Nursing knowledge of the principles of self-care of heart failure in primary care: a multicentre study.

INTRODUCTION: Nurses play an important part in the education of patients with HF. To prepare patients with HF for self-care maintenance behaviours, nurses must have knowledge of basic self-care maintenance principles. AIM STUDY: The aim of this study was to determine the degree of knowledge of primary care (PC) nurses on the principles of self-management of HF and variables associated with this. METHODOLOGY: This is an observational, cross-sectional descriptive study, carried out in 2014, in the city of Barcelona (Catalonia). Nurses' Knowledge of Heart Failure Education Principles questionnaire (NKHFEP) was used to assess the principles of HF self-care education. Instrument items assess knowledge of nurses on 5 themes: diet, liquids/weight, worsening signs or symptoms, medication and exercise. Factors related to adequate knowledge were evaluated. RESULTS: Of 216 PC nurses, who completed the questionnaire, the average score was 15.6 (SD: 2.2). Only 36 (16.7%) obtained an adequate level of knowledge and defined as a score ≥ 18 points. In multivariate logistic regression, nurse factors associated with an adequate knowledge of principles of self-care of HF were having achieved a PhD degree (OR: 36.4, 95% CI: 2.8-468.2, p = 0.006) and previous specific training in HF (OR: 19.8, 95% CI: 1.4-279.3, p = 0.026). CONCLUSIONS: The degree of knowledge of PC nurses in the principles of self-care in HF was higher among nurses who had completed the doctorate and in nurses who had received specific training in HF.

Attitudes and beliefs of nurses and physicians about managing sexual health in primary care: A multi-site cross-sectional comparative study.

Aim: To understand the attitudes and beliefs of nurses and physicians about managing the sexual health of patients during office visits in primary care centres. Design: A questionnaire-based, cross-sectional multi-centre study. Methods: The study was performed in 15 primary care centres in Barcelona (Spain), from December 2017-February 2018. Obtained data were analysed with descriptive and bivariate statistics. Results: Nearly half the participants believed they should manage sexual health in primary care, but a third of them disagreed this is a priority. Participants also believed patients are not comfortable speaking with them about sex. Statistically significant differences were observed between the professions as nurses more often reported receiving sexual health questions from patients and believed they had enough knowledge to appropriately respond. Most participants wanted additional education to speak with patients more comfortably and confidently about sex.

Improving ambulatory blood pressure monitoring knowledge in nurses and doctors: impact of a training intervention.

INTRODUCTION: Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) is fundamental to diagnosing and monitoring arterial hypertension (HTN), yet it is not known how effective training could be in improving knowledge of ABPM. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate ABPM knowledge before and after a training activity. METHODOLOGY: A before-and-after intervention study of 116 professionals. Data was collected on age, sex, occupational category, work setting, and work experience. ABPM knowledge was determined by a questionnaire to evaluate expertise in understanding and interpreting ABPM results. RESULTS: Multivariate regression analysis showed that, pre-intervention, having more than 20 years' experience (odds ratio (OR): 5.9; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.3-33.9; p = 0.049) and being a doctor (OR: 5.7; 95% CI: 1.8-18.3; p = 0.004) were associated with greater ABPM knowledge. Training increased the number of professionals with adequate ABPM knowledge: 85.3% after training vs 26.7% before training. Training increased the questionnaire mean (SD) score by almost 3 (1.7) points: 9 (2.2) after training vs 6.3 (2.2) before training ( p < 0.05). Of the 116 professionals, 90.5% achieved a higher overall score after training. The impact of the intervention was greatest on women nurses older than 45 years and with more years of experience, employed in primary care, and with prior experience of ABPM. CONCLUSIONS: Knowledge of ABPM is deficient but can be easily improved by training that is most effective in primary care and among nurses.