Interpersonal and communication skills development in general nursing preceptorship education and training programmes: A scoping review.

AIM: The aim of this systematic scoping review is to examine and synthesise the available literature on developing interpersonal and communication skills in general nursing preceptorship education programmes. BACKGROUND: Highly developed interpersonal and communication skills are an essential component of nursing preceptorship. Preceptors are integral in facilitating, guiding, and developing positive interpersonal relationships between the nursing student (the preceptee), the qualified nurse (the preceptor), and patients. They also have a responsibility to foster and develop preceptees' interpersonal and communication skills and assess and deem preceptees as competent in such skills. Furthermore, preceptors require effective interpersonal and communication skills to carry out key responsibilities of their role, including creating a safe clinical learning environment, teaching, and providing effective feedback. DESIGN: A scoping review was conducted using the methodological framework of Arksey and O'Malley. The PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews guided the reporting. METHODS: Five electronic databases were searched for relevant articles in consultation with a librarian, supplemented by hand-searching and internet searches for grey literature. A total of 19,431 potentially relevant articles published between Jan 2000 and August 2021 were retrieved from the initial search, and an additional six articles were obtained from the supplemental search. A total of 146 articles were independently reviewed by two researchers, resulting in 24 articles eligible for inclusion in the review. RESULTS: Several themes were identified in the literature that influenced the development of interpersonal and communication skills in preceptorship education and training programmes, including design and development of programmes, key learning outcomes, pedagogical approaches of preceptorship education and training programmes and interpersonal & communication skills development in preceptorship education and training programmes. Conclusions This review highlighted that research on developing interpersonal and communication skills amongst preceptors is mainly absent from the literature. Further research to address these knowledge gaps is warranted. The results from this review can be used to inform future curriculum design and development of nursing preceptorship education and training programmes.

Colliding worlds: Family carers' experiences of balancing work and care in Ireland during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic public health and social protective measures imposed globally resulted in partial or full closure of key services and supports for services and supports for people with a disability, chronic illness or age-related dependency. This caused huge disruption to care provision and family carers were relied upon to assume this care at home. Many family carers, including those in employment, found themselves navigating additional care responsibilities without 'usual levels' of support from family, friends, work, school, day care services, homecare and community services. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on family carers, their employment and care-giving responsibilities, through the lens of the Conservation of Resources (COR) theory (Hobfoll, 1989). Adopting a qualitative research approach, 16 family carers (14 females, 2 males) who were in employment prior to the onset of or during the pandemic, participated in an in-depth, semi-structured telephone or online video interview between June and September 2020. Interviews lasted between 45 and 100 min, were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. A thematic analysis of the interview data identified four main themes: colliding worlds; navigating unchartered waters alone; opportunity despite adversity and the relentless unknowing. Findings indicate that the onset of the pandemic resulted in the sudden loss of valued resources, which disrupted routines and caused care and work life domains to become intrinsically intertwined. Consistent with the main principles of the COR theory, adapting and transitioning to different ways of working and caring with depleted resources and supports, generated considerable stress for family carers and impacted their well-being. The implications for employers, healthcare providers, policy makers and other key stakeholders are considered, to enable family carers to successfully reconcile work with care and protect their well-being, as the pandemic continues to unfold and in the event of future societal crises.

Interpersonal and communication skills development in nursing preceptorship education and training programmes: a scoping review protocol.

The preceptorship model is an education-focused model for teaching and learning within a clinical environment in nursing. It formulates a professional educational relationship between a staff nurse (preceptor) and student nurse and is based on the provision of providing patient care. Preceptorship is widely acknowledged in the literature as a positive pedagogical approach in clinical nursing education in terms of knowledge and skill acquisition, confidence, and professional socialisation of undergraduate nursing students. However, the literature also widely reports negative interpersonal experiences within this professional educational relationship resulting in negative educational experiences and in some cases, negative patient experiences. Therefore, the authors set out to examine what teaching strategies are being implemented by nurse educators to encourage the development of interpersonal and communication skills in facilitating positive interpersonal relationships between the preceptor, nursing student and patient. This paper outlines the protocol for an exploratory scoping review that aims to systematically and comprehensively map out the available published and unpublished literature on the teaching strategies to develop interpersonal and communication skills in preceptorship education and training programmes. To conduct a systematic and comprehensive scoping review, the review will be guided by the Joanna Briggs Institute and Arksey & O' Malley (2005) six-stage iterative framework, as well as PRISMA-ScR framework guidelines, to ensure the quality of the methodological and reporting approaches to the review. It is anticipated that the results of the scoping review will inform nurse educators on the current educational practices for developing interpersonal and communication skills in preceptorship education and training programmes and identify any educational practices that are worthy of further consideration for future research.

An analysis of carer burden among family carers of people with and without dementia in Ireland.

OBJECTIVE: Despite the policy relevance of carer burden, limited research focuses on family carers' experience of carer burden among different disease groups. This study aimed to examine differences in carer burden among family carers of people with and without dementia. DESIGN: Secondary data analysis was conducted on a national cross-sectional dataset. Multivariable ordered logistic regression was used to analyze four levels of carer burden (low, mild, moderate, high). The main independent variable was dementia diagnosis, and controls included variables relating to the care recipient, family carer, and context of care. SETTING: The original survey was funded by Irish Health Service Executive and undertaken by the National Centre for the Protection of Older People in Ireland. PARTICIPANTS: The original dataset consisted of 2,311 family carers of older people in Ireland. Approximately, one-fifth of this sample had a diagnosis of dementia. MEASUREMENTS: Carer burden was measured using the standardized 22-item Zarit Burden Interview. Care-recipient dependency was measured using the Activities for Daily Living Scale. Sociodemographic details and information about the context of caring were collected using self-report scales. RESULTS: In our model, dementia diagnosis and dependency level were significantly associated with carer burden. Family carer and context of care variables including gender, marital status, education, residence, co-residence, and perceived support showed significant relationships with carer burden. Our results highlighted significant differences in carer burden distribution; in particular, family carers of people with dementia were less likely to report low or mild carer burden (-6.95 ppts and -3.64 ppts, respectively) and more likely to report moderate or high carer burden (8.46 ppts and 2.13 ppts, respectively). CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that family carers of people with dementia may experience additional challenges associated with caring. Therefore, family carers of people with dementia may require tailored social supports to maintain good health and well-being.

An exploration of young carers' experiences of school and their perceptions regarding their future career - a scoping review protocol.

Background: Young carers are young people who care for a relative or a friend with an illness, disability, frailty, a mental health issue or addiction. Across the world, it is challenging to calculate the exact numbers due to the invisible nature of their role that can exist due to stigmatisation and fear of authoritative intrusion. As young carers reach 16 years and over, future career prospects become more significant. Young carers are more likely than their peers not to be in education, employment, or training and are more likely to do poorly at school or college than their non-caregiving peers due to the demands of caring. Recognising that positive engagement at school is a vital correlate of positive employment outcomes, young carers are at risk as their caring role can limit the range of employment opportunities open to them. This paper outlines the protocol for a robust synthesis of the literature surrounding young carers and their career perceptions. The scoping review will address the research question 'What is known from the literature about young carers in school and their career perceptions?' The overall aim of this paper is to present a protocol for the scoping review to map the key concepts, types of evidence, and gaps in research related to young carers in school and their future careers. Methods: The review will follow Arksey and O'Malley (2005) and Levac et al.'s, (2010) scoping review framework. The steps involved include: (1) research question identification; (2) relevant studies identification; (3) selection of studies; (4) data charting; (5) collating, summarising and reporting the results; and (6) stakeholders' consultation. Conclusions: The scoping review is an appropriate first step to employ in presenting the literature to inform a larger research study on young carers' experiences in school and their perceptions regarding their future careers.

The invisible workforce during the COVID-19 pandemic: Family carers at the frontline.

This is an open letter to acknowledge the essential and increasingly challenging role unpaid family carers are playing in the COVID-19 pandemic. The letter is written by members of the CAREWELL team, a HRB-funded project that aims to promote health and self-care behaviours among working family carers. Family carers provide care to family and friends in the community who need support due to old-age, disability and chronic illness. In many cases, family carers are supporting those who are considered most at risk in this pandemic meaning carers must reduce their own risk of infection in order to protect their dependent family members. The temporary reduction of some home care services, as well as school and creche closures, means that family carers are providing increased levels of care with little or no support. At a time when both worlds of work and care have been dramatically transformed, we wish to shed light on those who are currently balancing paid employment with a family caregiving role. We argue that there is much to be learned from the recent work restrictions that could benefit employees, including working family carers, beyond this pandemic. We also wish to build on the potential positives of a transformed society and encourage policy makers and employers to focus on what is currently being implemented, and to identify which measures could be used to create a bedrock of policies and practices that would offer robust and effective support to family carers. It is hoped that family carers will receive greater recognition for the significant role they play in society, providing essential care and alleviating the strain on health and social care systems, both during and post the COVID-19 pandemic.

Psychosocial Interventions for Family Carers of People With Dementia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Objective:This study aimed to review and synthesize findings of the effectiveness of psychosocial interventions aimed at improving outcomes for family carers of people with dementia. Method: A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. We systematically searched the following databases: Cochrane, PubMed, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), PsycInfo, Excerpta Medica Database (EMBASE), and Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts (ASSIA). RevMan 5 software was used to conduct meta-analysis and subgroup analysis using a random-effects model. Results: The search yielded 22 high-quality intervention articles that were suitable for further meta-analysis. Meta-analysis revealed that psychosocial interventions have a small to moderate significant effect on carer burden (standardized mean difference [SMD] = -0.34, confidence interval [CI] = [-0.59, -0.09]), depression (SMD = -0.36, CI = [-0.60, -0.13]), and general health (SMD = 0.34, CI = [0.18, 0.51]). Discussion: Psychosocial interventions had a positive impact on carer outcomes; however, these results should be interpreted with caution, given the significant level of heterogeneity in study designs. Future research could examine contextual and implementation mechanisms underlying psychosocial interventions to develop effective support systems for family carers of people with dementia.

Animal assisted interventions in the children's hospital: protocol for a scoping review.

The introduction of animal interventions in healthcare are relatively common; however, their actual effectiveness and longer term findings are not so well known or published, especially in relation to the children's hospital setting.  It is important to plot where and why animal interventions take place but also to focus on how the human animal bond impacts on children, their parents and staff in a children's hospital setting.  Family members, including companion animals, are important supports which help children to relax and give them a sense of familiarity to navigate the busy and stressful hospital environment.  The scoping review of the literature proposed will explore the scientific evidence for animal assisted activities (AAA) in children's hospitals and will map results prior to undertaking a full scale research project.   Arksey and O'Malley's framework guided by the Joanna Briggs Institute will frame this review protocol.  Appendices are used to ensure transparency of methods. The protocol is presented in narrative style to demonstrate flow and fluency and appeal to wider readership.

Resilience in family caregiving for people with dementia: A systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this review is to critically examine, evaluate, and synthesize the literature on resilience in family caregiving for people with dementia. METHODS: A systematic literature review was conducted according to PRISMA guidelines to identify articles which examined resilience and related concepts in family caregiving for people with dementia. The review was based on a systematic search of scholarly databases, to yield peer-reviewed articles and grey literature, published between 2006 and 2016. Two independent reviewers prescreened the search results and conducted formal assessments and quality appraisals of the retrieved articles. RESULTS: A total of 13 863 articles were identified by the systematic search, and 52 articles were included in the review. Based on a critical narrative synthesis of the literature, the study proposes a model of resilience for family carers of people with dementia, which incorporates the context of caring, social and cultural characteristics, and psychological dimensions of caring. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that there is no single approach to enhancing resilience among family carers of people with dementia. Resilience is a multifaceted response to the caregiving role, and is influenced by a multitude of interrelated factors. However, the factors and resources outlined have been addressed, with limited success in some cases, by psychosocial interventions in the field. While the work conducted to date to develop resilience-enhancing interventions has been marked with some success, the next wave of carer research could usefully examine ecological perspectives on carer outcomes, including carer resilience.

The prevalence of potentially abusive behaviours in family caregiving: findings from a national survey of family carers of older people.

BACKGROUND: family caregiving can be both rewarding and fulfilling; however, conflicts can occur in the caregiving relationship, and some family carers may engage in behaviours that could be potentially harmful to the older person for whom them provide care. OBJECTIVE: to determine the prevalence of potentially abusive behaviours towards older people by family carers. DESIGN: a postal cross-sectional survey of a nationally representative sample of family carers of community-dwelling older people. SUBJECTS: a randomly selected sample of family carers in receipt of a social welfare payment for the care they provide to a relative aged 65 and older. METHODS: a self-completion questionnaire was posted to 4,000 family carers of older people across Ireland, and a total of 2,311 eligible completed questionnaires were returned, yielding a response rate of 58%. RESULTS: more than a third of family carers (36.8%) reported that they engaged in potentially harmful behaviours towards their older family member in the 3 months prior to the survey. Of those potentially harmful behaviours, a third (35.9%) reported that they engaged in potentially harmful psychological behaviours and 8% reported engaging in potentially harmful physical behaviours. CONCLUSIONS: potentially abusive carer behaviours need to be detected at an early stage so that preventive interventions can be introduced to avert caregiving situations deteriorating into serious cases of elder abuse.

Older people's perceptions of the term elder abuse and characteristics associated with a lower level of awareness.

A national representative survey of 2,021 community-dwelling older people was carried out in 2010 using face-to-face interviews. The study examined how the term "elder abuse" was understood by this population and identified factors associated with lower levels of awareness. Over 80% of this population recognized the term elder abuse, and 56% demonstrated specific insight related to typologies, locations, and perpetrators of abuse. Less specific responses were given by 22% of participants, and a further 21% could not give a reply. Less specific or "don't know" responses were independently associated with age 80 years or older, a lower level of education, impaired physical health, and living in economically deprived communities. Despite ongoing public information campaigns, there remained a significant portion of older people who may be unaware of or have limited insight into elder abuse. This study suggests a need for more targeted education campaigns aimed at specific higher-risk groups.

The relationship between older people's awareness of the term elder abuse and actual experiences of elder abuse.

BACKGROUND: Awareness and experiences of elder abuse have been researched as separate entities; this study examined the relationship between awareness of elder abuse, disclosure of abuse, and reporting of abuse among people aged 65 years or older. METHODS: A national cross-sectional survey of a random sample of 2,012 community-dwelling older people was carried out in Ireland. People described their understanding of the term elder abuse followed by their experiences of mistreatment. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression were used with frequency, percentage, odds ratios (OR), and 95% confidence intervals (CI) presented. RESULTS: The prevalence of elder abuse, including stranger abuse, since 65 years of age was 5.9% (95% CI 4.6-7.3). Overall, 80% of the population demonstrated some understanding of the term elder abuse. Older people who experienced physical abuse (OR 5.39; 95% CI 2.31-12.5) and psychological abuse (OR 2.51; 95% CI 1.58-3.97) were significantly more likely than older people who had not experienced mistreatment to relate the term elder abuse to their personal experiences. There was no association between experiences of financial abuse or neglect and awareness of the term elder abuse. CONCLUSIONS: There was a relatively high level of awareness of the term elder abuse; however, a substantial proportion of people could not readily associate abusive behaviors within their personal lives with elder abuse. Public information campaigns need to move beyond simple awareness rising to enable people to bridge the gap between a theoretical understanding of elder abuse and recognizing inappropriate behavior in their own circumstances.

Reducing the barriers to relationships and sexuality education for persons with intellectual disabilities.

Opportunities for persons with intellectual disabilities to participate in relationships and sexuality education (RSE) are often constrained by the attitudes and perceptions of family carers, frontline support workers and professional staff. In order to understand how the barriers might be reduced, a study was undertaken in Northern Ireland with samples drawn from these three stakeholder groups, involving nearly 100 persons and using group and individual interviews. Although there was agreement on the need for RSE, four barriers were commonly reported: the need to protect vulnerable persons; the lack of training; the scarcity of educational resources; and cultural prohibitions. The impact of these barriers could be lessened through partnership working across these groups involving the provision of training and information about RSE, the development of risk management procedures and the empowerment of people with intellectual disabilities.

Elder abuse and neglect in Ireland: results from a national prevalence survey.

OBJECTIVE: To measure the 12-month prevalence of elder abuse and neglect in community-dwelling older people in Ireland and examine the risk profile of people who experienced mistreatment and that of the perpetrators. DESIGN: Cross-sectional general population survey. SETTING: Community. PARTICIPANTS: People aged 65 years or older living in the community. METHODS: Information was collected in face-to-face interviews on abuse types, socioeconomic, health, and social support characteristics of the population. Data were examined using descriptive statistics and logistic regression, odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) are presented. RESULTS: The prevalence of elder abuse and neglect was 2.2% (95% CI: 1.41-2.94) in the previous 12 months. The frequency of mistreatment type was financial 1.3%, psychological 1.2%, physical abuse 0.5%, neglect 0.3%, and sexual abuse 0.05%. In the univariate analysis lower income OR 2.39 (95% CI: 1.01-5.69), impaired physical health OR 3.41 (95% CI: 1.74-6.65), mental health OR 6.33 (95% CI: 3.33-12.0), and poor social support OR 4.91 (95% CI: 2.1-11.5) were associated with a higher risk of mistreatment but only social support and mental health remained independent predictors. Among perpetrators adult children (50%) were most frequently identified. Unemployment (50%) and addiction (20%) were characteristics of this group.