A comparison between the impacts of lecturing and flipped classrooms in virtual learning on triage nurses' knowledge and professional capability: an experimental study.

BACKGROUND: The quality of triage in emergency department depends on regular evaluation of triage nurses' professional capabilities and development of programs to improve them. Flipped classrooms are a new approach to learning which can be employed to improve professional capabilities. The present study aims to compare the impact of lecturing to flipped classrooms in virtual learning on the knowledge and professional capabilities of triage nurses in the emergency departments of the state hospitals of Yazd province in south-western Iran in 2022. METHODS: The present study is an experimental work of research. Seventy-four triage nurses participated in the study. Seventy-four triage nurses were randomly allocated to the two groups, including flipped classrooms (group B) and lecturing (group A). The data collection instruments were an emergency department triage nurses' professional capability questionnaire and a triage knowledge questionnaire. The collected data were analyzed in SPSS v.22 using independent t-test, chi-squared test, and repeated measures analysis of variance. Level of significance was set at p ≥ 0.05. RESULTS: The participants' mean age was 33.1 ± 4.3 years. As measured one month after the education, the triage knowledge mean score of the nurses who were educated using the flipped classroom method (9.29 ± 1.73) was higher than that of the nurses who were educated via lecturing (8.45 ± 1.788), and the difference was statistically significant (p = 0.001). Also, measured one month after the education, the professional capability mean score of the nurses who were educated using the flipped classroom method (140.27 ± 11.744) was higher than that of the nurses who were educated via lecturing (132.84 ± 10.817), and the difference was statistically significant (p = 0.006). CONCLUSION: There was a significant difference between the pretest and posttest knowledge and professional capability mean scores of both groups immediately after the education. However, measured one month after the education, the mean and standard deviation of the knowledge and professional capability scores of the triage nurses who had been educated via flipped classrooms were higher than those of the nurses in the lecturing group. Thus, virtual learning using flipped classrooms is more effective than lecturing in improving triage nurses' knowledge and professional capability in the long run.

Clinician attitude towards safety in medication management: a participatory action research study in an emergency department.

OBJECTIVES: Edication management is a process in which medications are selected, procured, delivered, prescribed, reviewed, administered and monitored to assure high-quality patient care and safety. This paper explores clinicians' attitudes towards medication management which is both open to influence and strongly linked to successful changes in mediation behaviour. We aimed to investigate effects of engaging in participatory action research to improve emergency medicine clinicians' attitudes to safety in medication management. SETTING: Emergency department of one university affiliated hospital. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 85 clinicians including nurses and physicians partook as participants. Eight managers and clinicians participated as representatives. DESIGN: Data are drawn from two-cycle participatory action research. Initially, a situation analysis on the current medication management and clinician views regarding medication management was conducted using three focus groups. Evaluation and reflection data were obtained through qualitative interviews. All qualitative data were analysed using content analysis. RESULTS: Clinicians initially expressed negative attitudes towards existing and new plans for medication management, in that they were critical of current medication-related policy and procedures, as well as wary of the potential relevance and utility of potential changes to medication management. Through the action research, improvement actions were implemented including interprofessional courses, pharmacist-led interventions and the development of new guidelines regarding medication management. Participants and their representatives were engaged in all participatory action research stages with different levels of involvement. Extracted results from evaluation and reflection stages revealed that by engaging in the action research and practice new interventions, clinicians' attitude towards medication management was improved. CONCLUSIONS: The results support the impact of participatory action research on enhancing clinicians' positive attitudes through their involvement in planning and implementing safety enhancing aspects of medication management.

The Role of Attachment Styles and Communication Skills in Predicting Nursing and Medical Students' Perception of Elder Abuse.

BACKGROUND: The knowledge and abilities of nurses and physicians in perceiving and dealing with abuse are necessary for the improvement of older people's health. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the role of attachment styles and communication skills in predicting nursing and medical students' perception of elder abuse in Yazd, Iran. METHODS: The present study was a descriptive cross-sectional design that was conducted in the form of multistage sampling on 397 nursing and medical students at Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences in Yazd, Iran. The Elderly Caregiving Questionnaire (ECQ), Adults' Attachment Styles Inventory (AAI), and the revised version of the Communication Skills Questionnaire were used for data collection. Data were analyzed using the SPSS version 22 software. RESULTS: The findings revealed that the participants had an appropriate understanding of elder abuse. The highest level of perception of elder abuse was in the dimension of psychological abuse (24.5± 5.22) and the lowest level was related to the dimension of physical abuse (21.7± 4.74). Additionally, a positive significant relationship was found between the score of students' perception of abuse, and secure and avoidant attachment styles as well as students' communication skills (p<0.01). According to regression analysis, these predictors explained 8.6% of the observed variance in the students' perception of elder abuse. CONCLUSION: These findings indicate that attachment styles influenced the individual's perception of elder abuse. Therefore, in future planning and research, this should be given more attention.

Efficacy Of Acceptance And Commitment Therapy For Emotional Distress In The Elderly With Type 2 Diabetes: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

INTRODUCTION: Diabetes is among the common diseases in the elderly which results in depression, anxiety, and emotional distress in the elderly and impacts the disease control by the individual. This study was conducted with the aim of exploring the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) in the improvement of emotional distress in the elderly with type 2 diabetes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this randomized control trial, 80 elderly with type 2 diabetes aged ≥60 years were randomly selected among the individuals visiting Yazd Diabetes Research Center. Then, the patients were randomly divided into two 40 individual groups, ie, the intervention group and the control group. The intervention group underwent group ACT during eight 90-min sessions. The diabetes-related emotional distress questionnaire was completed before the intervention, after the end of the group sessions and 2 months after that. The statistical software SPSS version 21 was used for data analysis. RESULTS: The emotional mean scores in the intervention and control groups were not significantly different before the intervention. However, the mean score of the intervention group was lower than of the control group immediately after the intervention (p=0.02) and 2 months after the intervention (p=0.02). CONCLUSION: ACT results in the improvement of diabetes-related emotional distress in the intervention group. Considering the effectiveness of ACT, this therapeutic method is recommended to be used for the amelioration of emotional distress in the elderly with type 2 diabetes.

Iranian nursing students' perspectives of educational equity.

Around the world there is a growing consensus that students' rights must be protected, regardless of race, creed, color, sex, religion, and socioeconomic status. One of these rights is the educational equity. However, little is known about these phenomena in nursing education. The aim of this study was to explore the educational equity from the perspective of nursing students. A qualitative study was conducted. Thus, we purposefully recruited for in-depth interviews 13 nursing students (8 female and 5 male). All interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed by thematic analysis approach to identify categories and themes. Four main themes emerged from the data: Fair Educational Opportunity, fair evaluation, attempts to combat discrimination, and employing qualified teachers.  It is argued that educational equity should be developed in higher education. Principles of equity and students' rights may form the most basic rationale for all formal and informal efforts to extend the right of equal access to education.

The Impact of Peplau's Therapeutic Communication Model on Anxiety and Depression in Patients Candidate for Coronary Artery Bypass.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Anxiety and depression are among the psychological disorders in heart surgeries. Establishing a simple communication is essential to reduce anxiety and depression. Hence, the objective of the present studywas to examine the impact of Peplau therapeutic communication model on anxiety and depression in patients, who were candidate for coronary artery bypass in Al-Zahra Heart Hospital, Shiraz during 2012-2013. METHODS: This is a clinical trial in which 74 patients were randomly divided into intervention and control groups, each consisted of 37 patients. Anxiety and depression levels were assessed before, and two and four months after intervention using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Seven therapeutic communication sessions were held in four stages. Data were analyzed with the SPSS (version 16) using analysis of covariance. RESULTS: The mean anxiety and depression levels decreased in the intervention group after the therapeutic communication (p<0.01). Anxiety scores in the intervention group before and after intervention were 10.23 and 9.38, respectively. While the corresponding scores in the control group were 10.26 and 11.62, respectively. Depression scores in the intervention group before and after intervention were 11 and 9.13, respectively. The corresponding scores in the control group were 11.30 and 12.08, respectively. CONCLUSION: The results demonstrated the positive role of therapeutic communication in reducing anxiety and depression of the patients. Therefore, the therapeutic communication is recommended as a simple, cost effective and efficient method in this area.