A Mobile Health Transitional Care Intervention Delivered by Nurses Improves Postdischarge Outcomes of Caregivers of Patients with Traumatic Brain Injury: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

OBJECTIVE: Caring for patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) during the transition from hospital to home can be psychologically challenging to caregivers. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of a novel mobile health (m-health) transitional care intervention to reduce stress and burden of caregivers of patients with TBI and to reduce readmissions. METHODS: A randomized controlled trial was conducted with 74 caregivers of adult patients with moderate or severe TBI admitted to a referral hospital in Indonesia. An m-health application for Android mobile phones was designed including education and information for caregivers. The application included an online chat feature with weekly monitoring. The m-health transitional care intervention also included face-to-face education before hospital discharge. Primary outcomes were caregivers' stress and burden. Outcomes were measured at 3 time points: at hospital discharge, 2 weeks postdischarge, and 4 weeks postdischarge. Random Allocation Software was used for randomization of study participants. RESULTS: Final analysis included data of 37 caregivers in the intervention group and 37 caregivers in the control group. Stress within the intervention group decreased over time (P < 0.001, mean difference = 11.05). Between both groups, stress was significantly different at 2 weeks and 4 weeks postdischarge (P < 0.001). Caregiver burden showed similar results (2 weeks postdischarge P < 0.001 and 4 weeks postdischarge P < 0.001). Only 1 patient in the control group was readmitted to the hospital. CONCLUSIONS: The m-health transitional care intervention reduced stress and burden of caregivers of patients with moderate or severe TBI. Nurses should consider using m-health technologies to support caregivers in the transition from the hospital into the community.

Exploring nurses' experiences in applying AIDET framework to improve communication skills in the emergency department: A qualitative study.

Background: Recognizing the significance of effective communication in raising emergency department service standards and preventing misinterpretation of patient needs among registered nurses is crucial for improving patient satisfaction. The utilization of the AIDET (Acknowledge, Introduce, Duration, Explanation, and Thank you) communication framework is acknowledged to enhance communication among registered nurses, patients, family members, and other healthcare professionals. Objective: This study aimed to explore Thai nurses' experiences in applying the AIDET framework for communications with patients and their relatives in the emergency department. Methods: A qualitative descriptive research design was employed. Semi-structured interviews with 15 emergency nurses were conducted between September and March 2022 in a regional hospital in Thailand. Data were analyzed using content analysis. Results: Three themes were generated: 1) Ability to follow the AIDET framework, 2) Recognizing the value of using AIDET steps for positive communication, and 3) Establishing a foundation for successful communication. Conclusion: The study's findings highlighted the AIDET framework's potential to enhance communication skills between nurses, healthcare professionals, and patients. The results also emphasized the importance of providing training and mentorship to junior nurses, integrating AIDET into daily routines and institutional policies, and facilitating continuous education for registered nurses. These efforts contribute to improving care quality and aligning with patient and family needs.

Disaster preparedness among nurses of developing countries: An integrative review.

BACKGROUND: Nurse preparedness and prompt response are essential to save lives and reduce the consequences of disasters and emerging pandemics. This paper aimed to synthesize the available evidence that demonstrates the adequacy on disaster preparedness among nurses in developing countries. METHODS: Five stages of the integrative review approach were employed. Seventeen articles from 2010 to 2019 were selected using different databases after a quality appraisal performed by two researchers independently. The findings were summarized and synthesized based on the themes concerning disaster preparedness among nurses. RESULTS: The major themes emerged were disaster knowledge and perceived self-preparedness. Nurses were found to have a weak-to-average or a low-to-moderate level of disaster preparedness based on their knowledge and perception. Education and training were discovered to be vital factors, often requiring a variety of strategies, for the enhancement of the nurses' preparedness level. CONCLUSION: This review concludes that nurses in developing countries remain inadequately prepared on all domains of disaster nursing competencies. Therefore, providing well-designed disaster nursing educational packages, training manuals, and support to attend disaster drills or partake in actual disaster events are essential to the enhancement of disaster preparedness and the retention of relevant skills among nurses in all sectors.