated in oncology, the need for professionals to support these populations will increase. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE: Nurses are crucial for promoting self-management and advocating for patient decision-making; however, they need skills and knowledge to do so. There is a need for nurses to get more involved in understanding hereditary cancer syndromes and an opportunity to take the lead in the care of these people.

Positive mental health and sense of coherence among emergency medical service professionals.

Background: Positive mental health (PMH) is a construct used to define and evaluate health from a positive perspective. Healthcare professionals in the emergency ambulance service are more likely to experience mental health disorders than the overall population. The demographic and occupational variables and Sense of Coherence (SOC) can act as predictors of PMH and can serve as protective elements against stress and demanding situations in the work environment. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate PMH and its relationship with demographic and occupational variables and determine if SOC is a predictive variable for PMH in health professionals working in the emergency ambulance service. Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional, and correlational study was conducted with a sample of 406 healthcare professionals from the emergency ambulance service in eight health regions of Catalonia, Spain. The following variables were analyzed: Age, biological sex, household members, dependents family members, professional category, type of contract, job satisfaction and sense of collaboration with other institutions. The following assessment instruments were used: Positive Mental Health Questionnaire and Sense of Coherence scale. Results: High scores were obtained in Positive Mental Health (PMH). Study participants who reported feeling completely satisfied in their work also showed a significant relationship with all PMH factors: greater satisfaction with their personal life, in their helpful prosocial attitude toward others, in their capability to deal effectively with stress and navigate conflict scenarios, in their ability to solve problems and self-realization, greater empathy and ability to understand the feelings of others, greater ability to establish interpersonal relationships. Comprehensibility, as a dimension of SOC, was identified as a predictor for some factors of PMH: a greater personal satisfaction, self-control, autonomy, interpersonal skills and total PMHQ. More than 43% of positive mental health in health professionals is explained by higher Meaningfulness and Comprehensibility values of the SOC, the absence of dependent family members and having a non-graduate background. Conclusion: Healthcare workers in the emergency ambulance service had high PMH. Meaningfulness (ME) and Comprehensibility (C), dimensions of SOC, were identified as model predictors of greater PMH, showing higher scores in most of PMH factors. To enhance SOC as a mental health promotion measure, resilience programs should be implemented to help professionals develop skills to face and overcome adverse situations. Educating in stress management thought networks are key elements to strengthen SOC. Managers in emergency medical services play a key role in transforming healthcare work environments to promote positive outcomes in the mental health of their healthcare workers.

Psychometric properties of the positive mental health questionnaire: short form (PMHQ-SF18) in young adults.

Introduction: Positive Mental Health (PMH) plays a pivotal role in the promoting of mental health. Assessing this phenomenon is essential for early recognition and intervention in mental health. To date, only one tool was validated with 39 items to assess PMH among Portuguese young adults. Method: This study sought to examine the psychometric properties of the short version of the Positive Mental Health Questionnaire (PMHQ) among Portuguese university students. The PMHQ Short Form was administered to a sample of 3,647 university students via an online platform. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed. The principal factor solution was employed because some items showed higher levels of kurtosis. Multivariate analysis was tested using the Mardia's Test, Henze-Zirkler, and Royston. Findings of content, construct validity tests, and Cronbach's alfa demonstrated the satisfactory validity and suitable reliability of the PMHQ-Short Form (PMHQ-SF). Results and discussion: The exploratory factor analysis produced six dimensions of the PMHQ-SF with three items in each factor demonstrating adequate internal reliability. The global internal consistency was 0.92, with factors ranging between 0.60 to 0.82. The results suggest that the PMHQ-SF is reliable, easier, and more practical to complete by university students due to the shortening of the number of items. The PMHQ-SF is useful for assessing positive mental health in young adults. The final version of the instrument contains from 32 to 18 items.

The experiences of family members of persons with intellectual disabilities who used residential care homes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: The global COVID-19 pandemic has shown the vulnerability of some population groups, including persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). AIM: The present paper will provide more clarity and understanding of the experiences of family members of persons with IDD housed in residential facilities in Catalonia within the period of maximum restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Semi-structured interviews were conducted using an interpretive phenomenological qualitative approach. Study participants consisted of 14 relatives of IDD individuals who were institutionalized in residence facilities or homes. The guiding questions emerged from group discussions with relatives of those with IDD who did not participate in the subsequent interviews. Drawing from this group, the factors that were identified to have had the greatest impact on their lives were later used to guide the interviews. Data collection was carried out in face-to-face individual interviews that were recorded together with the observations of two researchers between February and October 2022. RESULTS: Our analysis identified 4 main themes that developed into additional factors: the decision to stay at home or in the residence, fear, illness, and protocol. Individuals with IDD lost their daily routines, suffered from social isolation, and did not understand the situation. CONCLUSION: The results of this study allow for a better understanding of the experiences of families of persons with IDD in residential centres during the lockdown by identifying their needs and how to better support them in the future. OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: Knowledge and understanding of these events should allow for better management of similar situations in the future.

This study contributes to a growing body of research that examines the experiences of IDD individuals and their families during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. A qualitative phenomenological interpretative approach was used following the recommendations of qualitative research practices in health care. Our findings reveal that relatives of persons with IDD who lived in residential care homes felt that the residents were not adequately cared for by the staff, who applied measures for containment and contagion prevention that were disproportionate, resulting in their needs not being considered; these recommended measures had been developed for elderly care homes. Individuals with IDD lost their daily routines, suffered from social isolation, and did not understand the situation. The present findings show that residential care homes for persons with IDD require specific action protocols in crisis situations that are adapted to the needs and characteristics of each centre,thus adopting a model of care based on human rights.

What is the perception of biological risk by undergraduate nursing students? / Qual a percepção do risco biológico tem os estudantes da Licenciatura em Enfermagem? / ¿Qué percepción del riesgo biológico tienen los estudiantes de Grado de Enfermería?

Abstract Objective: to analyze undergraduate nursing students' perception of biological risk and its relationship with their prior practical training. Method: a descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among undergraduate nursing students enrolled in clinical practice courses in the academic year 2013-2014 at the School of Nursing at the University of Barcelona. Variables: sociodemographic variables, employment, training, clinical experience and other variables related to the assessment of perceived biological risk were collected. Both a newly developed tool and the Dimensional Assessment of Risk Perception at the worker level scale (Escala de Evaluación Dimensional del Riesgo Percibido por el Trabajador, EDRP-T) were used. Statistical analysis: descriptive and univariate analysis were used to identify differences between the perception of biological risk of the EDRP-T scale items and sociodemographic variables. Results: students without prior practical training had weaker perceptions of biological risk compared to students with prior practical training (p=0.05 and p=0.04, respectively). Weaker perceptions of biological risk were found among students with prior work experience. Conclusion: practical training and work experience influence the perception of biological risk among nursing students.

Resumo Objectivo: analisar a percepção do risco biológico nos estudantes da Licenciatura de Enfermagem e a sua ligação com a formação prática previa. Método: estudo descritivo transversal realizado na Escola de Enfermagem da Universidade de Barcelona, em estudantes da Licenciatura de Enfermagem matriculados em disciplinas práticas do curso académico 2013-2014 (N=78). Variáveis: sociodemográficas, laborais, de formação, clinicas e referidas na avaliação do risco biológico percebido. Foi utilizado um instrumento de elaboração própria e a escala EDRP-T. Analise estatístico: descritivo e univariante para detectar se existiam diferenças entre a percepção do risco biológico dos itens da escala EDRP-T e as variáveis sociodemográficas. Resultado: os estudantes sem formação prática previa tiveram menos percepção do conhecimento e menor percepção dos danos derivados do risco biológico em comparação com os estudantes com previa formação prática (p=0.0.5 e p=0.04 respectivamente). Detectou-se menor percepção do risco biológico em estudantes com experiencia laboral previa. Conclusão: a formação práticas e experiencia laboral influenciam na percepção do risco biológico em estudantes de Enfermagem. Faltam estudos que relacionem a percepção do risco com o uso das medidas de prevenção durante a formação pratica e os acidentes do tipo biológicos ocorridos.

Resumen Objetivo: analizar la percepción del riesgo biológico en los estudiantes de Grado de Enfermería y su relación con la formación práctica previa. Método: estudio descriptivo transversal realizado en la Escuela de Enfermería de la Universidad de Barcelona en estudiantes de Grado de Enfermería matriculados en asignaturas prácticas del curso académico 2013-2014. Variables: sociodemográficas, laborales, de formación, clínicas y referidas a la evaluación del riesgo biológico percibido. Se utilizó un instrumento de elaboración propia y la escala Evaluación dimensional del Riesgo Percibido (EDRP-T). Análisis estadístico: descriptivo y univariante para detectar si habían diferencias entre la percepción de riesgo biológico de los ítems de la escala EDRP-T y las variables sociodemográficas. Resultados: los estudiantes sin formación práctica previa tenían menor percepción de conocimiento y menor percepción de daño derivado del riesgo biológico con respecto a los estudiantes con formación práctica previa (p=0.05 y p=0.04 respectivamente). Se detectó menor percepción del riesgo biológico en los estudiantes con experiencia laboral previa. Conclusión: la formación práctica y la experiencia laboral influyen en la percepción del riesgo biológico de los estudiantes de enfermería.