Efficacy of facemasks in preventing transmission of COVID-19 in non-healthcare settings: A scoping review.

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, an abundance of literature relating to the efficacy of face masks on reducing transmission of COVID-19 in non-healthcare settings emerged. Aim/objective: The aim of this scoping review was to allow the identification of: types of evidence conducted in this area; knowledge gaps and common concepts relating to mask efficacy in non-healthcare settings. Methods: A comprehensive literature search was conducted in PubMed, CINAHL, MEDLINE, Embase and the Irish Management Institute bibliographic database on December 15th, 2021. All types of face masks were included. Of 722 records, 16 were included after full text screening. Findings/results: Themes from an adapted model of Howard et al. framework were used to group results and identify common concepts. The grouped thematic results were then applied to the socio-ecological model. This illustrated the multifactorial elements determining the efficacy of masks themselves while also illustrating how other factors such as individual behaviours, social interactions, settings and national policy can influence the degree of the protective effect. Discussion: The findings from this scoping review indicate that an abundance of experimental literature is available indicating that masks are effective at preventing COVID-19 transmission but their degree of efficacy is impacted by external factors. This review highlights that the quality of the evidence available is low.

Time for metrics in emergency surgical care - the role of an emergency surgery registry.

There is abundant local, national, and international evidence that clinical decision-making in emergency general surgery (EGS) is frequently sub-optimal, and this has a negative impact on the quality and safety of care and patient outcomes. The barriers to achieving high-quality, safe, and effective EGS care across health systems are manifold and multifactorial. It is suggested that emergency surgery registries may provide a suitable foundation to enable interventions that lead to improvements in quality in this area. Data from surgical registries may serve multiple purposes, including improving the quality of healthcare and the enhancement of patient safety. The increasing sophistication and analytic capabilities of clinical registries and databases contribute considerably in all of these domains due to their use of accurate, credible, risk-adjusted, and concurrent clinical data, which are acquired for these specific purposes. The emergency surgery outcomes advancement (eSOAP) project commenced during late 2018, with the aim of establishing the feasibility of prospective data capture on all EGS admissions and assessing the outcomes and impact of clinical pathways for patients admitted to EGS services in Letterkenny University Hospital (Republic of Ireland), Altnagelvin Hospital (Northern Ireland), and Raigmore Hospital (Scotland). eSOAP seeks to address deficits in EGS care by enabling an assessment of patient outcomes, enhancing the quality and safety of patient care, and providing an effective template for EGS registry development. It will achieve this through the provision of meticulous, valid, risk-adjusted, and concurrent clinical data. The comprehensive information within the eSOAP registry will promote transparency in respect of the functioning of individual surgical teams and services and increase understanding of the complex systems involved in the delivery of EGS care.

Virtual simulation training: Imaged experience of dementia.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The need to provide an empathic response to the care of people with dementia has long been advocated. Virtual reality-based programmes continue to gain momentum across health sectors, becoming an innovative tool that provides staff with the opportunity to experience a dementia-like experience within a relatively short time frame. The purpose of this study is to explore the impact of an interactive training experience on moral, emotive, behavioural and cognitive elements of empathy. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: A qualitative exploratory design was adopted employing purposive sampling to identify participants, aged over 18 years, who participated in the Virtual Dementia Tour (VDT®) programme. Interviews were conducted over a two-month period, and qualitative thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. RESULTS: The four components (moral, emotive, behavioural and cognitive) of empathy were reflected in findings. Overall the interactive training programme was perceived as useful, and emotionally, it provided an opportunity to "imagine what it is to live with dementia," enabling a cognitive, moral and behavioural reflection to occur, enhancing the empathic state. DISCUSSION: In this study, the VDT® provides a different way of learning, with participants reporting the emergence of an empathic response. Results suggest that the emotional response laid the foundations to the behavioural or cognitive (objective and subjective) reaction which was underpinned by a moral reaction. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Virtual reality programmes are one step in the process for healthcare professionals caring empathetically for people with dementia; however, further research is required.

Developing nursing and midwifery research priorities: a Health Service Executive (HSE) North West study.

AIM: The primary purpose of this study was to identify research priorities for nurses and midwives across the Health Service Executive (HSE) North West region. The rationale for the study was underlined during meetings of HSE North West Directors of Nursing and Midwifery in January 2011. It was agreed that a more strategic approach to generating synergy among nursing and midwifery research, evaluation, and evidence-based practice should be developed through the Nursing and Midwifery Planning and Development Unit. METHODS: The research design was founded upon collaborative processes for consensus building that included the Delphi technique and nominal group technique. The study sample included a panel of experts. Data were collected between March 2011 and December 2011. FINDINGS: Findings from this study validate the efficacy of the research methodology in enabling the effective identification of priority areas for research. These include: (a) an evaluation of the impact of postgraduate nursing and midwifery education programs focusing upon patient, professional, and organizational outcomes; (b) development and evaluation of an effective culture of nurse- and midwife-led audit across all services within a Regional Health Trust in Ireland; (c) an examination of the efficacy of approaches to clinical supervision within the context of the Irish health system; (d) an evaluation of the impact of an Advanced Nurse Practitioner role in supporting the effective management of long-term conditions within the context of Regional Health Trust primary care settings in Ireland; and (e) Supporting and developing an ethical framework for nursing and midwifery research within a Regional Health Trust in Ireland. LINKING EVIDENCE TO ACTION: It is anticipated that future work, outlined within this paper, will lead to important improvements in patient care and outcomes. Furthermore, this study provides evidence that a strong nursing and midwifery research agenda can be established upon genuine collaborations and partnerships across varying levels of research knowledge and skills, but with a shared purpose and shared values.

Blending critical realist and emancipatory practice development methodologies: making critical realism work in nursing research.

This paper examines the efficacy of facilitation as a practice development intervention in changing practice within an Older Person setting and in implementing evidence into practice. It outlines the influences exerted by the critical realist paradigm in guiding emancipatory practice development activities and, in particular, how the former may be employed within an emancipatory practice development study to elucidate and increase understanding pertinent to causation and outcomes. The methodology is based upon an emancipatory practice development approach set within a realistic evaluation framework. This allows for systematic analysis of the social and contextual elements that influence the explication of outcomes associated with facilitation. The study is concentrated upon five practice development cycles, within which a sequence of iterative processes is integrated. The authors assert that combining critical realist and emancipatory processes offers a robust and practical method for translating evidence and implementing changes in practice, as the former affirms or falsifies the influence that emancipatory processes exert on attaining culture shift, and enabling transformation towards effective clinical practice. A new framework for practice development is proposed that establishes methodological coherency between emancipatory practice development and realistic evaluation. This augments the existing theoretical bases for both these approaches by contributing new theoretical and methodological understandings of causation.