Correlation between Work Engagement and Burnout among Registered Nurses: an Italian hospital survey.

AIM: To investigate the correlation between work engagement and burnout among Italian nurses. INTRODUCTION: Work engagement is a protective factor against burnout. Both of them may be affected by the cultural and organizational features of the investigated population, which means that results cannot be generalized. In Italy studies to measure how they correlate have never been performed. METHODS: Monocentric and quantitative observational study. The Maslach Burnout Inventory and the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale were used on a convenience sample of 318 nurses from an Italian hospital to assess the burnout and work engagement levels and to measure the existing correlation between the two conditions. RESULTS: Work engagement assessment highlighted average values of vigor (57.2%) and absorption (48%), while data referring to burnout demonstrated high levels of emotional exhaustion (55%) and depersonalization (41,5%). The three burnout dimensions and the three work engagement dimensions showed a close and meaningful correlation (p ≤0,01). A correlation between work engagement and burnout has been found. CONCLUSIONS: The correlation between Work Engagement and Burnout highlighted in Italian nurses should encourage the implementation of strategies which may enhance work engagement levels to limit burnout, improving the well-being of healthcare workers and significantly influencing the quality of the care process.

Pain Education in Schools of Nursing: a Survey of the Italian Academic Situation.

INTRODUCTION: Proper assessment of pain is imperative for the development of an effective pain management plan and is a core responsibility of nurses and healthcare professionals. This article describes the contents of Italian on-line bachelor's in nursing degree programs, with particular focus on pain management. METHOD: A descriptive study was made on curricula published and available on-line in Italian Nursing Schools, and the concordance with the standards set by the Consensus Curriculum on Pain for Nursing ofthe International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP, 2015) was analyzed. RESULTS: Of all the bachelor programs published on-line, 42.6% offered programs and courses specifically centred on pain education, while in general pain teaching seemed to be delivered as part of other topics. Results showed that the contents of the programs were partially in line with those suggested by the IASP. True is that on-line results may underestimate the actualdiffusion of pain education programs and topics in Italian Universities. CONCLUSION: The Italian academic system does not seem to comply with any specific international standard. Only by interviewing the university administrative staff we may investigate the amount and type of pain education received by Italian healthcare undergraduates and the existing educational curricula and plans, as on-line information may be only partially complete.

Attitude and Knowledge of Pain Management Among Italian Nurses in Hospital Settings.

Pain is multidimensional, and, as such, the chief reason patients seek urgent healthcare services. If inadequately assessed and untreated, pain may negatively impact on the quality of life of the patient. Treating pain is an important step in regaining control over quality of life. The objective of the present study is to examine the level of knowledge and types of approach among Italian nurses who deal with pain assessment and management. The Ferrell and McCaffery's Knowledge and Attitudes Survey Regarding Pain (KASRP) was distributed to 286 nurses employed in one of the biggest specialized hospitals in Rome, Italy. The interviewed staff work at three different settings, according to the healthcare assistance they are required to provide: intensive care unit (ICU), subintensive care unit (SICU), and ordinary ward (OW). Descriptive statistics, including frequencies and means, as well as analysis of chi-square (p < .05), were used to compare differences in scores by demographic characteristics of the participants and different settings. A logistic regression model was performed to evaluate the factors that may influence the attitude to pain and the level of knowledge of care providers. Results have shown that the odds of developing positive attitudes towards pain management were 1.62 times higher (95% CI: .92 to 2.85) in nurses employed in SICUs than in those working in OWs, while the odds of possessing a satisfactory level of knowledge was 1.76 times higher (95% CI: .93 to 3.31) among nurses in ICUs than those in OWs. A "good assessment" was better for SICU (OR = 2.17, p < .05) and ICU (OR = 3.20, p < .05) nurses. Our survey has highlighted an overall limited level of knowledge in the assessment and management of pain among the nursing staff. It is therefore a priority to implement specific training to healthcare providers from different fields, who may respond differently to patients with pain. On the other hand, further investigations are required on a greater sample of Italian nurses to better understand how to overcome the most problematic barriers to achieving good pain assessment and control.

Distraction as a technique to control pain in pediatric patients during venipuncture. A narrative review of literature.

INTRODUCTION: Distraction is a non-pharmacological intervention aimed to reduce procedural pain in children. Venipuncture is one of the most widely used diagnostic and therapeutic procedure in pediatric patients. Analgesia during venipuncture may be efficiently achieved with distracting techniques. OBJECTIVE: To describe active and passive distraction techniques to reduce distress in children undergoing venipuncture. METHOD: Data from CINHAL, PubMed, ILISI and Cochrane's databases were used to review existing literature and primary and secondary studies published between 2003 and 2014 were included. Queries were obtained with keywords such as distraction, complementary therapies, pain, pediatric, the Boolean operators AND and OR were used. RESULT: Twenty eligible articles out of the one hundred and forty-three retrieved (20/143) were selected; among these there were 3 systematic and 5 narrative reviews, 11 experimental and quasi-experimental studies and 1 observational study. Active and passive distraction techniques seemed extremely effective to reduce distress and pain in children undergoing venipuncture. Modest evidence of efficacy and absent side effects support this approach. CONCLUSION: Further RCTs are needed to compare the different types of existing active and passive distraction techniques. The presence of parents and the location where painful procedures are administered should be included in the assessment of this approach.

[Development of an instrument to measure quality of the bachelor degree in nursing]. / Sviluppo di uno strumento per misurare la qualità del corso di laurea in infermieristica.

UNLABELLED: Current questionnaires for assessing satisfaction of university students are not specific for nursing education. AIM: The aim of this study was to develop an instrument to measure the quality of baccalaureate nursing education. METHOD: Guidelines by DeVellis were adopted to develop the instrument. After expert review the initial 98 items identified were reduced to 63. The questionnaire was administered to 325 nursing students in Latium and Tuscany regions. A Delphi survey was carried out to validate the contents according to the students' opinions, expressed on a 5 point Likert scale. RESULTS: Three-hundred-ten questionnaires were completed and considered for the present study. The mean age of the students was 25.4 years, 69.3% were females. Items which scored less than 2.5 on average at the Delphi survey were removed, as well as those which correlated less than 0.40 with the total score. Thus, 41 items were definitely considered for the Scale for Quality Evaluation of the Bachelor Degree in Nursing (SQEBDN). Reliability of the Scale resulted in a very high Cronbach's alpha (0.93). The construct validity was tested with factor analysis that showed 10 factors, while criterion-related (divergent) validity showed statistically significant correlations of all the items with those assessing the dissatisfaction for educational activities. Third year students as well as older students had the worst perception the quality of nursing education. CONCLUSIONS: The SQEBDN, although requiring further studies, represents a useful instrument to measure the quality of the bachelor nursing degree.