Joy at work and vocational identity during COVID-19: A structural equation model.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to explore the interrelations between joy at work, vocational identity, and COVID-19-related latent variables. DESIGN: A cross-sectional design was adopted to survey 253 registered nurses through nursing organizations and social networking sites during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: Structural Equation Modeling through Partial Least Squares (SEM-PLS) was employed to accurately analyze and estimate relationships among joy at work, vocational identity, and COVID-19-related constructs in compliance with published standards and guidelines. RESULTS: Thirty-one items received convergent validity measures to represent the five study constructs related to joy at work, vocational identity, and Work life Impact of COVID-19 pandemic: Meaning, Engagement, and Growth (MEG), Compassion, Sensitivity, and Respect (CSR), Trust, Support, and Flexibility (TSF), Vocational Identity Questionnaire (VIQ), and Work life Impact of COVID-19 pandemic (CI). The generated model exhibited good model fit and consistent quality indices. The data fit statistically with the model: (Average Path Coefficient = 0.195, p < 0.000); Average R-Squared = 0.156, p < 0.003; Average Adjusted R-Squared = 0.151, p < 0.004; Average Variance Inflation Factor = 2.193 (within the ideal range); Average Full collinearity VIF = 2.388 (within the ideal range), and Tenenhaus Goodness of Fit (GoF) = 0.329. The perceived Work life Impact of COVID-19 pandemic (CI) was a significant predictor of joy at work constructs (MEG, CSR, and TSF) and VIQ with direct effects. It also exerted a negative influence over MEG and TSF, but positively on CSR and VIQ. Notably, joy at work constructs significantly mediated the effects of CI on VIQ. CONCLUSION: A structural model was developed that offers insights and a parsimonious explanation for the interrelations of COVID-19, joy at work, and vocational identity variables. The pandemic unquestionably influences the nurses' perceived joy, sense of calling, and meaning in life's work, and joy at work enhances nurses' work-life worth during challenging times. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: An increased understanding of nurses' joy at work during challenging times can potentially influence work culture, informs individual nurses, nurse leaders, and healthcare systems in all professional domains of practice and provides the foundational information to identify barriers to joy and strategies that enhance joy.

Social connectedness and health-related quality of life among patients with cancer undergoing chemotherapy: A mixed method approach using structural equation modelling and photo-elicitation.

OBJECTIVE: To develop and test the model of association of social connectedness and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among patients with cancer undergoing chemotherapy and to describe their social connectedness through photo-elicitation. BACKGROUND: Social connectedness has been empirically associated with several well-being outcomes. However, little is known on the association of social connectedness among patients with cancer undergoing chemotherapy. METHODS: Employing a mixed-methods design following the good reporting of a mixed methods study guideline, the quantitative approach involved 230 consecutively-selected patients with cancer undergoing chemotherapy who answered a three-part survey. From these patients, six informants participated in the photo-elicitation and key informant interview sessions. Gathered data were quantitatively analyzed using structural equation modelling and qualitatively processed using polytextual thematic analysis. RESULTS AND FINDINGS: Social connectedness had a positive influence on social well-being (ß = .22, p = .008) and emotional well-being (ß = .20, p = .023); however, it had a negative effect on functional well-being (ß = -.20, p = .007). The overall model revealed good model indices: χ2 /df = .82, RMSEA = .01, GFI = 1.00. Qualitative analysis culled from photo-elicitation uncovered five interconnected themes yielding the Honeycomb model of social connectedness which was composed of correspondence, cohesion, constitution, convergence and corroboration. CONCLUSION: HRQoL among patients with cancer undergoing chemotherapy is a multi-factorial health construct affected by social connectedness. The presented model emphasises the importance of social connectedness and paves way for the development of appropriate strategies to promote social connectedness among patients with cancer undergoing chemotherapy. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: The findings provide impetus in the modification and development of appropriate practices, policies and strategies in promoting social connectedness. These approaches are geared towards patient-family empowerment and health education techniques to ascertain that assistance from significant others is provided without limiting the patient's autonomy or independence.

Predictors of Higher-Order Affective Skills in Health Promotion Among Indonesian Nursing Students: Assessment and Evaluation.

AIM: We examined health-promoting lifestyle in undergraduate nursing students and its potential as a predictor of health-promoting behaviors and basis for curriculum improvement. BACKGROUND: A health-promoting lifestyle is essential among students for their future nursing roles. Development requires the internalization of healthy behaviors beyond the cognitive learning domain. METHOD: Guided by Pender's health promotion model, this multisite, cross-sectional, and descriptive-correlational study surveyed 1,634 undergraduate nursing students in Bali, Indonesia. RESULTS: The regression analysis revealed that student profiles explained the 5 percent variation in their overall health-promoting lifestyle. Perceived health status was observed to be a significant predictor ( p < .05) of health-promoting behaviors among a diverse sample of undergraduate nursing students. CONCLUSION: The study findings emphasize the role of nursing education in instilling healthy behaviors among undergraduate students and the importance of integrating student-centered and context-responsive health promotion strategies into the nursing curriculum.

Filipino Nurses' Feedback on Using a Web-Based Medication Management System: A Pilot Study in a Telehealth Hospital.

A common medication safety strategy involves a Web-based medication management system. Still, there is no consensus about its acceptance and usability, even more so among nurses in the Philippines. Thus, this pilot study used a mixed-methods design to explore the nurses' feedback (N = 26) about Web-based medication management system in a telehealth hospital. Their acceptance, perceived usability, and experience of Web-based medication management system were assessed using the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology model, Post Study System Usability Questionnaire, and semistructured interview guide, respectively. Results showed nurses agreed on their acceptance of Web-based medication management system (M = 3.72 [SD = 0.69]) and slightly agreed on its usability (M = 5.18 [SD = 1.02]). It also generated the Nursing Capsule of Web-based medication management system use that combines the quantitative model with age and length of practice as significant predictors and the qualitative interaction vortex with three themes (i.e., engaging, enabling, and exciting). These findings emphasized the need for effective technological adaptation to advance nursing practice and patient care.

Disruptive Engagements With Technologies, Robotics, and Caring: Advancing the Transactive Relationship Theory of Nursing.

Human caring, founded on a Japanese caring perspective and nursing theory, fosters innovative and creative ideas for an aging society. The growing reality of health care dependency on technology presents a temptation to give robots utility as partners in nursing practice. Human caring expressed in human-to-human relationships, and also between humans and nonhumans, is a futuristic model for health care, with humanoid robots as major supporters. The purpose of this article is to explore this disruptive technology, along with its functions and characteristics. Tanioka's Transactive Relationship Theory of Nursing is shared along with its relevance for addressing technological disruptions in health care.

The impact of a mixed reality technology-driven health enhancing physical activity program among community-dwelling older adults: a study protocol.

Background: Physical inactivity and a sedentary lifestyle among community-dwelling older adults poses a greater risk for progressive physical and cognitive decline. Mixed reality technology-driven health enhancing physical activities such as the use of virtual coaches provide an emerging and promising solution to support healthy lifestyle, but the impact has not been clearly understood. Methods and analysis: An observational explanatory sequential mixed-method research design was conceptualized to examine the potential impact of a user-preferred mixed reality technology-driven health enhancing physical activity program directed toward purposively selected community-dwelling older adults in two senior centers in the Philippines. Quantitative components of the study will be done through a discreet choice experiment and a quasi-experimental study. A total of 128, or 64 older adults in each center, will be recruited via posters at community senior centers who will undergo additional screening or health records review by a certified gerontologist to ensure safety and proper fit. Treatments (live coaching with video-based exercise and mixed reality technology-driven exercise) will be assigned to each of the two senior center sites for the quasi-experiment. The participants from the experimental group shall be involved in the discreet choice experiment, modeling, and usability evaluations. Finally, a qualitative sample of participants (n = 6) as key informants shall be obtained from the experimental group using purposive selection. Discussion: This study protocol will examine the health impact of a promising mixed reality program in health promotion among older adults. The study utilizes a human-centered mixed method research design in technology development and evaluation in the context of developing nations.Clinical trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier NCT06136468.

Mixed reality technology for older adults: Evaluating the impact of a novel virtual humanoid coach in a community-based physical exercise program in the Philippines.

Physical inactivity among older adults remains a global burden, leading to a variety of health challenges and even mortality. This study evaluated the impact of a novel virtual humanoid coach-driven physical exercise program among older adults. A non-randomized (quasi) experimental research was conducted in two community senior centers. The recruited participants (n = 130) were primarily female older adults with a mean age of 66.40 and agreed to be purposively assigned either experimental or control groups. Trained healthcare providers performed health assessments in three time points using valid and reliable tools. Descriptive statistics, t-tests, and RM-ANOVA were used to quantitatively analyze the data using SPSS version 22. There are significant mean differences between the groups across all functional capacity assessments and Time 2-3 assessment of sleep quality. RM-ANOVA revealed significant differences in physical assessment over time between the two groups. The analyses of time and group interaction revealed significant improvement in health assessments among the members of the mixed reality group compared to the traditional groups. The impact of virtual coaches in community-based enhancing physical activity programs is comparable to the traditional mode and introduces a novel approach to promoting physical activity among older adults.

Nursing and human-computer interaction in healthcare robots for older people: An integrative review.

Objectives: This study examined the published works related to healthcare robotics for older people using the attributes of health, nursing, and the human-computer interaction framework. Design: An integrative literature review. Methods: A search strategy captured 55 eligible articles from databases (CINAHL, Embase, IEEE Xplore, and PubMed) and hand-searching approaches. Bibliometric and content analyses grounded on the health and nursing attributes and human-computer interaction framework were performed using MAXQDA. Finally, results were verified using critical friend feedback by a second reviewer. Results: Most articles were from multiple authorship, published in non-nursing journals, and originating from developed economies. They primarily focused on applying healthcare robots in practice settings, physical health, and communication tasks. Using the human-computer interaction framework, it was found that older adults frequently served as the primary users while nurses, healthcare providers, and researchers functioned as secondary users and operators. Research articles focused on the usability, functionality, and acceptability of robotic systems. At the same time, theoretical papers explored the frameworks and the value of empathy and emotion in robots, human-computer interaction and nursing models and theories supporting healthcare practice, and gerontechnology. Current robotic systems are less anthropomorphic, operated through real-time direct and supervisory inputs, and mainly equipped with visual and auditory sensors and actuators with limited capability in performing health assessments. Conclusion: Results communicate the need for technological competency among nurses, advancements in increasing healthcare robot humanness, and the importance of conscientious efforts from an interdisciplinary research team in improving robotic system usability and utility for the care of older adults.