Development and psychometric testing of the Professional Interpersonal Competency Assessment Scale for Novice nurses (PICASN).

Background: Assessing the professional interpersonal competency of novice nurses is crucial for preventing staff turnover and promoting effective work. However, none of the instruments identified in the literature specifically target novice nurses. Objective: This study aimed to develop and psychometrically test the perception dimension of the Professional Interpersonal Competency Assessment Scale for Novice nurses (PICASN) in Japan. Methods: The study comprised four steps: 1) concept identification, 2) item construction, 3) validity measure, and 4) reliability measure. A cross-sectional web-based questionnaire was administered from February to April 2023 and was completed by 203 novice nurses. Data quality was assessed using mean, item response, missing values, floor and ceiling effects, internal consistency, and item-rest correlations. Content validity index (CVI) was used to determine the instrument's validity, while exploratory factor analysis (EFA) using maximum likelihood estimation with Promax rotation was employed to assess the factor structure. Cronbach's alpha was used to evaluate reliability. Results: The 27-item PICASN demonstrated an Item-CVI of 0.94 and a Scale-CVI of 0.88. EFA revealed two factors: 1) Basic competencies as a novice nurse (15 items) and 2) Relationship building skills within the healthcare team (12 items), which explained 80% of the variance. Internal consistency reliability was excellent at 0.94 and 0.91 for the factors, and the overall scale reliability was 0.95. The item-rest (I-R) correlation values exceeding 0.6 were considered acceptable. Conclusion: The PICASN demonstrates satisfactory psychometric properties, making it an effective tool for measuring professional interpersonal competency among novice nurses in Japan. This instrument serves to assist novice nurses by promoting self-awareness and offering targeted insights into specific areas requiring improvement. Additionally, it provides experienced nurses and nurse managers with valuable insights into team dynamics, guiding interventions for continuous quality improvement.

Technological machines and artificial intelligence in nursing practice.

This article is a theoretical discourse about technological machines and artificial intelligence, highlighting their effective interactive outcomes in nursing. One significant influence is technological efficiency which positively affects nursing care time, enabling nurses to focus more on their patients as the core of nursing. The article examines the impact of technology and artificial intelligence on nursing practice in this era of rapid technological advancements and technological dependence. Strategic opportunities in nursing are advanced, exemplified by robotics technology and artificial intelligence. A survey of recent literature focused on what is known about the influence of technology, healthcare robotics, and artificial intelligence on nursing in the contexts of industrialization, societal milieu, and human living environments. Efficient, precision-driven machines with artificial intelligence support a technology-centered society in which hospitals and healthcare systems become increasingly technology-dependent, impacting healthcare quality and patient care satisfaction. As a result, higher levels of knowledge, intelligence, and recognition of technologies and artificial intelligence are required for nurses to render quality nursing care. Designers of health facilities should be particularly aware of nursing's increasing dependence on technological advancements in their practice.

Prehospital delay after acute ischemic stroke among Thai older adults: A cross-sectional study.

Acute ischemic stroke is a common medical emergency among older adults and requires immediate treatment. Prehospital delay limits the use of critical treatments, such as intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activators, leading to serious complications and often death. Using Andersen's Behavioral Model, this cross-sectional study aimed to investigate and determine factors influencing prehospital delay among older persons with acute ischemic stroke. The participants consisted of 120 older persons with first-time acute ischemic stroke diagnoses who received treatments at two hospitals in northern Thailand between November 2021 and February 2022. The results revealed that 70% of older persons experienced delays of over 3 hours following the onset of stroke symptoms. It was found that increased perceived severity of ischemic stroke and a shorter distance from home to the hospital were both associated with a reduced probability of prehospital delay. These findings highlight the significant factors influencing prehospital delay and suggest possible interventions to reduce prehospital delay among older patients with acute ischemic stroke.

Effects of Healthcare Technologies on the Promotion of Physical Activities in Older Persons: A Systematic Review.

This study aimed to explore the effects of health technologies on the promotion of health through physical activities of older persons. Following PRISMA guidelines, a systematic review of relevant articles published prior to 2020 was conducted from selected indices such as COCHRANE, PubMed, Science Direct, Proquest, including the use of hand search procedure. Twenty-seven articles were analyzed with significant findings influential to older people nursing: types of health technologies used for promoting physical activity; effects of technology use in promoting physical activity of older person care; and aspects that need to be considered in technology use among older persons. Characteristics of technologies were accuracy, usefulness, reliability, comfort, safety, and relevancy. Most technologies promoting physical activities for older people were wearable technologies that use artificial intelligence. Altogether, these technologies influenced overall healthcare behaviors of older persons. With healthcare technology efficiencies, proficiencies, and dependencies, technology-based healthcare have served older people well. Most technologies for older people care, such as wearables, reliably produce characteristics enhancing dependency and accuracy of bio-behavioral information influencing physical activities of older persons. Health technologies foster the values of physical activities among older persons thereby promoting healthy living.

Psychometric Properties of Grief Traits and State Scale for Nurses to Measure Levels of Grief.

Frequent exposure to patient deaths prompts nurses to experience grief. Unresolved grief leads to harmful consequences of nurses' mental health and quality of nursing care. A cross-sectional study using an online survey was conducted to determine the psychometric properties of the Grief traits and State Scale for Nurses. Exploratory factor analysis revealed two factors measuring the level of nurses' grief traits (Cronbach's alpha: 0.84) and two factors in grief state (Cronbach's alpha: 0.86). Nurses' feelings of unable to provide good care were associated with a higher risk of grief (odds ratio (OR): 4.30, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.45-12.75), uncomfortable feeling toward deaths (OR: 11.29, 95%CI: 1.48-85.91), and emotional exhaustion (OR: 7.12, 95%CI: 1.63-30.99). Results indicated that the scale was reliable in determining the levels of their grief. Nurse managers can use the scale to identify their nurses' levels of grief, creating opportunities to influence the resolution of the grief experiences.

Investigation of Methods to Create Future Multimodal Emotional Data for Robot Interactions in Patients with Schizophrenia: A Case Study.

Rapid progress in humanoid robot investigations offers possibilities for improving the competencies of people with social disorders, although this improvement of humanoid robots remains unexplored for schizophrenic people. Methods for creating future multimodal emotional data for robot interactions were studied in this case study of a 40-year-old male patient with disorganized schizophrenia without comorbidities. The qualitative data included heart rate variability (HRV), video-audio recordings, and field notes. HRV, Haar cascade classifier (HCC), and Empath API© were evaluated during conversations between the patient and robot. Two expert nurses and one psychiatrist evaluated facial expressions. The research hypothesis questioned whether HRV, HCC, and Empath API© are useful for creating future multimodal emotional data about robot-patient interactions. The HRV analysis showed persistent sympathetic dominance, matching the human-robot conversational situation. The result of HCC was in agreement with that of human observation, in the case of rough consensus. In the case of observed results disagreed upon by experts, the HCC result was also different. However, emotional assessments by experts using Empath API© were also found to be inconsistent. We believe that with further investigation, a clearer identification of methods for multimodal emotional data for robot interactions can be achieved for patients with schizophrenia.

Characteristics of interactive communication between Pepper robot, patients with schizophrenia, and healthy persons.

Background: Expressing enjoyment when conversing with healthcare robots is an opportunity to enhance the value of human robots with interactive capabilities. In clinical practice, it is common to find verbal dysfunctions in patients with schizophrenia. Thus, interactive communication characteristics may vary between Pepper robot, persons with schizophrenia, and healthy persons. Objective: Two case studies aimed to describe the characteristics of interactive communications, 1) between Pepper as a healthcare robot and two patients with schizophrenia, and 2) between Pepper as a healthcare robot and two healthy persons. Case Report: The "Intentional Observational Clinical Research Design" was used to collect data. Using audio-video technology, the conversational interactions between the four participants with the Pepper healthcare robot were recorded. Their interactions were observed, with significant events noted. After their interactions, the four participants were interviewed regarding their experience and impressions of interacting with the Pepper healthcare robot. Audio-video recordings were analyzed following the analysis and interpretation protocol, and the interview data were transcribed, analyzed, and interpreted. Discussion: There were similarities and differences in the interactive communication characteristics between the Pepper robot and the two participants with schizophrenia and between Pepper and the two healthy participants. The similarities were experiences of human enjoyment while interacting with the Pepper robot. This enjoyment was enhanced with the expectancy of the Pepper robot as able to entertain, and possessing interactive capabilities, indicating two-way conversational abilities. However, different communicating characteristics were found between the healthy participants' impressions of the Pepper robot and the participants with schizophrenia. Healthy participants understood Pepper to be an automaton, with responses to questions often constrained and, on many occasions, displaying inaccurate gaze. Conclusion: Pepper robot showed capabilities for effective communication pertaining to expressing enjoyment. The accuracy and appropriateness of gaze remained a critical characteristic regardless of the situation or occasion with interactions between persons with schizophrenia, and between healthy persons. It is important to consider that in the future, for effective use of healthcare robots with multiple users, improvements in the areas of the appropriateness of gaze, response time during the conversation, and entertaining functions are critically observed.

Variations on a theme: Labeling patients as persons, the nursed, or client in nursing.

The debate regarding the variation of names used for labeling the patient in a nursing care situation has always existed in nursing. Names such as patient, client, person, and nursed have been used widely among healthcare disciplines, including nursing. However, does the use of any of these identifying terms establish the appropriate identification of the nurse and the persons being nursed in a nursing care situation participating in a mutual relationship? This editorial aims to address the varieties and rationales of identifying persons participating in or receiving nursing care. Among these terms, "person" describing human beings underscores personhood, allowing nurse-nursed relations to foster, support, celebrate, and affirm living the meaning of what matters most to one's life. Therefore, it will be advantageous to nursing practice if the term "person being nursed" is the relevant descriptor to be considered as the primary label.

Living alone and using social media technologies: The experience of Filipino older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prolonged implementation of lockdowns during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in older adults living alone in social isolation. The purpose of the study was to describe the meaning of the experience of Filipino older adults, who are living alone and using social media technologies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Eight participants who met the inclusion criteria were interviewed using the snowball selection technique. Transcribed interviews were read while also listening to the recorded interviews and highlighting significant words, phrases, and statements. An iterative process of analysis using van Manen's phenomenological approach identified thematic structures and categories revealing life-worlds of corporeality, relationality, temporality, spatiality, and materiality. The five general essences of flourishing, communicating, struggling, journeying and empowering, described the meaning of living alone and using social media technologies among older adults during the pandemic. The experience was expressed as "flourishing despite struggling to communicate, while journeying and empowering oneself and others." Older adults in isolation struggled to communicate with others however, with social technologies opportunities were opened for them in securing needed food, safety and security, maintaining their health, and their social connectedness. Despite the physical isolation and living arrangements during the pandemic, the use of social media technologies sustained older persons' well-being.

Hidden Tales of Ebola: Airing the Forgotten Voices of Ugandan "Ebola Nurses".

INTRODUCTION: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Ebola has affected the lives of thousands, including health care workers. With few studies describing the experience of nurses who survived Ebola, the study aimed to describe Ugandan nurses' experiences. METHOD: Using a phenomenological design, in-depth interviews were conducted among five Ugandan nurses who contracted Ebola and survived. RESULT: Thematic analysis revealed themes of expectations of dying, hopelessness, loneliness, and betrayal by family, community, and the health system. DISCUSSION: Results support the need for policies targeting holistic practice protocols to protect all health care professionals during future outbreaks. Last, nursing survivors should have access to government-guaranteed support programs, including free health care and financial stipends. These results and recommendations transcend to the current reality of living with COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019). Efficient practice protocols could protect all rights and privileges and contribute to access to treatment and stigma removal.

Reimagining quarantine: Assuring hopefulness in nursing and healthcare.

This article aimed to explore issues of concern related to quarantine, its social consequences and influences, challenging its effects on human behavioral expressions during social isolation. The advent of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic impacted human lives in multifarious ways, threatening the meaning of normalcy. Quarantine, lockdown, isolation, and other terms reflecting conditions limiting human freedoms have become synonymous in importance to safety, security, and survival. To understand human defiance in the face of maintaining limited mobility during the COVID-19 pandemic, reimagining situations of "unfreedoms" is explained as thinking of changes to inspire and improve the meaning of living lives meaningfully. During the pandemic, issues regarding healthcare practices and social behaviors focused much attention on interactive challenges that enhance ways to mitigate the spread of contagious diseases. Illuminating these issues, discussing concerns and highlighting recommendations to engage in alternative approaches and practices, heightens the declaration of efficiency of quarantine outcomes and effectiveness. Implications are proposed with the hope that they may lead the way forward in exercising contemporary healthcare practices.

Social transformation and social isolation of older adults: Digital technologies, nursing, healthcare.

BACKGROUND: The incidence of social isolation among older adults is on the rise in today's health care climate. Consequently, preventing or ameliorating social isolation through technology in this age group is now being discussed as a significant social and health issue. AIM: The purpose of the opinion paper is to clarify social transformation through technology and shed light on a new reality for older adults in situations of social isolation. Our goal is to persuade the reader that our position on this topic is a valid one. We support our claims with practice-based evidence and published research studies. METHODS: To do so, we checked the most recent literature, most of which came from the last decade. Our literature survey focused primarily on what is known about technology and how technology can affect social transformation and perceptions of social isolation. FINDINGS: Two dominant transformative realities became the focal points: the precarious implications of loneliness for older adults and the emerging reality of social change through digital technology central to eHealth and mHealth. DISCUSSION: To benefit from new technologies and reduce the detrimental effects of social isolation, we must engage older adults in a meaningful way and adapt the system of smart devices to reflect the specific physiological and psychological characteristics of the ageing population. CONCLUSION: Older adults need to comprehend the meanings of their social experiences to preserve their active lifestyle. Human interactions may be desirable, but technological dominance may also minimize the adverse effects of social isolation.

Intentional Observational Clinical Research Design: Innovative Design for Complex Clinical Research Using Advanced Technology.

The growing use of robots in nursing and healthcare facilities has prompted increasing research on human-robot interactions. However, specific research designs that can guide researchers to conduct rigorous investigations on human-robot interactions are limited. This paper aims to discuss the development and application of a new research design-the Intentional Observational Clinical Research Design (IOCRD). Data sources to develop the IOCRD were derived from surveyed literature of the past decade, focusing on clinical nursing research and theories relating robotics to nursing and healthcare practice. The distinction between IOCRD and other research design is the simultaneous data generation collected using advanced technological devices, for example, the wireless Bonaly-light electrocardiogram (ECG) to track heart rate variability of research subjects, robot application programs on the iPad mini to control robot speech and gestures, and Natural Language Processing programs. Even though IOCRD was developed for human-robot research, there remain vast opportunities for its use in nursing practice and healthcare. With the unique feature of simultaneous data generation and analysis, an interdisciplinary collaborative research team is strongly suggested. The IOCRD is expected to contribute guidance for researchers in conducting clinical research related to robotics in nursing and healthcare.

Treatise on the influence of theism, transhumanism, and posthumanism on nursing and rehabilitation healthcare practice.

Reservations concerning the ontologies of theism, transhumanism and posthumanism compel an explicatory discourse on their influences on Nursing and rehabilitation healthcare. Key journals in Nursing and health sciences have recently devoted themed issues on intelligent machine technologies such as humanoid healthcare robots and other highly technological healthcare devices and practice initiatives. While the technological advance witnessed has been a cause for celebration, questions still remain that are focused on the epistemological concerns. The purpose of this article is to discuss theistic ontologies such as the Judeo-Christian, Shinto-Buddhist and Islamic religious belief systems on transhumanism and posthumanism in the assimilation of symbiotic technological beings in Nursing and rehabilitation healthcare practice. In view of the approaching technological singularity dominating arguments regarding the future of human beings, a treatise on Nursing and rehabilitation health care is positioned well within the realms of human care. Theism, transhumanism and posthumanism are directing discussions regarding human beings and healthcare processes. It is imperative that the beneficial effects of these discussions be acknowledged within the highly technological world of Nursing and rehabilitative healthcare.

Interactions between healthcare robots and older people in Japan: A qualitative descriptive analysis study.

AIM: This study aimed to describe the interactions between healthcare robots and older persons in two selected institutions. METHODS: A qualitative descriptive analysis study using simultaneous observations of healthcare robot and older person interactions was conducted at two healthcare institutions in Japan. The Pepper robot equipped with Care Prevention Gymnastics Exercise programs was used in two situations: (a) exercise regimen led by Pepper; and (b) interactive dialogue between Pepper and older persons during the exercise process. These interactions were recorded using audiovisual equipment and analyzed using content analysis thereby revealing four thematic categories. Interpretation and discussion were structured based on assumptions of the Transactive Relationship Theory of Nursing. RESULTS: The analysis revealed four thematic categories: (a) intermediary participation of healthcare practitioners; (b) technologies of care for practice; (c) human-robot interactions involving artificial intelligence; and (d) valuing safety in nursing through technology. CONCLUSION: Interactions between healthcare robots and older persons may improve quality of care. However, issues regarding fidelity and functionality of dialogic conversations, and ensuring safety and security of using healthcare robots are recognized as critical nursing practice concerns in healthcare robot use in institutional settings.

The experience of older persons with mental health conditions who interact with healthcare robots and nurse intermediaries: The qualitative case studies.

Background: Caring expressions between humans and nonhuman intelligent machines are futuristic prototypes with healthcare robots as major advocates. Objective: To examine the experience of older persons with mental health conditions, particularly patients with schizophrenia and with dementia in the interaction with healthcare robots and intermediaries in a transactive relational engagement. Methods: Two qualitative case studies were conducted using sophisticated audio-video technologies to record the conversation and activities that were carefully documented. Following the procedure for qualitative descriptive analysis, a framework based on the Transactive Relationship Theory of Nursing was employed to analyze and interpret the data. Results: Three themes were revealed, including feelings for the other, inspiring meaningful responses, and demonstrating expressions of joy. The description of the experience of older persons involved in the conversation with humanoid robots was feeling for the other while inspiring meaningful responses in demonstrating expressions of joy. Conclusion: This study provided initial evidence that the transactive engagements of robots with older persons with schizophrenia and dementia and nurse intermediaries in psychiatric and mental health settings can result in occasions of 'joy' for the patients. These findings suggest that transactive engagements with robots facilitate expressions of joy among older persons with schizophrenia and dementia. However, these findings are not intended to prescribe nursing care actions but to describe the experience of older persons who are in transactive engagements with intelligent machines, indicating the importance and value of healthcare robots in nursing older persons with schizophrenia and with dementia.