Psychometric evaluation of "Family Inventory of Needs" in parents of cancer children.

PURPOSE: Early childhood cancer creates various challenges in parents' lives and influences new needs, the identification of which requires a valid and reliable tool. The aim of this study was to translate and validate the Family Inventory of Needs (FIN) with the parents of children with cancer. METHOD: In this methodological research, 210 parents of children with cancer visiting pediatric oncology referral centers in Iran were selected through convenience sampling, based on the study inclusion criteria. The Farsi version of FIN was developed through translation and back-translation. Face validity as well as construct validity using the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were performed. The correlation between the score of FIN and the score of Caring Ability of Family Caregivers of Patients with Cancer-mothers' version (CAFCPC-mother's version) was also calculated in order to evaluate the convergent validity. Furthermore, the stability and internal consistency reliability were investigated using software packages LISREL and SPSS. RESULTS: The results of CFA showed that the single-factor structure of the tool with 20 items has an appropriate fit with the data and is therefore approved. Pearson coefficient (r) of the correlation between the mean scores of the NFI and the CAFCPC-mothers' version was calculated to be 0.17 (p < 0.01). The Cronbach's alpha of the tool was calculated as 0.90, and the test-retest correlation coefficient as ICC = 0.91. CONCLUSION: The Farsi version of the FIN has appropriate psychometric properties among the population of Iranian parents of children with cancer. It may therefore be a suitable tool for measuring the emotional, physical, and psychological support provided for the parents of children with cancer.

The Clinical Skills of Emergency Medical Service (EMS) Personnel Regarding Spinal Immobilization of Trauma Victims; a Cross Sectional Study.

INTRODUCTION: Spinal immobilization is the most important measure the Emergency Medical Service (EMS) has to take when facing the victims of traumatic events, especially those with confirmed or suspected traumatic spinal cord injury (TSCI). The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical skills of EMS personnel regarding the spinal immobilization of trauma victims. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted to examine the clinical skills of EMS personnel, regarding spinal immobilization of trauma victims during a 1-year period in 2019. EMS personnel were selected via convenience sampling method. Data collection tools were a demographic questionnaire and a researcher-made checklist to assess clinical skills. The face and content validity of the tool was reviewed and approved by 10 experts. Also, the overall reliability coefficient for the skills was 0.98. Data were collected by the researcher through observing the skills performed, and filling out the clinical skills checklist accordingly. RESULTS: The mean overall score of the clinical skills of the 120 participants regarding spinal immobilization of trauma victims in supine, prone, and sitting positions were 0.60 ± 1.44, 0.58 ± 1.42 and 0.65 ± 1.62, respectively. Most of the studied personnel had moderate clinical skills in spinal immobilization, and they had poor clinical skills required to correctly pull the trauma victims in the longitudinal axis of the body to put them on a long backboard and immobilize their torso, legs, and head using the Kendrick Extrication Device (KED). CONCLUSION: The studied EMS personnel had moderate clinical skills regarding the spinal immobilization of trauma victims. It is recommended that the EMS training programs focus more on the practical aspects of clinical skills in addition to theoretical aspects.

Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Emergency Medical Services Staff in Bleeding Control of Trauma Patients; a Cross sectional Study.

INTRODUCTION: External hemorrhage is a leading cause of preventable death due to trauma and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) staff members play a vital role in the frontline of trauma management. This study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of EMS staff in bleeding control. METHODS: This knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) study was conducted to assess the educational needs of EMS staff of Hormozgan province, Iran, regarding the bleeding control of trauma patients, during 2019. The participants were randomly selected and then their knowledge, attitude, and practice in management of hemorrhage and hemorrhagic shock were assessed using two researcher-made scenario-based questionnaires and one checklist. RESULTS: The scores for knowledge of the EMS staff regarding actions during complete amputation, status of injured patients, and medical measures during transfer of injured patients were 3.22 ± 0.68, 2.28 ± 0.83, and 2.29 ± 0.62, respectively. The average participants' attitude scores regarding the fear of bleeding, the importance of bleeding control, and confidence in bleeding control were 2.09±0.56, 2.4±0.58, and 1.76±0.55, respectively. The findings indicated that mean practice score was 1.72 ± 0.46 in capillary hemorrhage control, 1.41 ± 0.25 in venous bleeding control, 1.47 ± 0.25 in arterial bleeding control, and 1.56±0.27 in control of bleeding in the amputee limb. CONCLUSION: The knowledge, attitude, and practice of EMS staff regarding bleeding control were moderate, positive and appropriate, and incomplete, respectively. Since bleeding is a life threatening status and EMS staff skills are critical in this issue, it seems that we need to provide continuous education in this regard.

The effect of provision of information on serum cortisol in patients transferred from the coronary care unit to the general ward: A randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Patients' transfer from coronary care units to general wards is a main source of anxiety for patients. Transfer anxiety is due to either lack of patients' knowledge or inadequacy of transfer-related information to patients. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of provision of information on the serum cortisol level, as an indicator of anxiety, in patients transferred from the coronary care unit to the general ward. METHODS: This pretest-posttest randomised clinical trial was conducted on fifty patients transferred from coronary care units to general wards. Patients were selected using a purposeful sampling method and randomly were allocated to control and intervention groups. After taking blood samples for a baseline cortisol measurement, the patients in the control group received routine verbal transfer-related information. The patients in the intervention group were provided with an educational pamphlet consisting of textual and visual data about patients' transfer, continuity of care and the target general ward. The second and the third blood samples were taken for a cortisol measurement half an hour after informing the patients about the transfer order and half an hour after entrance to the general ward, respectively. Descriptive and inferential statistics via the SPSS software v. 21 was used for data analysis. RESULTS: No statistically significant differences were reported between the groups in terms of demographic characteristics (p > 0.05). The serum levels of cortisol in the intervention group decreased from 40.16 (microgram per decilitre) at the baseline to 36.52 and 34.34 at the second and the third measurement time points, respectively. Conversely, the serum levels of cortisol in the control group increased from 37.48 at the baseline to 40.52 and 41.52 at the second- and the third-time points, respectively. While no statistically significant difference was reported between the groups in the baseline serum level of cortisol, between-group differences were statistically significant at the second- and the third-time points (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Provision of transfer-related information can reduce transfer anxiety among patients, that should be transferred from coronary care units to general wards.