Self-efficacy, mindfulness, and perceived social support as resources to maintain the mental health of students in Switzerland's universities of applied sciences: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Switzerland's student population is at a particularly high risk of developing mental health disorders, creating a major challenge for Switzerland's higher education establishments. Research to date has primarily sought to identify the risk factors affecting students' mental health; however, their exposure to these factors is often unavoidable. Thus, the present study adopted a salutogenic approach focussing on the determinants of health. We examined the mental health resources available to students reported in the literature as being susceptible to helping them maintain good mental health despite their exposure to risk factors. METHODS: In February 2020, 2,415 first- and second-year bachelor's degree students in applied sciences in French-speaking Switzerland completed an online questionnaire. The variables measured were self-evaluated mental health, perceived stress and three potential health resources: students' feelings of self-efficacy, their capacity for mindfulness and their social support. The results were analysed using hierarchical linear regression models. RESULTS: When all the variables were included in the model without interaction effect, our results revealed that students' self-evaluated mental health was negatively associated with perceived stress (ß = -0.43, p < 0.001) and positively associated with the three potential health resources (self-efficacy: ß = 0.26, p < 0.001; mindfulness: ß = 0.10, p < 0.001; social support: ß = 0.17, p < 0.001). An analysis of the interaction effects also revealed that a high level of self-efficacy was associated with perceived stress being less strongly linked to mental health (ß = 0.29, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that self-efficacy, mindfulness, and perceived social support are valuable resources for protecting students' mental health. Thus, implementing interventions aimed at reinforcing them, could support students in applied sciences all along their academic pathway, in their classes and during their professional work experience placements.

Setting new priorities for nursing research: The updated Swiss Nursing Research Agenda-a systematic, participative approach.

AIM: To identify current key areas for nursing research in Switzerland, we revised the Swiss Research Agenda for Nursing (SRAN) initially published in 2008. BACKGROUND: By developing a research agenda, nursing researchers internationally prioritize and cluster relevant topics within the research community. The process should be collaborative and systematic to provide credible information for decisionmakers in health care research, policy, and practice. SOURCES OF EVIDENCE: After a participative, systematic, and critical evaluation within and outside of the Swiss Association for Nursing Science, the updated SRAN 2019-2029 defines four research priorities (new models of care, nursing care interventions, work and care environment, and quality of care and patient safety) and four transversal themes (organization of research, research methodologies, research in health care policy and public health perspectives). CONCLUSION: Adding to other national nursing research agendas, the categories are organized in a framework of key research priorities and transversal themes. They relate to the importance of global and local foci of research as well as challenges in health care services and policy systems. The agenda is an important prerequisite for enhancing the influence of nursing research in Switzerland and provides guidance for the next decade. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE: The revised agenda ensures that research projects target key knowledge gaps and the discipline's core questions in respective countries. IMPLICATIONS FOR HEALTH POLICY: Nursing research should inform and influence health policy on all institutional and political levels. Therefore, the integration of public health perspectives in research is one of the most important new aspects of SRAN 2019-2029.

[Nurses' health during the COVID-19 pandemic in Switzerland: A longitudinal study with mixed methods design]. / Gesundheit von Pflegenden während der COVID-19-Pandemie in der Schweiz.

Nurses' health during the COVID-19 pandemic in Switzerland: A longitudinal study with mixed methods design Abstract: Background: The COVID19 pandemic has had a significant impact on healthcare systems worldwide. Nurses have played a crucial role in responding to the crisis, often at the expense of their own health and wellbeing. Aim: The aim of the study was to investigate the physical and mental health status as well as the resources of certified nurses during the pandemic, in German-speaking Switzerland. Methods: In a longitudinal study with a mixed methods design, data were collected among nurses from acute hospitals between 2021 and 2022 using a questionnaire survey and focus group interviews. The data were analysed using multiple regression analysis, knowledge mapping and the Neuman system model. Results: The results show improvements in health, quality of life and job satisfaction, and a decrease in stress; whereby influencing extrapersonal factors are, among others, reorganisations within hospitals with the active involvement of nurses. On the interpersonal level, support from managers or colleagues proved helpful. At the intrapersonal level, the recognition of the nurses' competencies was deemed particularly important, to help them to remain healthy during the pandemic. Conclusions: Increased recognition, participation, training and career opportunities as well as flexible working models need to be implemented in the long term to ensure a sustainable improvement of the health and well-being of nurses.