Nurses' Job Burnout and Resilience in Neonatal Intensive Care Units.

PURPOSE: To assess the relationship between job burnout and resilience among nurses working in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) in Oman. BACKGROUND: NICUs induce a significant amount of stress that predisposes nurses to a substantial degree of burnout. Resilience can play a role in reducing the effects of job burnout. A limited number of studies have examined job burnout and resilience among NICU nurses. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey design was utilized. The Maslach Burnout Inventory was used to assess burnout, and the Brief Resilience Scale was used to assess perceptions of resilience. Pearson correlation was used to assess the relationship between job burnout and resilience. RESULTS: A total of 173 staff nurses participated. Participants reported low levels of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization but moderate levels on the personal accomplishment subscale. Nurses reported moderate levels of resilience. Emotional exhaustion and depersonalization were negatively correlated with resilience, while personal accomplishment was positively correlated with resilience. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that enhancing resilience can reduce the effect of burnout among NICU nurses. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE AND RESEARCH: Enhancing levels of resilience among NICU nurses, in addition to providing adequate managerial support and good collegial relations, is essential to reduce their perceived job burnout.

Gestational weight gain and its association with maternal and neonatal outcomes among pregnant women with normal pre-pregnancy body mass index from a Middle Eastern country.

BACKGROUND: Inappropriate gestational weight gain (GWG) is one of the leading health problems during pregnancy. Little is known about the association of GWG with the pregnancy outcomes among Middle Eastern pregnant women. PURPOSE: To examine the relationship between GWG and maternal and neonatal outcomes among pregnant women with normal pre-pregnancy BMI. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study was conducted in Oman among 763 healthy women with normal pre-pregnancy BMI between August 1, 2021, and June 30, 2022. Maternal and neonatal outcomes were retrieved from participants' medical records using a standardized form. The analytical tools included descriptive statistics and the chi-square test. RESULTS: Descriptive statistics showed 22.6 % and 21.4 % of the study participants gained weight above or below the guidelines, respectively. The findings from the chi-square test showed a significant association between total GWG and the incidence of emergency caesarean section (p < .01), gestational diabetes mellitus (p < .01), and gestational hypertension (p < .01), macrosomia (p < .01), small for gestational age (p < .01), large for gestational age (p < .01), low birth weight (p < .01), intrauterine growth retardation (p < .01), and preterm birth (p < .01). CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Our study found that inappropriate gestational weight gain (GWG) contributes to several adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes. We recommend that Ministries of Health in Middle East and North Africa area includes GWG as a risk factor for pregnancy-related adverse outcomes. Midwives should closely monitor and manage GWG to ensure optimal pregnancy outcomes. In addition, midwives should encourage mothers to maintain GWG within the recommended range using various strategies such as continuous counselling and motivational health promotion interventions.

Effects of Twitter use on academic performance and satisfaction in a pathophysiology course among Omani nursing students: a quasi-experimental study.

BACKGROUND: Nursing students often find bioscience courses, such as pathophysiology, challenging. Utilizing Twitter to provide concise course content and answer students' questions before exams may be beneficial. The objective of this study was to determine if using Twitter can improve nursing students' academic performance and satisfaction with pathophysiology courses. METHODS: A post-test, two-group quasi-experimental research design was employed in this study. It involved second-year Bachelor of Nursing students participating in a pathophysiology course at the College of Nursing, Sultan Qaboos University, in Muscat, Oman. Seventy-three second-year Bachelor of Nursing students participated in the pathophysiology course; 50 students opted to use Twitter, forming the experimental group, while the remaining 23, who chose not to use Twitter, formed the control group. We used Twitter to provide concise course content for the pathophysiology course and conduct one-hour question-and-answer sessions the night before exams. Academic performance was assessed through examination scores, and student satisfaction levels with Twitter was measured using five-point Likert scale questionnaires. Data were analyzed using Mann-Whitney and t-tests. RESULTS: Although there was no significant difference in final exam scores between the experimental and control groups, survey results showed that students were generally satisfied with the incorporation of Twitter in the pathophysiology course, including the question-and-answer sessions. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that Twitter can serve as a valuable tool for enhancing nursing student satisfaction with the pathophysiology course.

Knowledge and Compliance With Standard Precautions Among Nurses.

Introduction: The spread of microorganisms is caused by direct or indirect contact, respiratory droplets, and airborne transmission. Knowledge and compliance with standard precautions are crucial in preventing infection in the hospital. Objectives: To assess the level of knowledge and compliance with standard precautions among registered nurses who work in military hospitals and the factors affecting compliance with standard precautions. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted. Four hundred and eight registered nurses at three Jordanian Royal Medical Services hospitals completed an online self-report questionnaire using a convenience sampling technique. The statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 25 was used to analyze the data. Results: The level of knowledge of standard precautions among nurses was excellent, with an overall mean score of 15.59 ± 2.22 out of 20; around half (54%) of them had an excellent level. Nurses' compliance with standard precautions was intermediate, with an overall mean score of 59.65 ± 14.57 out of 80. Forty-seven percent of nurses had a high degree of compliance. Compliance with standard precautions was correlated positively with age, working experience in years, total knowledge score, training in standard precautions, and availability of personal protective equipment, and negatively with exposure to sharp injuries. Conclusion: Nurses play a key role in preventing and managing hospital infections through their responsibility for a large proportion of patient treatment and care. Therefore, efforts should be made to improve nurses' perceptions of the basic elements of standard precautions. Even so, results showed that compliance with standard precautions was intermediate. This highlights the need to take the necessary measures to raise the level of compliance. Even so, results showed that compliance with standard precautions was intermediate. This highlights the need to take the necessary measures to raise the level of compliance.

Symptom prevalence, severity, distress and management among patients with chronic diseases.

BACKGROUND: Advanced knowledge, technology, and treatment approaches resulted in longer survival rates for patients suffering from chronic diseases. However, symptoms of these diseases persist and affect the individual's entire life and normal functioning. AIM: To assess symptoms prevalence, severity, distress, and management among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD), chronic heart failure (CHF), and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in Oman. DESIGN: A descriptive cross-sectional design was used. SAMPLE AND SETTINGS: The study sample comprised 340 participants who were recruited between May and December 2021 from two referral hospitals and one large dialysis unit in the Sultanate of Oman, Muscat Governate using a convenience sampling technique. RESULTS: The highly prevalent symptoms among patients with selected chronic diseases were lack of energy (60.9%), pain (57.4%), numbness (53.2%), difficulty sleeping (49.4%), and shortness of breath (45.9%). The most severe symptoms were shortness of breath (53.2%), problems with urination (51.9%), constipation (50.8%), difficulty sleeping (49.7%), and pain (46.2%). The symptom "problems with sexual interests or activity" was found to be the most frequently occurring and highly distressing symptom out of all reported symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: The current study's findings showed that symptoms were prevalent and that some symptoms were frequent, severe, and highly distressing. In addition, patients perceived symptom treatment as inadequate. Psychological symptoms received less treatment attention compared with physical symptoms. One of the mainstays for managing symptoms can be the introduction of palliative care. Providing palliative care to these patients can alleviate their suffering and improve their quality of life. In addition, designing chronic disease self-management programmes can make a difference in patients' life.

Factors associated with health-related quality of life in children with sickle cell disease.

BACKGROUND: Sickle cell disease is an inherited haematological condition with life-threatening consequences. It can affect all aspects of the lives of children with the condition, including biopsychosocial and cognitive aspects. These children tend to have a low health-related quality of life (HRQoL). AIM: To identify factors associated with HRQoL in Omani children with sickle cell disease. METHOD: The study was a secondary analysis of data from a randomised controlled trial conducted with 72 parent-and-child dyads who were recruited from two tertiary hospitals in Oman. The aim of the original study was to examine the effects of an educational programme on the knowledge and self-efficacy of parents of children with sickle cell disease. As part of that study, parents and children completed two questionnaires on HRQoL, one generic and one specific to sickle cell disease. RESULTS: Parents' knowledge of sickle cell disease, parents' self-efficacy in managing their child's symptoms, parents' age, children's age and treatment with hydroxyurea were found to affect children's HRQoL. CONCLUSION: Healthcare providers need to include biopsychosocial and cognitive aspects of HRQoL in their assessments of children with sickle cell disease. Programmes designed to enhance parents' and children's knowledge and self-efficacy, as well as measures designed to ensure that children receive treatment with hydroxyurea, are likely to improve the HRQoL of children with sickle cell disease.

Implementation Challenges and Disparities in Molecular Testing for Patients With Stage IV NSCLC: Perspectives from an Urban Safety-Net Hospital.

The advent of next-generation sequencing (NGS), including both tissue assays and circulating tumor DNA (ct-DNA), has been pivotal in improving outcomes for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Although molecular testing is standard of care for advanced NSCLC, challenges still exist in its implementation. This Perspective examines barriers to the widespread implementation of NGS from the vantage point of a single urban safety-net institution, with a particular focus on examining racial disparities in NGS completion. We conducted a review of patients at our institution from January 2015 through January 2022 and examined molecular testing patterns before and after the publication of updated molecular testing guidelines from the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC), Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP), and College of American Pathologists (CAP) in March of 2018. While NGS increased over time, we found that 43% of patients in the March 2018 through January 2022 group still did not receive NGS, and the most common reasons for the absence of testing included a lack of physician ordering and insufficient tissue on biopsy. We did not note any racial disparities in completion or time-to-adoption of NGS. Patients with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) histology were noted to receive liquid NGS markedly less often than patients with non-squamous histology in the March 2018 through January 2022 period. Based on our own data and a review of findings from colleagues in the field, we advocate for additional physician educational programming, increased use of ct-DNA biopsy, automated (reflexive) NGS tissue testing on receipt of biopsy, and consideration for the broader molecular profiling of patients with SCC histology.

Health-related quality of life among patients with colorectal cancer.

BACKGROUND: Up to 35% of cancer patients have clinically significant levels of psychological distress during their treatment. Accordingly, better understanding of health-related quality of life and its predictors will help oncology nurses plan appropriate interventions to improve health-related quality of life. AIMS: This study was conducted to investigate the relationship between hope, depression and anxiety and health-related quality of life among Jordanian cancer patients during their treatment period. METHODS: Cross-sectional descriptive correlational design was conducted using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Herth Hope Index and Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Colorectal surveys. RESULTS: 260 Jordanian patients with cancer from three Jordanian hospitals completed the study survey. The bivariate analysis indicated significant positive relationships between hope and quality of life (r = .57, p < .0001). A significant negative relationship was found between anxiety and depression and quality of life (r = -.76, p < .0001). A multiple regression analysis indicated that hope, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and time since diagnosis were predictors of quality of life, and explained 66% of the variance in the quality of life for this sample. CONCLUSIONS: The assessment of psychosocial elements including hope, depression, anxiety, and quality of life should be a part of daily nurse-caring behaviours and practices. Implement education programmes to increase nurses' competencies in the psychosocial assessment are recommended.

Using Mixed-Methods Research to Study Coping Strategies among Colorectal Cancer Patients.

OBJECTIVE: The objective was to identify and understand the coping strategies of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. METHODS: A mixed-methods approach including quantitative and qualitative methods was used to collect data from Jordanian patients. In the quantitative phase, we aimed to determine the coping strategies employed in a representative sample (n = 200) of Jordanian adult patients with CRC using the Jalowiec Coping Scale. In the qualitative phase, we aimed to understand these coping strategies through an in-depth and detailed exploration. A sample of ten participants was chosen purposefully based on their coping score in the quantitative phase, and interviews were conducted. Quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS software version 23. Qualitative data were analyzed using directed content analysis. RESULTS: Results from the quantitative phase indicated that evasive coping strategies were used predominantly, followed by confrontive coping strategies and optimistic coping strategies. In contrast, fatalistic and emotive coping strategies had the lowest scores. In addition, the results indicated that the total scores for the effectiveness of coping strategies ranged from 42 to 143, with a mean of 93.45 (standard deviation 13.67); higher scores reflected greater effectiveness. Content analysis in the qualitative phase identified three themes, and subcategories emerged, including perceived collaborative support, increased awareness of treatment, and internal power. CONCLUSIONS: CRC patients used different coping strategies to face the new challenge. Oncology nurses can play a pivotal role in enhancing these coping strategies through implementing multidisciplinary programs.

Assessment of Northern Jordanian adolescents' knowledge and attitudes towards asthma.

Background Asthma is a chronic illness of the airways that can cause a persistent cough. The illness affects a significant population of young people worldwide and can affect their ongoing quality of life. Aim To explore Jordanian adolescents' knowledge and attitudes to asthma. Method A cross-sectional research design was used with a convenience sample of 302 adolescents from six schools in northern Jordan, who completed a self-reported knowledge and attitude survey. Results Although the adolescents had an adequate knowledge level about asthma, several areas of knowledge deficit were identified and some negative attitudes were demonstrated. No significant association was found between adolescents' level of knowledge and their attitudes to adolescents with asthma. Conclusion Jordanian adolescents need more educational programmes about living with life-changing chronic illnesses such as asthma, and about how the knowledge and positive attitudes of peer groups can normalise the illness for the affected person, enhancing their quality of life.

Identifying mental health nursing research priorities: A Delphi study.

Abstract Engaging in research and using evidence based practice are essential for mental health nurses to provide quality nursing care to consumers and families. This paper reports on a Delphi study that identified the top 10 mental health nursing research priorities at one area health service in Australia servicing a population of 840,000 people. Initially 390 research questions were identified by nurses and these were then reduced to 56 broader questions. Finally, the top 10 questions were ranked in order of importance. The priority questions were clinically and professionally focussed and included research into the delivery and organisation of mental health services and the need to design and evaluate new practice paradigms for nurses in the primary care setting. The mental health knowledge and skill set of graduates from Australian comprehensive nursing programmes along with improved recruitment and retention of graduates in mental health were also identified priority areas for research.