Factors Associated with Nursing Professionalism: Insights from Tertiary Care Center in India.

BACKGROUND: Professionalism among nurses plays a critical role in ensuring patient safety and quality care and involves delivering competent, safe, and ethical care while also working with clients, families, communities, and healthcare teams. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To assess the level of nursing professionalism and the factors affecting professionalism among nurses working at a tertiary care center in India. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from October 2022 to March 2023 using a total enumeration sampling technique. Following institutional ethics committee approval, standardized tools were administered consisting of Nursing Professionalism Scale and socio-demographic, personal, and organizational characteristics. RESULTS: A total of 270 nurses participated, with a response rate of 93.7%. The mean age of the participants was 27.33 ± 2.75 years, with the majority being female (82.6%) and belonged to the age group of 23-27 years (59.6%). More than half of the nurses exhibited high professionalism (53%), with the highest and lowest median scores for professional responsibility (29.0) and valuing human beings (13.0) respectively. Multivariate regression analysis demonstrated that, compared with their counterparts, nurses with a graduate nursing qualification (AOR = 4.77, 95% CI = 1.16-19.68), up-to-date training (AOR = 4.13, 95% CI = 1.88-9.06), and adequate career opportunity (AOR = 33.91, 95% CI = 14.48-79.39) had significant associations with high nursing professionalism. CONCLUSION/IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: The majority of the nurses had high professionalism, particularly in the domains of professional responsibility and management. Hospitals and healthcare institutions can use these findings to develop policies and prioritize opportunities for nurses to attend conferences and workshops to enhance their professional values, ultimately leading to improved patient care outcomes. PATIENT AND PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: No patient or public contribution.

Factors affecting quality of daytime and nighttime sleep among dialysis patients: A single center experience.

BACKGROUND: Hemodialysis is the most common treatment modality for patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Excessive daytime sleepiness and poor nighttime sleep is a common problem among these patients. Patients on maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) are regularly exposed to impaired fluid balance, which may cause overhydration of varying degree. However, the role of hydration status in sleep quality has not been explored in Indian setting. Hence, this study was undertaken to assess the factors affecting sleep quality among patients on MHD in a tertiary care hospital. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Patients (N = 55) were enrolled if they aged above18 years, on MHD for at least 3 months, and gave consent. The daytime sleep quality was assessed using Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) and Insomnia Severity Index (ISI). The data were analyzed using SPSS version 20 and STATA software. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 40.4 ± 14.7 years. The prevalence rate of predialysis fluid overload was 85.4%. The median ESS score was 7 and ISI score was 3 indicating normal daytime sleep and not significant insomnia. Multivariate regression with variables adjustment showed that interdialytic weight gain (P = 0.33), tingling sensation (P = 0.36) and numbness (P = 0.35) were significant predictive factors for quality of sleep. CONCLUSION: The major factors affecting sleep quality were numbness, tingling sensation, and interdialytic weight gain. Fluid overload did not play any role in sleep quality. Another study may be carried out on assessment of pattern, duration, quality of sleep in multiple dialysis sessions, and effect of optimizing fluid status on the sleep parameters.

Contemporary sources dominate carbonaceous aerosol on the North Slope of Alaska.

As the Arctic continues to change and warm rapidly, it is increasingly important to understand the organic carbon (OC) contribution to Arctic aerosol. Biogenic sources of primary and secondary OC in the Arctic will be impacted by climate change, including warming temperatures and earlier snow and ice melt. This study focuses on identifying potential sources and regional influences on the seasonal concentration of organic aerosol through analysis of chemical and isotopic composition. Aerosol samples were collected at two sites on the North Slope of Alaska (Utqiagvik, UQK, and Oliktok Point, OLK, which is in an Arctic oilfield) over three summers from 2015 to 2017. The elemental carbon (EC) trends at each site were used to understand local combustion influences. Local sources drove EC concentrations at Oliktok Point, where high EC was attributed to oil and gas extraction activity, including diesel combustion emissions. Utqiagvik had very low EC in the summer. OC was more similar in concentration and well correlated between the two sites with high contributions of contemporary carbon by radiocarbon apportionment (UQK = 74%, OLK = 63%), which could include both marine and terrestrial sources of contemporary carbon (e.g. primary and secondary biogenic, biomass burning and/or associated SOA, and bioaerosols). OC concentrations are strongly correlated to maximum ambient temperatures on the NSA during the summer, which may have implications for predicting future OC aerosol concentrations in a warming Arctic. Biomass burning was determined to be an episodic influence at both sites, based on interpretation of combined aerosol composition, air mass trajectories, and remote sensing of smoke plumes. The results from this study overall strongly suggests contribution from regional sources of contemporary organic aerosol on the NSA, but additional analysis is needed to better constrain contributions from both biogenic sources (terrestrial and/or marine) and bioaerosol to better understand temperature-related aerosol processes in the Arctic.

Traffic, transport, and vegetation drive VOC concentrations in a major urban area in Texas.

The population of Texas has increased rapidly in the past decade. The San Antonio Field Study (SAFS) was designed to investigate ozone (O3) production and precursors in this rapidly changing, sprawling metropolitan area. There are still many questions regarding the sources and chemistry of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in urban areas like San Antonio which are affected by a complex mixture of industry, traffic, biogenic sources and transported pollutants. The goal of the SAFS campaign in May 2017 was to measure inorganic trace gases, VOCs, methane (CH4), and ethane (C2H6). The SAFS field design included two sites to better assess air quality across the metro area: an urban site (Traveler's World; TW) and a downwind/suburban site (University of Texas at San Antonio; UTSA). The results indicated that acetone (2.52 ± 1.17 and 2.39 ± 1.27 ppbv), acetaldehyde (1.45 ± 1.02 and 0.93 ± 0.45 ppbv) and isoprene (0.64 ± 0.49 and 1.21 ± 0.85 ppbv; TW and UTSA, respectively) were the VOCs with the highest concentrations. Additionally, positive matrix factorization showed three dominant factors of VOC emissions: biogenic, aged urban mixed source, and acetone. Methyl vinyl ketone and methacrolein (MVK + MACR) exhibited contributions from both secondary photooxidation of isoprene and direct emissions from traffic. The C2H6:CH4 demonstrated potential influence of oil and gas activities in San Antonio. Moreover, the high O3 days during the campaign were in the NOx-limited O3 formation regime and were preceded by evening peaks in select VOCs, NOx and CO. Overall, quantification of the concentration and trends of VOCs and trace gases in a major city in Texas offers vital information for general air quality management and supports strategies for reducing O3 pollution. The SAFS campaign VOC results will also add to the growing body of literature on urban sources and concentrations of VOCs in major urban areas.