Feeling Safe in the Perioperative Period: Experiences from Patients Undergoing Orthopedic Day Surgery.

Introduction: Day surgery is often preferred by patients, but it can pose challenges in self-management after discharge. In addition, patients undergoing orthopedic surgery report poorer rates of postoperative recovery than patients undergoing general surgery. Understanding patients' perceptions of feeling safe while undergoing surgery facilitates individualized care and is important since it may affect their recovery. Objective: The aim of this study was to describe patients' perceptions of feeling safe in the perioperative period when undergoing orthopedic day surgery under regional anesthesia. Methods: The design was qualitative and descriptive. Data were collected through a cross-sectional questionnaire containing open-ended questions. Qualitative content analysis with an inductive approach was used for data analysis. Participants' characteristics were presented descriptively. The study population consisted of a consecutive sample of 97 patients who had undergone orthopedic day surgery under regional anesthesia between March and October 2022. Results: The categorization process resulted in the development of two categories describing participants' experience of perioperative feelings of safety when undergoing orthopedic day surgery: having someone near and having a sense of control. The results indicate that the relationship between patients and staff and the perceived feeling of control and participation are factors influencing patients' perception of feeling safe in the perioperative period. Conclusions: In perioperative care, nurses play a vital role in fostering patients' sense of safety by establishing relationships. This ensures that patients can be actively engaged in their own care. Patients also need access to professional and competent staff who strives to add a personal touch and considers their perspective. Since patients undergoing orthopedic day surgery might face a more demanding postoperative recovery than they had initially anticipated, further research is suggested to explore the association between a perceived feeling of safety and postoperative recovery.

Close relatives' perspective of critical illness due to COVID-19: Keeping in touch at a distance.

AIM: To elucidate the meaning of being a close relative of a critically ill person cared for in intensive care during the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. DESIGN: A narrative inquiry design following the COREQ guidelines. METHODS: Individual interviews with fifteen close relatives of patients critically ill with COVID-19 were analysed using phenomenological hermeneutics. RESULTS: The surreal existence of not being allowed to be near was emotionally difficult. While distancing due to restrictions was challenging, physicians' phone calls served as a connection to their relatives and brought a sense of security. Keeping notes helped them remember what happened and brought order to a chaotic situation. CONCLUSION: Close relatives feel secure when they receive regular information about their critically ill relative, not just when their condition worsens. They wish to be physically near to their critically ill person; when this is impossible, digital technology can provide support, but further accessibility developments are needed.

The nursing process: A supportive model for nursing students' learning during clinical education - A qualitative study.

AIM: The aim of this study was to increase understanding of nursing students' learning during clinical education in relation to the nursing process. BACKGROUND: Nursing students' learning during clinical education is of great importance in creating meaning for theory and development of core competencies. As a theoretical model, the nursing process is challenging to apply in practice for both students and registered nurses, although use of the model has benefits for patient care. DESIGN: This is a descriptive qualitative study with an abductive approach. METHODS: Twelve semi-structured interviews with nursing students in education from six universities in Sweden were conducted in 2021-2022. Data were examined using qualitative content analysis. RESULTS: The results revealed that the nursing process supported learning when theory and practice 'spoke the same language'. This allows for the opportunity to perform in a consistent way with the theory, while obtaining awareness of an invisible process. Furthermore, the nursing process supported learning by incorporating a thought structure for the student´s professional role through developing independence to conduct a holistic assessment and increasing an understanding of the nurse´s area of responsibility. CONCLUSION: The results revealed that when theory and practice were aligned, the nursing process became a meaningful structure to develop a sustainable, safe way of thinking for one's future professional role. It is important to use supportive pedagogical models for students and supervisors that facilitate the integration of concepts of the nursing process in practice.

Perception of feeling safe perioperatively: a concept analysis.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to explore the concept of feeling safe, from the patient perspective, in a perioperative context. METHOD: The eight-step concept analysis approach proposed by Walker and Avant was utilized to examine the attributes of feeling safe. Uses of the concept, defining attributes as well as antecedents, consequences and empirical referents are presented to describe the concept. Case examples are provided in order to assist the understanding of the defining attributes. RESULTS: Feeling safe is defined as: a person that does not feel worried or threatened. Three attributes were identified: Participation, Control and Presence. Knowledge and Relationship are the antecedents of feeling safe, while Feeling Acknowledged and Trust are the consequences. Empirical referents are explored in order to find a way to measuring the perceived feeling of safety. CONCLUSION: This concept analysis underscores the importance of including patients' perceptions in traditional patient safety work. Patients who feel safe perceive that they participate in their care, that they are in control, and that they feel the presence of both healthcare staff and relatives. The perceived feeling of security could, by extension, promote the postoperative recovery of patients undergoing surgery by positively affect the process of recovery.

Postoperative Recovery: Experiences of Patients Who Have Undergone Orthopedic Day Surgery.

PURPOSE: Day surgery is a common phenomenon and is associated with several benefits including cost-effectiveness. However, patients are required to manage their postoperative recovery at home. Patients undergoing orthopedic surgery are a particularly vulnerable group, and their postoperative recovery requires further investigation. This study aimed to describe the experiences of postoperative recovery of patients who had undergone orthopedic day surgery. DESIGN: A qualitative and descriptive study design was used METHODS: Participants were selected purposefully and included 18 orthopedic day-surgery patients who underwent surgery in October and November 2020. Semi-structured interviews were conducted from December 2020 to February 2021. All interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. The transcribed data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis with an inductive approach. The process of analysis was done in several steps and resulted in four categories FINDINGS: Four categories that described the postoperative recovery experiences of patients who underwent orthopedic day surgery were developed: (1) Questions arose when I got home; (2) I wanted confirmation that I was on the right path; (3) I felt lonely and dependent on others; and (4) I strove to find a balance between activity and rest CONCLUSIONS: For most patients, there was no follow-up after day surgery. However, patients expressed a desire for confirmation that their recovery process was within the normal trajectory. Most of the recovery takes place at home, leading to feelings of loneliness and highlighting the need for support from healthcare providers and close relatives. A phone call from a nurse after surgery might offer support, reduce feelings of loneliness, and promote a sense of safety. This study highlights the importance of systematic follow-up following orthopedic day surgery.

The Meaning of Critical Illness for People Suffering From COVID-19: When a Frightening Unreality Becomes Reality.

The aim of this study was to elucidate the meaning of critical illness for people with COVID-19. This study used a qualitative design. Thirteen people who were critically ill with COVID-19 during 2020 and admitted to a COVID-19 intensive care unit in northern Sweden participated in the study. Data collection was conducted as individual interviews with a narrative approach, and data were analyzed with phenomenological hermeneutic interpretation. The participants did not think they would get critically ill with this unexpected illness. They experienced terrible nightmares where their relatives had been killed, and they missed their relatives both in their dreams and in reality, as they had not been allowed to be with them due to the virus. Gratefulness was described for surviving. Participants described thoughts of not being able to imagine going through this again. They felt fear and loneliness, as a terrifying unreality had become a reality.

Development and psychometric evaluation of the Feeling Safe During Surgery Scale.

AIM: The aim of this study is to develop and psychometrically test the Feeling Safe During Surgery Scale. DESIGN: The study design was non-experimental and cross-sectional. METHOD: The evaluation followed classical test theory, and the instrument was evaluated regarding reliability, construct validity and content validity. For the reliability analysis, a postal questionnaire consisting of the 16 items of the scale was dispatched in March 2020 to a consecutive sample (N = 242) of patients who had undergone hip or knee replacement arthroplasties with regional anaesthesia. Five experts in nursing care evaluated the content validity of the scale. RESULT: Internal consistency was 0.841. Three items were excluded due to deficits in reliability, resulting in a 13-item scale. A principal component analysis revealed a two-dimensional solution, labelled internal and external aspects of feeling safe. Two items were rephrased to improve clarity and content validity. The average content validity for the scale was 0.88, indicating acceptable content validity.

Women's experiences of unplanned pre-hospital births: A pilot study.

INTRODUCTION: Prehospital births are fairly rare in Sweden but occasionally occur in the ambulance care system. The ambulance nurse's experience of prehospital births has previously been studied, but there is a lack of research that depicts the woman's perspective of a prehospital birth. AIM: To describe women's experiences of unplanned prehospital births. METHOD: A qualitative questionnaire consisting of six open-ended questions that encouraged participants to describe their prehospital-birth experience. Eight women answered the survey and nine birth stories were included. A qualitative content analysis with an inductive approach was used as an analysis method. RESULTS: The analysis of the texts resulted in four main categories. The main categories were an unpredictable event, the woman's suffering, her perceived gratitude and the importance of the ambulance nurse now and in the future. The main category of women's suffering resulted in two subcategories: physical stresses and psychological and emotional suffering. CONCLUSION: The women are not prepared to give birth to a child outside the hospital, and the course of events happen quickly. A prehospital birth is described as a tumultuous event for women. The ambulance nurse has a central role in the care outside the hospital. The advice women suggest to ambulance nurses are remaining calm and safe no matter what the situation looks like, listening to the mother and meeting the woman's wishes. Proposals for further research are to investigate the importance of further education in childbirth care for ambulance nurses and how that affects the care of women and their family.

To be seen as a unique person after suffering a second myocardial infarction: Expressed needs of patients and descriptions of personnel.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to describe patients' expressed needs during cardiac rehabilitation after suffering a second myocardial infarction in comparison to personnel's descriptions of how they work with these patients. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY: A descriptive qualitative design. Interviews were conducted with patients affected by two myocardial infarctions and registered nurses, physiotherapists and cardiologists working with cardiac rehabilitation. Data were analysed with qualitative content analysis. FINDINGS: An interpretation of the underlying meaning in the categories was formulated into one theme: 'To be seen as a unique person'. Patients expressed a need for individualised care; they wanted the cardiac rehabilitation to be customised to their condition and prognosis; however, they did not perceive their care was individualised. Personnel described the importance of the care being individualised, although they had guidelines to follow. It was crucial for them to see the individual and discover what was important for each patient. CONCLUSIONS: There was a shared opinion from patients and personnel that individual care is essential. Using the concept and working in accordance with person-centred care could meet the patients' need for individualised care.

Strategies to Relieve Patients' Preoperative Anxiety Before Anesthesia: Experiences of Nurse Anesthetists.

PURPOSE: To investigate nurse anesthetists' experiences of strategies that alleviate adult patients' preoperative anxiety before anesthesia administration. DESIGN: The study has a qualitative approach wherein the data were collected through semistructured interviews. The study included interviews with six active nurse anesthetists with at least 5 years of experience who worked in a hospital in southern Sweden. METHODS: Critical incident technology was used to analyze the data. FINDINGS: Four different categories emerged: behavior of nurse anesthetist, preoperatively providing information, diverting attention to create security, and medicine as an alternative. CONCLUSIONS: Awareness can increase the use of different strategies by both new and experienced nurse anesthetists, as well as by nurses in preoperative units, which in turn alleviates patient anxiety about anesthesia. This may result in a better perioperative experience for the patient.

Realising the seriousness - The experience of suffering a second myocardial infarction: A qualitative study.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to describe people's experiences of suffering a second myocardial infarction. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY: A descriptive qualitative design. Interviews were conducted with eight persons afflicted by two myocardial infarctions. Data were analysed with qualitative content analysis. FINDINGS: The analysis resulted in one theme and four categories. The theme was 'Realising the seriousness' and the categories were: 1) Knowledge from previous experience; 2) A wake-up call for lifestyle changes; 3) The future becomes unpredictable; 4) Trying to find balance in life. The participant's previous experience contributed to a better understanding of the symptoms of myocardial infarction and how to act when suffering a second myocardial infarction. After their second myocardial infarction, the participants became really aware of the need to implement a healthier lifestyle, as doing so might avoid a third myocardial infarction. The risk of suffering or even dying due to yet another myocardial infarction felt more tangible after their second one. CONCLUSION: A second myocardial infarction is a different event in comparison to the first one, which makes afflicted people realise the seriousness and importance of making life style changes. They are more affected both physically and psychologically.

The second myocardial infarction: Is there any difference in symptoms and prehospital delay compared to the first myocardial infarction?

BACKGROUND: Knowledge is limited concerning the type of symptoms and the time from onset of symptoms to first medical contact at first and second myocardial infarction in the same patient. AIM: This study aimed to describe the type of symptoms and the time from onset of symptoms to first medical contact in first and second myocardial infarctions in men and women affected by two myocardial infarctions. Furthermore, the aim was to identify factors associated with prehospital delays ≥2 h at second myocardial infarction. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study with 820 patients aged 31-74 years with a first and a second myocardial infarction from 1986 through 2009 registered in the Northern Sweden MONICA registry. RESULTS: The most common symptoms reported among patients affected by two myocardial infarctions are typical symptoms at both myocardial infarction events. Significantly more women reported atypical symptoms at the second myocardial infarction compared to the first. Ten per cent of the men did not report the same type of symptoms at the first and second myocardial infarctions; the corresponding figure for women was 16.2%. The time from onset of symptoms to first medical contact was shorter at the second myocardial infarction compared to the first myocardial infarction. Patients with prehospital delay ≥2 h at the first myocardial infarction were more likely to have a prehospital delay ≥2 h at the second myocardial infarction. CONCLUSIONS: Symptoms of second myocardial infarctions are not necessarily the same as those of first myocardial infarctions. A patient's behaviour at the first myocardial infarction could predict how he or she would behave at a second myocardial infarction.

The second myocardial infarction: Higher risk factor burden and earlier second myocardial infarction in women compared with men. The Northern Sweden MONICA study.

BACKGROUND: Several studies have examined various parameters and experiences when patients suffer their first myocardial infarction (MI), but knowledge about when they suffer their second MI is limited. AIM: To compare risk factors for MI, that is, diabetes, hypertension and smoking, for the first and second MI events in men and women affected by two MIs and to analyse the time intervals between the first and second MIs. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study of 1017 patients aged 25-74 years with first and second MIs from 1990 through 2009 registered in the Northern Sweden MONICA registry. RESULTS: More women than men have diabetes and hypertension and are smokers at the first MI. Similar differences between the genders remain at the time of the second MI for diabetes and hypertension, although both risk factors have increased. Smoking decreased at the second MI without any remaining difference between genders. Women suffer their second MI within a shorter time interval than men do. Within 16 months of their first MI, 50% of women had a second MI. The corresponding time interval for men was 33 months. CONCLUSION: Patients affected by an MI should be made aware of their risk of recurrent MI and that the risk of recurrence is highest during the first few years after an MI. In patients affected by two MIs, women have a higher risk factor burden and suffer their second MI earlier than men do and thus may need more aggressive and more prompt secondary prevention.