Cardiovascular surgery nurses' level of knowledge regarding delirium.

BACKGROUND: Studies have shown that nurses have a crucial role in the recognition of delirium; however, they have insufficient knowledge regarding the issue. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study is to determine the knowledge level of cardiovascular surgery nurses regarding delirium. METHODS: A survey design was used. The population of the study consisted of 124 nurses employed at the cardiovascular surgery wards and intensive care units of universities as well as state and private hospitals located in two different cities in Turkey between May and June 2014. The sample consisted of 97 nurses employed at the aforementioned institutions and time. Data were collected using the questionnaire form depicting the demographic characteristics of the nurses and the knowledge form including the level of nurses' knowledge regarding delirium. For the evaluation of data, number, percentage, Kruskal-Wallis, Mann-Whitney U- and independent-samples t-test were used. RESULTS: Nurses were between 18 and 47 years of age with a mean 29·8 (SD = 6·80, the youngest = 18 and the oldest = 47) years. They spent a minimum of 1, a maximum of 25 and a median value of 3 (interquartile range, IQR: 5) years working in cardiovascular surgery. As for the scores received from the knowledge form regarding delirium, the lowest was zero, the highest was 60, and the average score was 41·18 ± 12·50 (a moderate level of knowledge). It was found that the nurses working in intensive care units, those who were chief nurses and those who received in-service training scored higher than the others. CONCLUSIONS: Cardiovascular surgery nurses had a moderate level of knowledge regarding delirium. This may result in the neglect of delirium or a misdiagnosis. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: It is recommended that training is provided that includes recognition, assessment and application of appropriate interventions to minimise the incidence of delirium.

Determining intensive care unit nurses' perceptions and practice levels of spiritual care in Turkey.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to determine the validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the Spiritual Care Perceptions and Practices Scale and to evaluate factors that may be effective in providing spiritual care by general intensive care unit (ICU) nurses. BACKGROUND: Spiritual needs are necessary to offset spiritual deficiencies or support moral strength. During hospitalization, patients with critical conditions and their families tend to become anxious because of fear of the unknown and an uncertain future. Spiritual issues become prominent concerns for these patients and their families. METHOD: The data of the study were collected from a university hospital, two public hospitals and two private hospitals. A total of 170 nurses were in the ICU of these hospitals, and 123 nurses (79·4%), agreed to participate and, were included in this study. Prior to the study, an information sheet was provided to all nurses to explain the purpose and procedures of the survey. The demographic data form of ICU nurses and the Nurses' Spiritual Care Perceptions and Practices Scale were used for data collection. RESULTS: A statistically significant difference was found between the marital status of the nurses and the total scale mean score. It was also determined that ICU nurses are in a better position regarding their perception levels of spiritual care compared to their practice levels of spiritual care, and nurses with a higher perception of spiritual care also have higher scores in the practice of spiritual care. CONCLUSIONS: ICU nurses were found to be inadequate in spiritual care practices. Study findings may be used to improve the support of nurses, to ensure sensitive spiritual care in their daily practices. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: ICU nurses should be aware of the importance of spiritual care and develop tools for assessing the spiritual needs of patients.

Port needles: do they need to be removed as frequently in infusional chemotherapy?

Protracted chemotherapy regimens are new treatment modalities used to treat patients with cancer. These treatments are preferred because of the ease of administration and limited side effects in the outpatient setting. Sixty patients were treated with continuous infusion chemotherapy via implanted infusion ports at Marmara University Hospital Outpatient Chemotherapy Unit in Istanbul, Turkey, from January 2000 to December 2001. Although usage of Huber needles for central venous catheters was limited to between 48 and 72 hours, needles were not removed unless there were signs of inflammatory reaction. The needles remained in place for 28 days (1-49 days) on average. No catheter infections, signs of local irritation, or thrombus formation were observed despite prolonged stay of the Huber needles. Huber needles can be left in place up to several weeks without any untoward effects as long as proper aseptic technique is used.

Patient satisfaction in the outpatients' chemotherapy unit of Marmara University, Istanbul, Turkey: a staff survey.

BACKGROUND: We conducted a survey to find out how patients feel about the care they receive in the outpatient chemotherapy unit of Marmara University Hospital. METHODS: The American College of Physicians Patient Satisfaction survey translated into Turkish was used. A meeting was held with all involved staff, before conducting the survey, to review the purpose and determine the process. The study was conducted with 100 random patients. RESULTS: Consistent with cancer frequency, most patients had either lung, colorectal or breast cancer. Their insurance was government sponsored in close to 90%. The educational levels were above Turkish median but consistent with the area the hospital is serving. They were coming to the unit on average 8.5 months. The responses were not influenced by the surveyed diagnosis, age, sex or educational status (p > 0,05). Particularly health care team's attention, trust and courtesy came forward as strong points. The weaknesses noted as difficulties in booking an outpatient doctor visit appointment because the phone line was busy or the secretary was not courteous, the excessive amount of time and effort it required to get laboratory and radiology results. CONCLUSION: The health care system is basically a service based industry and customer satisfaction is at utmost importance just as in other service-oriented sectors. We hope this study will shed light in that area and Turkish health care providers will pay closer attention to how their patients feel about the services that they are getting.