[Factors in the implementation of expert standards in nursing: A qualitative study]. / Einflussfaktoren bei der Implementierung von Expertenstandards in der Pflege.

Factors in the implementation of expert standards in nursing: A qualitative study Abstract: Background: Many German health and long-term care facilities face the challenge of implementing expert standards in practice. Implementation models, such as the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR), support the implementation process by identifying the relevant influencing factors that can determine the success of an implementation. Aim: The aim was to identify the factors influencing the implementation of expert standards in nursing care and their interactions. Method: The data were collected by means of guided interviews with ten facilitators of the model implementation units for the implementation of the expert standard on promotion of oral health in nursing and from the project progress records. The data were evaluated by content analysis. Results: In addition to the influencing factors according to the CFIR, two other factors were identified that can determine the success of the implementation of expert standards - local presence and knowledge of implementation theories and models. The various and complex interrelationships between the factors in the implementation of expert standards became particularly clear. Conclusion: Knowledge of the fundamentals of implementation science is helpful for the successful and sustainable implementation of expert standards and for general knowledge transfer in nursing.

[Staffing situation in home-care services: A qualitative study on current and future challenges]. / Die Personalsituation in der ambulanten Pflege.

Staffing situation in home-care services: A qualitative study on current and future challenges Abstract. Background: There are increasing signs of staff shortages in home-care nursing in Germany. Home care providers have an increasing number of vacancies and the provision of care for people in need of care is a challenge. There are only a few approaches to planning personnel requirements in home care and the existing ones are rather complex. Aim and research question: The objective of this study was to gain insights into how staff deployment and staff planning currently take place in German home care services and to evaluate options for the development of staffing measures in home care. Methods: Qualitative, guideline-based expert interviews (N = 33) were conducted and analyzed. Experts were representatives of home care service providers, advisors of home care service providers and experts in the field of human resources management. Data analysis was performed by using content analysis. Results: From the experts' point of view home care services cannot ensure sufficient provision of home care services as needed by care-recipients due to staff shortages. Staff planning as well as recruitment and retention of staff pose an increasing challenge. Staff planning is mainly determined by contractual requirements and the reimbursement system. It is less determined by individual care-recipients' needs. The company size of home care providers depends on staff recruitment and turnover. Conclusions: The staffing situation will be a remaining challenge in the foreseeable future. It will go along with the task to ensure an adequate home care supply. Approaches that go beyond reimbursement driven personnel planning can contribute valuable hints for the future.

Accuracy and usability of a diagnostic decision support system in the diagnosis of three representative rheumatic diseases: a randomized controlled trial among medical students.

BACKGROUND: An increasing number of diagnostic decision support systems (DDSS) exist to support patients and physicians in establishing the correct diagnosis as early as possible. However, little evidence exists that supports the effectiveness of these DDSS. The objectives were to compare the diagnostic accuracy of medical students, with and without the use of a DDSS, and the diagnostic accuracy of the DDSS system itself, regarding the typical rheumatic diseases and to analyze the user experience. METHODS: A total of 102 medical students were openly recruited from a university hospital and randomized (unblinded) to a control group (CG) and an intervention group (IG) that used a DDSS (Ada - Your Health Guide) to create an ordered diagnostic hypotheses list for three rheumatic case vignettes. Diagnostic accuracy, measured as the presence of the correct diagnosis first or at all on the hypothesis list, was the main outcome measure and evaluated for CG, IG, and DDSS. RESULTS: The correct diagnosis was ranked first (or was present at all) in CG, IG, and DDSS in 37% (40%), 47% (55%), and 29% (43%) for the first case; 87% (94%), 84% (100%), and 51% (98%) in the second case; and 35% (59%), 20% (51%), and 4% (51%) in the third case, respectively. No significant benefit of using the DDDS could be observed. In a substantial number of situations, the mean probabilities reported by the DDSS for incorrect diagnoses were actually higher than for correct diagnoses, and students accepted false DDSS diagnostic suggestions. DDSS symptom entry greatly varied and was often incomplete or false. No significant correlation between the number of symptoms extracted and diagnostic accuracy was seen. It took on average 7 min longer to solve a case using the DDSS. In IG, 61% of students compared to 90% in CG stated that they could imagine using the DDSS in their future clinical work life. CONCLUSIONS: The diagnostic accuracy of medical students was superior to the DDSS, and its usage did not significantly improve students' diagnostic accuracy. DDSS usage was time-consuming and may be misleading due to prompting wrong diagnoses and probabilities. TRIAL REGISTRATION: DRKS.de, DRKS00024433 . Retrospectively registered on February 5, 2021.

Workforce issues in home- and community-based long-term care in Germany.

The study addresses staffing and workforce issues for home- and community-based long-term care in Germany. It is based on a study aimed at developing staffing recommendations for home-care provider organisations. The study was commissioned within the regulation of the German long-term care act. Following an exploratory literature search on staffing issues in home- and community-based care qualitative interviews with 30 experts in home care were conducted. In addition, time needed for different interventions in homes of people in need of care (n = 129) was measured. Ethical approval for the study was obtained. The literature on the topic is limited. In Germany, no fixed staff-to-client ratio exists, but staffing is determined primarily by reimbursement policies, not by care recipients' needs. The results of the interviews indicated that staffing ratios are not the main concern of home-care providers. Experts stressed that general availability of staff with different qualification levels and the problems of existing regulation on services and their reimbursement are of higher concern. The measurement of time needed for selected interventions reveals the huge heterogeneity of home-care service delivery and the difficulty of using a task-based approach to determine staffing levels. Overall, the study shows that currently demand for home-care exceeds supply. Staff shortage puts a risk to home care in Germany. Existing approaches of reimbursement-driven determination of staffing levels have not been sufficient. A new balance between staffing, needs and reimbursement policies needs to be developed.

The Groot Effect: Plant facilitation and desert shrub regrowth following extensive damage.

Deserts are increasing in extent globally, but existing deserts are decreasing in health. The basic biology and ecology of foundation plant species in deserts are limited. This is a direct study that provides an estimate of the capacity for a locally dominant foundation shrub species in California to recover from damage. Desert shrubs are cleared and damaged by humans for many purposes including agriculture, oil and gas production, and sustainable energy developments; we need to know whether foundation species consistently facilitate the abundance and diversity of other plants in high-stress ecosystems and whether they can recover. A total of 20 Ephedra californica shrubs were clipped to the ground at a single site and systematically resampled for regrowth 2 years later. These shrubs were damaged once and regrew rapidly, and relatively, larger shrubs were not more resilient. This study provides evidence for what we termed the "Groot Effect" because smaller individuals of this shrub species can recover from significant aboveground damage and continue to have positive effects on other plant species (similar to the popular culture reference to a benefactor tree species). The density of other plant species was consistently facilitated while effects on diversity varied with season. These findings confirm that E. californica is a foundation species that can be an important restoration tool within the deserts of California in spite of extreme cycles of drought and physical damage to its canopy.

Common and disease-specific dysfunctions of brain systems underlying attentional and executive control in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder broadly overlap in multiple areas involving clinical phenomenology, genetics, and neurobiology. Still, the investigation into specific elementary (sub-)processes of executive functioning may help to define clear points of distinction between these categorical diagnoses to validate the nosological dichotomy and, indirectly, to further elucidate their pathophysiological underpinnings. In the present behavioral study, we sought to separate common from diagnosis-specific deficits in a series of specific elementary sub-functions of executive processing in patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. For our purpose, we administered a modern and multi-purpose neuropsychological task paradigm to equal-sized and matched groups of schizophrenia patients, patients with bipolar disorder, and healthy control subjects. First, schizophrenia patients compared to the bipolar group exhibited a more pronounced deficit in general measures of task performance comprising both response speed and accuracy. Additionally, bipolar patients showed increased advance task preparation, i.e., were better able to compensate for response speed deficits when longer preparation intervals were provided. Set-shifting, on the other hand, was impaired to a similar degree in both patient groups. Finally, schizophrenia patients exhibited a specific deficit in conflict processing (inhibitory control) and the shielding of task-relevant processing from distraction (i.e., attentional maintenance). The present investigation suggests that specific neuropsychological measures of elementary executive functions may represent important points of dissociation between schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, which may help to differentiate the pathophysiological underpinnings of these major psychiatric disorders. In this context, the present findings highlight the measures of inhibitory control and attentional maintenance as promising candidates.

Differential working memory performance as support for the Kraepelinian dichotomy between schizophrenia and bipolar disorder? An experimental neuropsychological study using circuit-specific working memory tasks.

OBJECTIVES: The traditional clinical dichotomy of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder has been challenged by recent findings of an at least in part common genetic basis. The investigation of neurocognitive functions like working memory may thereby contribute to elucidate common versus distinct pathophysiological processes of the major psychoses. To date direct comparisons of working memory functioning in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder have been rare and moreover have revealed inconsistent findings. In this study we aimed to further clarify the diagnostic specificity of working memory deficits in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. METHODS: Fifty patients with schizophrenia, 23 patients with bipolar disorder and 53 healthy controls were tested with regard to specific dysfunctions of verbal and visuospatial working memory components using a set of well-characterized, brain circuit-specific paradigms with established brain-behaviour relationships. RESULTS: Patients with schizophrenia showed marked deficits across different working memory domains while bipolar patients performed intermediate with no significant differences compared to the control group. Working memory performance of patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder significantly differed in only one particular task requiring articulatory rehearsal of verbal information. CONCLUSIONS: While these results do not provide unequivocal support for the Kraepelinian dichotomy, they are consistent with recent findings suggesting the existence of a specific subgroup of schizophrenia patients phenotypically characterized by selective deficits of the articulatory rehearsal mechanism of verbal working memory.

Genetic polymorphisms of 5-HTT and DAT but not COMT differentially affect verbal and visuospatial working memory functioning.

Working memory deficits are found in different psychiatric populations and are most pronounced in schizophrenia. There is preliminary evidence from pharmacological studies that the verbal and visuospatial subcomponents of working memory are subject to differential neurotransmitter modulation. Here, we investigated the impact of well-known polymorphisms of the dopamine transporter gene (SLC6A3, DAT) and the catechol-O-methyl-transferase gene (COMT) as well as the serotonin transporter gene (SLC6A4, 5-HTT) on these specific working memory subcomponents in a mixed sample of patients and healthy individuals. Twenty healthy subjects and 80 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia, bipolar I disorder, or obsessive-compulsive disorder underwent genotyping for the DAT variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR), the COMT val/met-, and the 5-HTT promoter length polymorphism (5-HTTLPR) and neuropsychological testing using a battery of well-characterized, brain circuit-specific working memory tasks. DAT genotype revealed a significant and selective effect on visuospatial working memory, while there was no effect on verbal working memory functioning. 5-HTT genotype, by contrast, exerted a significant and selective effect on verbal working memory task performance. COMT genotype did not show any influence on either working memory domain. The results of the present study provide evidence for a differential impact of genetic polymorphisms of the dopaminergic and serotonergic systems on verbal and visuospatial working memory functioning. Together with prior evidence suggesting the existence of subgroups of schizophrenia patients exhibiting isolated deficits in only one working memory domain, this finding further supports the idea of endophenotypically and pathophysiologically distinct subgroups of schizophrenia with implications for personalized therapeutic approaches.

A systematic experimental neuropsychological investigation of the functional integrity of working memory circuits in major depression.

Verbal and visuospatial working memory (WM) impairment is a well-documented finding in psychiatric patients suffering from major psychoses such as schizophrenia or bipolar affective disorder. However, in major depression (MDD) the literature on the presence and the extent of WM deficits is inconsistent. The use of a multitude of different WM tasks most of which lack process-specificity may have contributed to these inconsistencies. Eighteen MDD patients and 18 healthy controls matched with regard to age, gender and education were tested using process- and circuit-specific WM tasks for which clear brain-behaviour relationships had been established in prior functional neuroimaging studies. Patients suffering from acute MDD showed a selective impairment in articulatory rehearsal of verbal information in working memory. By contrast, visuospatial WM was unimpaired in this sample. There were no significant correlations between symptom severity and WM performance. These data indicate a dysfunction of a specific verbal WM system in acutely ill patients with MDD. As the observed functional deficit did not correlate with different symptom scores, further, longitudinal studies are required to clarify whether and how this deficit is related to illness acuity and clinical state of MDD patients.

Patients with schizophrenia show deficits of working memory maintenance components in circuit-specific tasks.

Working memory (WM) deficits are a neuropsychological core finding in patients with schizophrenia and also supposed to be a potential endophenotype of schizophrenia. Yet, there is a large heterogeneity between different WM tasks which is partly due to the lack of process specificity of the tasks applied. Therefore, we investigated WM functioning in patients with schizophrenia using process- and circuit-specific tasks. Thirty-one patients with schizophrenia and 47 controls were tested with respect to different aspects of verbal and visuospatial working memory using modified Sternberg paradigms in a computer-based behavioural experiment. Total group analysis revealed significant impairment of patients with schizophrenia in each of the tested WM components. Furthermore, we were able to identify subgroups of patients showing different patterns of selective deficits. Patients with schizophrenia exhibit specific and, in part, selective WM deficits with indirect but conclusive evidence of dysfunctions of the underlying neural networks. These deficits are present in tasks requiring only maintenance of verbal or visuospatial information. In contrast to a seemingly global working memory deficit, individual analysis revealed differential patterns of working memory impairments in patients with schizophrenia.

Articulatory rehearsal in verbal working memory: a possible neurocognitive endophenotype that differentiates between schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder.

Recent fMRI studies have identified brain systems underlying different components of working memory in healthy individuals. The aim of this study was to compare the functional integrity of these neural networks in terms of behavioural performance in patients with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder and healthy controls. In order to detect specific working memory deficits based on dysfunctions of underlying brain circuits we used the same verbal and visuospatial Sternberg item-recognition tasks as in previous neuroimaging studies. Clinical and performance data from matched groups consisting of 14 subjects each were statistically analyzed. Schizophrenic patients exhibited pronounced impairments of both verbal and visuospatial working memory, whereas verbal working memory performance was preserved in schizoaffective patients. The findings provide first evidence that dysfunction of a brain system subserving articulatory rehearsal could represent a biological marker which differentiates between schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder.

The oxygen dissociation curve: quantifying the shift.

An oxyhaemoglobin dissociation curve (ODC) quantifies the most important function of red blood cells and that is the affinity for oxygen and its delivery to the tissues. Oxygen affinity for haemoglobin plays a critical role in the delivery of oxygen to the tissues and is changed by shifting to the left or right. A shift to the left implies an increased oxygen affinity and, hence, tighter binding due to the higher oxygen saturation in relation to the pO2. On the other hand, a shift to the right corresponds to a decreased oxygen affinity and easier release of oxygen to the tissues. It is well known that the ODC shifts in response to changes in pH, pCO2 and 2,3 diphosphoglycerate. However, how much the ODC shifts has never been quantified. Arterial and venous blood gases were taken during cardiopulmonary bypass and two indices were used to quantify the shift of the ODC; the p50 shift and the SO2 difference. Arterial blood shifted to the right by 4 +/- 0.1 mmHg at a pH of 7.24 and shifted to the left by -3.5 +/- 0.05 mmHg at a pH of 7.51. The change in arterial saturation was minimal, rising by 0.8% and dropping by -5% and did not correlate to p50 shifting and changes in pH, but demonstrated changes dependent on the concentration of dyshaemoglobins. The venous blood exhibited a greater range of p50 shifting at each pH value. At a pH of 7.24, the p50 shifted to the right by 4.8 +/- 2 mmHg and at a pH of 7.51 the p50 shifted to the left by -4 +/- 1.8 mmHg. Unlike the arterial blood, the change in saturation correlated well to p50 shifting. It is shown here for the first time how much the curve shifts with changes in pH and how this may be used to evaluate treatment strategies.

Anaesthesia and postoperative analgesia in older patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: special considerations.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and older age are known to be independent risk factors for severe perioperative adverse outcomes after surgery. A basic understanding of the disease, careful preoperative evaluation and preparation of the patient, as well as a tailored anaesthetic management plan might help to decrease complications in this patient population. Aging affects the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of almost all drugs and therefore the dosage must be adapted in older patients. The type of anaesthesia (general versus regional anaesthesia) has no substantial effect on perioperative morbidity and mortality. Most patients, even with severe COPD, tolerate general anaesthesia without major problems. One important goal of the anaesthetic management is to prevent reflex-induced bronchoconstriction, which can be accomplished by the use of volatile anaesthetics. Early recovery can be facilitated by the use of short-acting drugs, such as propofol and the new opioid remifentanil. Judicious use of neuromuscular blocking agents is necessary because of the risk of residual paralysis, and those agents associated with histamine liberation should be avoided. Ventilation requires long expiration times to avoid air trapping, and hyperinflation to avoid the possible threat of pneumothorax and a decrease in cardiac output. For postoperative analgesia, a balanced regimen consisting of regional analgesia with local anaesthetics and NSAIDs should be preferred. This will enhance analgesia and reduce opioid toxicity, which is important in patients with COPD, where respiratory depression is especially dangerous.