The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Self-Harm Attempts Observed in a Hospital Emergency Department.

Suicide is a significant public health concern, with one million lives lost to it every year. Suicidal ideation and attempts are markers of high risk. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative psychological impact on the population. This study aims to describe and analyze the clinical and sociodemographic characteristics of patients who have received medical attention for self-harm attempts in a hospital emergency department, comparing the period before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a descriptive, retrospective study that collected data from medical records of patients who received care for self-harm attempts in the emergency department. The data included cases from 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2022. In total, 529 cases of self-harm attempts were identified, of which 62.8% were female. The number of post-pandemic self-harm attempts significantly increased compared to the period before the pandemic. The most used method for self-harm was medication ingestion. This study revealed that over one-third of the participants had previously attempted suicide. Most self-harm attempts were made by women in the 10-20 or 41-50 age groups, with a history of psychiatric illness and multiple medications. The study results also highlighted an increase in self-harm attempts during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Internet Addiction and Emotional Intelligence in university nursing students: A cross-sectional study.

Background: The appearance of the Internet has allowed for improved communications and the technological development of society, but it has also led to problematic use, generating addictive behaviors in some university students. Emotional Intelligence helps to improve emotional skills, increase social skills, and act as a protective factor against technological addictions. Objectives: to describe and analyze the relationship between Internet Addiction, Emotional Intelligence, and sociodemographic characteristics in Nursing students. Methods: A multicenter cross-sectional study was conducted. Participants belonged to three different campuses of two Universities. 532 nursing students were included in the study. A self-administered questionnaire was used collecting sociodemographic variables and the TMMS-24 and IAT instruments were employed to measure Emotional Intelligence and Internet Addiction, respectively. Results: 11.1% of the students presented Internet Addiction. Higher Internet Addiction scores were obtained by those who were younger, had a lower academic year, and were more involved in leisure activities. Adequate levels of Emotional Intelligence were found, women showed higher values of Attention and men of Repair. Students aged 24 or over reported higher Clarity and Repair values. There was an inverse relationship between Clarity and Repair with Internet Addiction values. Conclusions: The ability to understand and regulate emotional states is related to lower Internet Addiction values. The group of Internet addicts revealed greater Attention and less Clarity. Internet Addiction values increased as the number of hours of Internet use increases. The development of programs which improve Emotional Intelligence could be essential to facilitate the emotional management of Internet Addiction.

Self perceived health and stress in the pregnancy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has had numerous maternal and neonatal consequences, especially at the mental level. Pregnant women experience a rise in anxiety symptoms and prenatal stress. Aims: The aim was to describe self-perceived health status, general stress and prenatal stress and to analyze relations and associations with sociodemographic factors. Methods: A quantitative, descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted using non-probabilistic circumstantial sampling. The sample was recruited during the first trimester of pregnancy during the control obstetrical visit. The Google Forms platform was used. A total of 297 women participated in the study. The Prenatal Distress Questionnaire (PDQ), the Perceived Stress Score (PSS) and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) were used. Results: Primiparas presented higher levels of worry about childbirth and the baby (10.93 ± 4.73) than multiparous women (9.88 ± 3.96). Somatic symptoms were present in 6% of the women. Anxiety-insomnia was scored positively by 18% of the women. In the Spearman correlation analysis, statistically significant values were found between almost all study variables. A positive correlation was observed between self-perceived health and prenatal and general stress levels. Discussion: During the first trimester of gestation, prenatal concerns increase when levels of anxiety, insomnia and depression also increase. There is a clear relationship between prenatal worries, anxiety, insomnia and depression with stress. Health education that focuses on mental health of pregnant women would help reduce worries during pregnancy and would improve the pregnant women perception of her health and well-being.

Leadership and contagion by COVID-19 among residence hall students: A social network analysis approach.

University students have changed their behaviour due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In this paper, we describe the characteristics of PCR+ and PCR- nodes, analyse the structure, and relate the structure of student leaders to pandemic contagion as determined by PCR+ in 93 residential university students. Leadership comes from the male students of social science degrees who have PCR +, with an eigenvector centrality structure, ß-centrality, and who are part of the bow-tie structure. There was a significant difference in ß-centrality between leaders and non-leaders and in ß-centrality between PCR+ and non-leaders. Leading nodes were part of the bow-tie structure. MR-QAP results show how residence and scientific branch were the most important factors in network formation. Therefore, university leaders should consider influential leaders, as they are vectors for disseminating both positive and negative outcomes.

SBAR Method for Improving Well-Being in the Internal Medicine Unit: Quasi-Experimental Research.

SBAR (Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation) is a tool for standardizing and improving interprofessional communication. This study aims to explore the impact of SBAR in healthcare professionals' wellbeing, through concepts such as job satisfaction, engagement, resilience, and job performance, in the internal medicine unit of a university hospital in the province of León (Spain). This is an observational, descriptive, longitudinal case study with a pre- and post-intervention approach. Questionnaires were distributed to a group of doctors, nurses, and healthcare assistants before and after the implementation of the SBAR tool in the ward. The use of SBAR was monitored to ensure staff compliance. Data statistical analysis was performed using the SPSS program. Resilience levels increased significantly post-intervention. Job satisfaction and engagement levels remained neutral, slightly decreasing post-intervention. Besides' being a useful tool to improve communication, SBAR was effective in improving resilience among staff. Several aspects related to hospital management may have had an impact on job satisfaction and engagement results.

The relationship between burnout and empathy in physiotherapists: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: There have been few studies carried out into empathy in physiotherapists. Burnout can debilitate the quality of care and the efficacy of treatment as the empathetic capacity of the professional diminishes. OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to examine the association between the construct burnout, empathy and sociodemographic aspects in Spanish physiotherapists. METHODS: A cross-sectional electronic survey including the Maslach Burnout Inventory (for burnout assessment), the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (for empathy assessment) and sociodemographic data was answered by 461 Spanish physical therapists. A descriptive, bivariate and lineal regression analysis was performed. RESULTS: There was an association between burnout and empathy. Specifically, higher levels of burnout are associated with lower levels of empathy, whilst years of work experience is associated with lower levels of burnout. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study contribute to a greater understanding of the relationship between the level of burnout and the dimensions of empathy in physiotherapists. The influence of burnout, which causes difficulties in the mobilization of the professional towards the establishment of a quality therapeutic relationship, is highlighted.KEY MESSAGESEmotional exhaustion is associated to greater personal discomfort and less empathy.The depersonalization is associated to personal discomfort and less empathy.Depersonalization is negatively associated to the lack of perspective.

Family-centred care of patients admitted to the intensive care unit in times of COVID-19: A systematic review.

OBJECTIVES: To describe clinical practice interventions aimed at providing Family-Centred Care in intensive care units during the COVID-19 pandemic. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY: A systematic review was carried out following the PRISMA recommendations in various databases: PubMed, Cinahl, Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar were consulted, as well as within the grey literature found on the web pages of official organizations related to Intensive Care Medicine and Nursing. SETTING: Adult intensive care unit. RESULTS: The search yielded 209 documents of which 24 were included in this review: eight qualitative studies, seven protocols and recommendations from official bodies, one mixed-method studies, five descriptive studies, one cross-sectional study, one pilot program and one literature review. A thematic analysis revealed four major themes: the use of communication systems, multidisciplinary interventions; the promotion of family engagement and family support. The results show different strategies that can be implemented in clinical practice to solve the difficulties encountered in Family-Centred Care in critical care units during the COVID-19 pandemic. CONCLUSIONS: There is a great variety in the nature of the interventions developed, with the use of telecommunication systems in daily practice being the most repeated aspect. Future research should aim to assess whether the interventions implemented increase the quality of patient and family care by meeting their needs.

Factores estresores, Inteligencia Emocional y Engagement en los estudiantes de enfermería durante sus prácticas clínicas / Stressor factors, Emotional Intelligence and Engagement during clinical practice in nursing students

Objetivo principal: Analizar la percepción de estrés, inteligencia emocional y engagement en los estudiantes de grado en Enfermería del Campus de Ponferrada durante el desarrollo de sus prácticas clínicas. Metodología: estudio cuantitativo, descriptivo, correlacional de corte transversal. La muestra fue de 73 estudiantes. Se utilizaron los cuestionarios: KEZKAK, TMMS-24 y UWES-S y datos sociodemográficos. Resultados principales: El 78,1% de los alumnos presentaron estrés siendo las mujeres las que alcanzaron puntuaciones más elevadas. Los estudiantes procedentes de fuera de Ponferrada percibieron mayores tasas de estrés. La puntuación media de la Inteligencia Emocional fue de 78.92±15.11. Las dimensiones de la Inteligencia Emocional correlacionan positivamente con las dimensiones del engagement. Conclusión principal: Los estudiantes de Grado en Enfermería perciben estrés durante el desarrollo de las prácticas clínicas, sin embargo, presentan una adecuada Inteligencia Emocional y niveles altos de engagement.(AU)

Objective: To analyze the perception of stress, emotional intelligence and engagement in Nursing Degree students from the Ponferrada Campus during the development of their clinical practices. Methods: quantitative, descriptive, correlational cross-sectional study. The sample was 73 students. The questionnaires were used: KEZKAK, TMMS-24 and UWES-S and sociodemographic data. Results: 78.1% of the students presented stress, with women reaching the highest scores. Students from outside Ponferrada perceived higher rates of stress. The mean Emotional Intelligence score was 78.92±15.11. The dimensions of Emotional Intelligence positively correlate with the dimensions of engagement. Conclusions: Nursing degree students perceive stress during the development of clinical practices, however they present adequate Emotional Intelligence and high levels of engagement.(AU)

Adaptation to Change Questionnaire for Nurses: Validation and New Needs in the Context of COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: The worldwide pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus has challenged healthcare systems and the professionals who work in them. This challenge involves strong changes to which nurses have had to quickly adapt. Emotional and cognitive-behavioral factors influence the capacity for adaptation to change. Based on this model, the objective of this study was to validate the Adaptation to Change Questionnaire (ADAPTA-10) for identifying professionals in a population of nurses who have problems adapting to adverse situations such as those caused by COVID-19. METHODS: This study was performed with a sample of 351 nurses. (3) Results: The ADAPTA-10 questionnaire was found to have good psychometric properties, and to be an effective, useful tool for nurses in research and clinical practice. The two-dimensional structure proposed in the original model was confirmed. Scales are also provided by sex for evaluation of adaptation to change; the highest scores on the emotional component were among nurses who had not personally encountered the virus. CONCLUSIONS: This instrument will be able to detect of the needs for adaptation to the new reality associated with COVID-19, as well as other situations in which nurses are immersed that demand adaptation strategies.

Fear of death and its relationship to resilience in nursing students: A longitudinal study.

AIM: Taking a corpus of nursing students enrolled in the 2017-2021 nursing degree, we aim to analyse how students' levels of resilience and fear of death evolve in the first three years of the degree and whether there are differences between students based on age and gender. In addition, we aim to describe the relationship between resilience and fear of death. BACKGROUND: Throughout their training, nursing students will encounter situations of grief and death that may generate reactions of rejection, anxiety and emotional imbalance. Recognising and controlling these emotions through specialised training in end-of-life care and fostering resilience is essential. DESIGN: Comparative, correlational and longitudinal study. METHODS: Our corpus comprised 100 nursing students who were followed through the first three years of their training. Data were collected using a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Collet-Lester Fear of Death Scale and the Resilience Scale. RESULTS: The corpus reported medium-high levels of fear of death overall. Patterns were similar for all academic years: fear of other people's death was invariably the highest scoring subscale; and while individual dimensions of the Collet-Lester scale correlated directly and significantly with each other they were found to be inversely related to student age. High levels of resilience were recorded and were highest in the final year. CONCLUSIONS: In this sample of student nurses, fear of death and resilience do not appear to be related to each other. Nursing education must include training specifically targeted at increasing levels of resilience and decreasing fear of death to improve end-of-life care.

Coping Strategies in the Spanish Population: The Role in Consequences of COVID-19 on Mental Health.

The worldwide health emergency caused by COVID-19 is a new challenge for humanity which individuals respond to in a diversity of ways. The type of coping people use in such a situation could lead to positive or negative consequences to their health. Our objective was to analyze the use of coping strategies in the general population with attention to sociodemographic variables, and to test the capacity of these strategies for mediating in repercussions on mental health. The 1,160 adults who participated in this study answered the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ-S) and General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28). The data were collected in a CAWI (Computer Aided Web Interviewing). The results suggest that the coping strategies they used the most differed depending on sociodemographic characteristics, such as age, sex and education. Furthermore, two mediation models were estimated for positive and negative coping strategies in the relationship between the presence of COVID-19 near them and mental health. The "negative" coping strategies were found to exert an indirect effect as mediators in the impact that COVID-19 positive cases near them had on their health. The consequences to mental health of the impact of coping with adverse situations should not be underestimated and it is important to design programs to educate the population in coping strategies that promote their health.

Heart Disease, Now What? Improving Quality of Life through Education.

INTRODUCTION: The management of chronic illness assumes a level of demand for permanent care and reaches a priority dimension in the health context. Given the importance of nursing care to post-acute coronary syndrome patients, the objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of an educational intervention program on quality of life in patients after acute coronary syndrome. METHOD: Quasi-experimental study with two groups: an experimental group exposed to the educational intervention program and the control group without exposure to the educational intervention program. RESULTS: The results showed statistically significant differences between both groups (p < 0.001). Although only valid for the specific group of subjects studied, the educational intervention program enabled significant gains in quality of life. CONCLUSIONS: According to the findings of the study, a systematized and structured educational program, integrated into the care organization and based on transition processes, is effective in developing self-care skills and improves the quality of life in patients after acute coronary syndrome.

Friendship and Consumption Networks in Adolescents and Their Relationship to Stress and Cannabis Use Intention.

BACKGROUND: Cannabis is an illegal psychoactive substance that's use is widespread among adolescents. During adolescence, many changes can cause stress. In this phase, the group of friends becomes increasingly important, being a situation of vulnerability for the beginning of cannabis use, either as an escape mechanism or due to peer's influence. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to describe and analyze the structure of the consumption and friendship network, the intention to use cannabis, and the stress in a secondary school class. METHODS: An online platform with validated self-reported questionnaires were used for data collection. RESULTS: The sample consisted of adolescents (n = 20) aged 14-16 from a third-year class of compulsory secondary education in Ponferrada (León, Spain). Significant differences were obtained concerning consumption intention and the different network metrics in both the friendship and consumption networks. Subsequently, the representation of these networks was carried out. CONCLUSIONS: Social Network Analysis is a very useful tool that provides a picture of the context in which adolescents are located. In the consumption network, there are central actors who have not yet consumed cannabis; this is a crucial moment to implement prevention strategies.

Access to Information and Degree of Community Awareness of Preventive Health Measures in the Face of COVID-19 in Spain.

The COVID-19 pandemic is posing a major health crisis. Spanish legislation establishes the mandatory use of masks and the implementation of hygienic measures such as hand washing and physical distancing. The aim of this study is to describe access to information and the level of community knowledge/adoption about the preventive measures proposed by the Spanish health authorities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and to analyze the influence of socio-demographic factors in compliance among people over 18 years of age resident in Spain. An observational, descriptive and transversal study was conducted. Data was collected on sociodemographic variables, access to information and the degree of knowledge/adoption about the preventive measures: use of masks, hand hygiene and physical distancing. A total of 1811 people participated. The average age was 45.1 ± 15.1 years, predominantly female (69.3%), from an urban geographical area (74%), with a higher education level of 53.2%. Most of the respondents (57.5%) are or live with people at risk. The main access to information on preventive measures was from secondary sources (49.2%), with television being the main medium; 72.3% think that there are some difficulties in accessing information, while 8.7% of the participants do not consider the use of masks to be useful. As regards the choice of type of mask, the majority of people (44.8%) opt for the surgical variety; 88.5% of respondents believe that the physical distancing established is at least 1.5 m. This study confirmed that socio-demographic factors influence compliance with or the degree of knowledge/adoption of the preventive measures proposed to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and has made it possible to ascertain the sectors of the population with the greatest deficiencies in this respect. It shows the importance of implementing health information and education systems in the community, and it is advisable to promote specific programs aimed at men, people living in rural areas and people with a low level of education.

Factors Relating to Nurses' Knowledge and Attitudes Regarding Pain Management in Inpatients.

PURPOSE: To describe factors associated with nurses' attitudes or lack of knowledge regarding pain management in adult inpatients. DESIGN: Transverse descriptive survey-based study. METHODS: This was a transverse descriptive survey-based study. The population was obtained through nonprobabilistic convenience sampling. The Knowledge and Attitudes Survey Regarding Pain was made available to 470 nurses at a tertiary level hospital. Associations were sought with the unit where assigned, years of experience, specific training on pain, and postgraduate education. RESULTS: The sample included 134 nurses with a mean age of 41.6 ± 10.8 years; 87% were women, 64% worked rotating shifts, 64% had more than 10 years of experience, and 31% had specific training in pain management. The greatest number of correct responses was obtained from nurses with specific training in pain management (p = .001) and nurses who worked in units of surgical hospitalization (p = .004). The lack of training was associated with a deficit in knowledge and inadequate attitudes about pain management. In nurses with less than 10 years of experience, worse results were observed in knowledge, whereas the unit of work was decisive in the results about attitude (p < .05). CONCLUSIONS: Among the nurses surveyed, some knowledge gaps were detected, as were certain inappropriate attitudes, associated with lack of training, lack of experience, and being assigned to specific hospitalization units.

Stress, Emotional Intelligence and the Intention to Use Cannabis in Spanish Adolescents: Influence of COVID-19 Confinement.

The disease brought about by the SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 coronavirus has had an unprecedented global impact. Confinement to control the outbreak may have mental health consequences for the most vulnerable in the population, including adolescents. This study aims to describe and analyze the relationships between the stress variables, Emotional Intelligence and the intention to use cannabis in healthy adolescents, before and after the end of the COVID-19 pandemic containment stage. A comparative correlational study was carried out with validated self-completed questionnaires through an online platform. The sample is made up of adolescents (n = 300) aged 13-17 from two different schools in Ponferrada (León, Spain). The analysis of correlation and differences between the groups indicate that confinement has had effects on the mental health of the adolescents, specifically on the emotional manifestations of stress. Furthermore, significant gender differences were found for stress values and Emotional Intelligence. However, no differences have been found for cannabis use intention.

Physical Activity, Resilience, Sense of Coherence and Coping in People with Multiple Sclerosis in the Situation Derived from COVID-19.

The confinement forced by COVID-19 can have repercussions on the health of people diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. The objective of this study is to analyze the relationships between physical activity, a sense of coherence, resilience and coping among people diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis during the health emergency situation. To achieve this goal, this transversal descriptive study included 84 patients that belonged to multiple sclerosis associations during the period of confinement. Participants filled out the Physical Activity (IPAQ-SF), Sense of Coherence (SOC-13), Resilience Scale (ER-14) and coping (COPE-28) questionnaires. The results showed that the average age was 46.9 and that 67.9% had Relapsing Remittent Multiple Sclerosis diagnosed on average 13.9 years ago. They had a high degree (33.3%) and moderate degree (34.5%) of physical activity, high levels of resilience, while the level of a sense of coherence was average and the most commonly used strategies for coping were active confrontation and religion. Physical activity was not related to the rest of the studied variables, but there were correlations between the other variables. The people with multiple sclerosis who belong to patient associations have remained physically active during the obligatory confinement period and have elevated degrees of resilience and an average sense of coherence, as well as using suitable coping strategies, which is why the social-health resource of belonging to a patient association could be boosting these variables that are beneficial to their health.

The consumption of alcohol by adolescent schoolchildren: Differences in the triadic relationship pattern between rural and urban environments.

OBJECTIVE: Excessive alcohol consumption in adolescents is one of the most significant public health problems currently facing society. Social and geographical contexts contribute to the development of alcohol-related behavior in adolescents. The aim of this research is to analyze the social pattern related to alcohol consumption in adolescents based on their geographical environment. METHODOLOGY: We designed a descriptive cross-sectional study based on social network analysis. We recruited 196 high school students between 16 and 18 years of age to participate in the study. The methodology applied was social network analysis by means of transitivity and homophily social triads. The data were analyzed using STATA statistical software. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: A total of 58.48% of rural adolescents consumed alcohol compared to 49.52% of urban adolescents. These results demonstrate that adolescents who live in rural areas exhibit a greater risk of drinking alcohol than those who live in urban areas. The presence of transitive triads increases the probability of sharing sociodemographic attributes in such a way that it may be considered one of the causes of homophily, contributing to adolescents taking greater risks, such as consuming alcohol.

Design and Validation of the Adaptation to Change Questionnaire: New Realities in Times of COVID-19.

Emotional and cognitive-behavioral factors influence people's adaptability to change. Based on this premise, the objective of this study was to develop, evaluate and validate the Adaptation to Change Questionnaire (ADAPTA-10) for identifying those who show poor adaptability to adverse situations, such as those caused by COVID-19. This study was carried out in a sample of 1160 adults and produced a 10-item instrument with good reliability and validity indices. It is an effective tool useful in research and in clinical practice. Calculation tables are provided for the general Spanish population and by sex to evaluate adaptability to change. The two-dimensional structure proposed in the original model was confirmed. This instrument will enable the needs for adaptation to the new reality associated with COVID-19 to be detected and also other situations in which the subject becomes immersed which demand adaptation strategies in the new situation lived in.

Networks and Emotions in Cooperative Work: A Quasi-Experimental Study in University Nursing and Computer Engineering Students.

University students establish networks that impact on their behavior. Social Network Analysis (SNA) allows us to analyze the reticular structures formed and find patterns of interaction between university students. The main objective of this study was to observe the impact of interdisciplinary collaborative work between nursing and computer engineering students on the collaboration and friendship networks, emotions and performance of the participants. It is a quasi-experimental descriptive study with pre- and post-intervention measurements. The contact networks analyzed showed an increase in density in the post-intervention period. The most central people in the network corresponded with those who considered positive emotions most in their academic environment, while the less central people coincided with those who highlighted negative emotions. Academic performance was only significantly associated in the collaboration network, between this and OutdegreeN. This study shows the impact of interdisciplinary activities on teaching methodologies and the repercussions of emotions on curricular activity.