Nipah virus and implications for the nursing workforce and public health: A rapid review.

BACKGROUND: The Nipah virus has raised significant concerns in global health security. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the nursing workforce continues to face numerous challenges, including inadequate preparedness for pandemics, a shortage of nursing personnel, physical, and mental exhaustion. OBJECTIVE: This rapid review aimed to synthesize existing literature on the Nipah virus and its implications for the nursing workforce. DESIGN: A rapid review was conducted to synthesize the available literature on the Nipah virus, facilitating the provision of timely and pertinent information to policymakers and decision influencers. A systematic search strategy was implemented between January 22 and February 9, 2024, from PubMed, CINAHL (EBSCO), Scopus, and Google Scholar without year limitation. Out of 149 studies, six studies were evaluated using the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Checklists, and one study was excluded based on this evaluation, resulting in five studies being included. Then these were reviewed using narrative synthesis. The study adhered to the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. RESULTS: The selected research indicated that the virus was transmitted throughout the community and during hospital admissions, resulting in unexpected mortality. The healthcare staff, especially nurses, had a limited understanding of the infection. Although there is a lack of confidence in policy and decision-makers, many public health initiatives have been implemented such as providing education on infection prevention and control methods to healthcare personnel, including nurses and support staff. CONCLUSION: There is a need to integrate continuing professional development programs in both primary health care and specialized medical care to strengthen the preparedness of healthcare personnel for future pandemics. Support systems not only for healthcare staff members, especially nurses, but also for allied personnel working with them to create conducive working environments.

Unmet care needs in psychiatric healthcare context: A systematized literature review.

WHAT IS KNOWN ON THE SUBJECT: Missed, rationed or unfinished nursing care represents a global problem that jeopardizes the provision of quality and safe care. This phenomenon is frequently observed in adult, paediatric and child healthcare facilities and various care units. WHAT THE PAPER ADDS TO EXISTING KNOWLEDGE: The findings of this review contribute valuable information to inform evidence-based practices, foster organizational improvements and ultimately optimize the overall quality of care in psychiatric healthcare settings. In addition, the review illuminates the far-reaching consequences of care on both patient and nurse outcomes, emphasizing the urgent need for tailored strategies to mitigate these effects. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Based on the synthesis of the literature, a thorough and continuous assessment of patient care needs in the physical, psychological and social domains is needed, primarily utilizing standardized instruments designed for psychiatric settings to ensure a comprehensive understanding of unmet needs. Based on identified unmet needs, nurses should develop individualized care plans and tailor interventions to address them. In addition, nurse managers must adopt and implement regular monitoring mechanisms to track the prevalence of unmet care needs and at the same time establish reporting systems that capture the proportion of unmet needs, allowing timely interventions and adjustments to care delivery. Lastly, nurse managers must not only emphasize the importance of ethical care practices and dignity-focused interventions but also educate healthcare providers, especially nurses, on the potential threats to patient dignity arising from unmet care needs. ABSTRACT: INTRODUCTION: Despite frequent observations of unmet care needs in acute care adult settings, there are a limited number of studies that focus on investigating this phenomenon in the psychiatric setting. AIM: To synthesize the existing empirical research on unmet care needs in psychiatric healthcare settings. METHODS: The search was carried out in August 2023 in four scientific databases, PubMed, ProQuest, Web of Science and OVID Nursing, based on their institutional availability. The search produced 1129 studies. The search and retrieval process reflected the recommendations of the Preferred Reporting Items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses. RESULTS: This review included 14 studies investigating unmet care needs in the psychiatric healthcare setting. Unmet care needs included three domains: physical, psychological and social. The analysis of the factors revealed factors related to the characteristics of the organization, nurse and patient. DISCUSSION: The classification of unmet needs provides a comprehensive understanding of the various challenges facing people in psychiatric healthcare settings. IMPLICATION FOR PRACTICE: Identified factors that influence the occurrence of unmet care needs will help prevent the occurrence of unmet care needs and timely assessment. The resolution of needs helps to achieve patient and nurse outcomes, increase the quality of care provided and patient satisfaction in a psychiatric healthcare setting.

The association of teamwork and missed nursing care in acute care setting: A mixed-methods systematic review.

AIM(S): Teamwork among healthcare professionals is a key aspect of patient safety that influences the prevalence of missed nursing care. The association between teamwork and missed care in acute care hospitals is now well established in the literature. Therefore, this review aimed to synthesise the existing empirical evidence on the association between teamwork and missed care in the acute care setting. DESIGN: A mixed-method systematic review study. METHODS: The search was carried out in February 2023 in four scientific databases, PubMed, ProQuest, Web of Science and Scopus based on their institutional availability. The search produced 1542 studies. The method of thematic analysis was used in data synthesis. RESULTS: A total of 18 studies were selected that revealed the relationship between teamwork and missed care. The teamwork score was weak to moderate but significantly associated with the overall score of missed care and was found to be a statistically significant predictor of missed care in an acute care setting. Additionally, teamwork represented an important reason for missed care, primarily in the context of poor communication, lack of trust and cooperation in the nursing team and lack of leadership. CONCLUSION: The review findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the intricate dynamics between teamwork and missed care and provide valuable information to healthcare professionals and institutions looking to optimise teamwork and mitigate instances of missed care in the acute care setting. IMPLICATIONS FOR THE PROFESSION AND/OR PATIENT CARE: Recognising how teamwork influences the occurrence of missed care, healthcare organisations can strategically implement targeted interventions to enhance collaboration, address communication gaps, foster trust, and provide effective leadership. IMPACT: This review suggests that improving teamwork seems to be one of the most important strategies focused on mitigating missed care in acute care settings. REPORTING METHOD: The reporting of this review followed the PRISMA 2020 checklist. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: No patient or public contribution.

Professional competence, personal occupational well-being, and mental workload of nurse educators - A cross-sectional study in four European countries.

BACKGROUND: Nurse educators need a high level of professional competence to educate future health care professionals. Professional competence supports occupational well-being whilst high mental workload can undermine it. There is little existing research into nurse educators' professional competence, occupational well-being, mental workload, and the relationships between them, particularly in the European context. OBJECTIVES: To describe the professional competence, personal occupational well-being, and mental workload of nurse educators in four European countries, and to explore how the professional competence and mental workload of nurse educators relate to their personal occupational well-being. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study design with quantitative survey data. SETTING: Nurse educators from Finland, Spain, Slovakia, and Malta. METHODS: The data were collected from 302 nurse educators through an online questionnaire which used the Health and Social Care Educator's Competence (HeSoEduCo) instrument. This contains 43 items which measure areas of professional competence. Statistical analysis involved descriptive and multivariate analysis. RESULTS: Nurse educators self-assessed their overall professional competence as high. Competence in evidence-based practice was assessed as the highest whilst cultural competence was perceived to be the lowest of the six competence areas. Nurse educators perceived their levels of personal occupational well-being and the balance of mental workload as moderate. However, these levels varied between the four countries. Professional competence, more specifically administrative and curriculum competence, and a balanced mental workload were positively related to personal occupational well-being. CONCLUSIONS: The educators who perceive themselves to have very good professional competence and a balanced mental workload are more likely to report high occupational well-being. The findings suggest that nurse educators' cultural competence needs to be strengthened and intervention research is needed to determine ways of reducing mental workload and increasing the occupational well-being of nurse educators.

The Need for Nurse Interventions in Sex Education in Adolescents.

Background: Developmentally appropriate evidence-based sexual health education should be included as part of a comprehensive school health education program and be accessible to all students. The registered school nurse is a valuable resource to parents and educators in this area and supports the implementation of evidence-based sexual health education programs that promote healthy sexual development for adolescents. Methods: The research group consisted of 438 adolescents aged 12 to 15 years in a selected region in Slovakia, 186 boys and 252 girls. Average age of the girls was 13.2 and the boys 13.3 years. A nurse-a specialist in community nursing-collected the data using a self-designed questionnaire. The questions evaluated by the five-point Likert scale focused on finding out the knowledge and attitudes of adolescents to the role of school nurses regarding sexuality and reproductive health. Results were analyzed using parametric comparison tests with significance value 0.05: Student t-test for independent samples. Results: The girls and the boys most often drew information on sexuality and reproductive health from their parents and friends. The evaluation of the adolescents' views on who should be a competent professional in the field of sexual education at schools found statistically significant differences between the boys and girls. For the boys and girls, a sexologist received the most significant assessment of competence. The interest in a school nurse in a school environment would be statistically significantly more appreciated by the girls compared to the boys, not just for solving problems related to healthy lifestyle, but also regarding sexuality, parenting and marriage. The adolescents consider the education for marriage and parenthood as the least discussed issue at present. In evaluating topics the adolescents would discuss, there were statistically significant differences between the boys and girls. Conclusions: A community or school nurse would also be able to successfully perform sexual education at schools. In Slovakia, this applied nursing discipline is lacking.

Exploring the meaning of night shift placement in nursing education: A European multicentre qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: An appropriate clinical learning environment has been identified as pivotal in nursing undergraduate education and should be planned responsibly. Specifically, night shifts placements have been documented as an important opportunity for developing a full understanding of the nursing profession and the whole process of nursing care. However, night shifts during placement have been reported to be stressful and anxiety-provoking, so their usefulness for nursing students is still debated. OBJECTIVES: To elicit nursing students' perceptions of night shift placement through metaphors, with the aim of discussing the pedagogical and ethical implications. DESIGN: A descriptive qualitative study was performed based on metaphors collected in an international cross-sectional study in 2016. SETTINGS: A network comprising five Bachelor of Nursing Science degrees located in the Czech Republic, Italy, Poland, Portugal, and Slovakia was established. METHODS: A total of 907 out of 1347 eligible nursing students from the five European countries described their learning experience on night shifts using a metaphor. RESULTS: Overall, 288/907 (31.7%) metaphors emerged as being negative-oriented and 137/907 (15.1%) as positive, while the remaining students (482; 53.2%) did not report any metaphors. In all five countries, negative metaphors prevailed: 'Wasting time' (37/288), 'Useless' (32/288) and 'Handyman' (22/288) were the most negative reported metaphors on working a night shift. However, doing a night shift is also perceived as a 'Learning opportunity' (22/137), a 'New experience' (20/137) and an 'Opportunity to socialize with the profession' (14/137) as underlined by the positive metaphors. CONCLUSIONS: Students perceive night shift placements mainly as a negative experience, which has little to do with education. While planning night shift placements, nursing educators should responsibly consider the whole process of education, analysing not only the learning outcomes that should be achieved but also the position of students and their experience as a person. Clinical mentoring can be a key resource in supporting students in transforming their night shift placements' experiences into a more meaningful or worthwhile experience. Moreover, night shifts should be offered to more experienced students, independent in their self-learning processes and capable of managing the limited possibility of interacting with other team members and patients.

Night shifts as a learning experience among nursing students across Europe: Findings from a cross-sectional survey.

BACKGROUND: Organising clinical placements during nights has been reported as an additional opportunity to introduce students to the whole picture of their future responsibilities. However, studies in this field are still lacking. OBJECTIVES: To describe and compare (a) the night shift experience of nursing students across Europe, (b) the patient-related problems that they face during night shifts, (c) the night care activities nursing students are called to perform, and (d) the perceived effects of night shift work on learning outcomes. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study, 2016. SETTINGS: Five European countries: Czech Republic, Italy, Poland, Portugal, and Slovakia. PARTICIPANTS: Nursing students from nine Bachelor of Nursing Science degree programmes attending night shifts during their study period and who were willing to participate were included. A total of 907 out of 1347 (67.3%) eligible students participated. METHODS: Questionnaire based on the available literature, translated into five languages. RESULTS: The duration of the night shift was from an average of 9.8 (CI 95% 9.6-10.0) in Italy to 11.9 (CI 95% 11.7-12.0) in the Czech Republic. Students faced mainly patients' pain without statistical differences across countries (at the overall level, 717 out of 907; 79%; p = .318). However, significant differences in the tasks performed during nights emerged: Polish students reported being more involved in performing basic nursing care (72; 93.5%) as compared to other countries (e.g., Portuguese students 337; 84.9%), (p = .02). Overall, an average of 28.9% of the night shift time was reported to be free of commitments, with higher values among Polish (38%, CI 95% 33.6-42.3) and Slovakian students (33.4%, CI 95% 30.6-36.3) and lower values among Czech Republic students (20.4%, CI 95% 17.6-23.2) (p .001). Boredom and satisfaction were reported as the main feelings during night shifts, with significant differences (p .001) across countries. Students reported significant different effects (p .001) of night shifts on their understanding of a nurse's role (from 5.2 out of 10 in Poland to 6.5 in the Czech Republic), on the understanding of the continuity of nursing care (from 5.2 in Poland to 6.7 in Italy), and on having a relationship with the clinical mentors (from 2.7 and 4.2 in Poland and the Czech Republic, respectively, to 6.9 in Italy). CONCLUSIONS: Night shifts can be both a valuable and a non-valuable learning experience, suggesting the need to carefully plan and assess their effectiveness at the unit level.

Internal consistency and factorial validity of the Slovak Version of the Young Schema Questionnaire - Short Form 3 (YSQ-S3).

OBJECTIVE: Young schema questionnaire - short form (YSQ-S3) represents a useful method for the identification of early maladaptive schemas in clinical and non-clinical samples. The study aimed to examine the internal consistency and factorial structure of the recently adapted Slovak version of YSQ-S3 in a non-clinical sample. METHODS: The sample consisted of 302 healthy participants from the general population in Slovakia. Slovak version of YSQ-S3 was used. Reliability analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were performed. RESULTS: The results suggest an acceptable internal consistency of early maladaptive schemas (EMSs). The Cronbach's alpha coefficients of YSQ-S3 subscales ranged from 0.54 to 0.85. Confirmatory factor analysis supports the factor structures of 18 unifactorial EMSs. The results partially support Young's theoretical schema clusters and fail to support the second-order factor model. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, the Slovak version of the YSQ-S3 is a psychometrically sound questionnaire that can be utilized for assessing EMS, both for research and clinical purposes.

Faces Anxiety Scale as a screening measure of preoperative anxiety: Validation and diagnostic accuracy study.

AIM: The aim of the study was to examine validity and diagnostic accuracy of the single-item Faces Anxiety Scale for the purposes of preoperative anxiety screening. BACKGROUND: Anxiety is common in most patients expecting surgery interfering with patients' recovery. Valid and reliable measures for situations with limited time for assessment are needed. DESIGN: A descriptive cross-sectional design was used to collect the data from both self-report and rating instruments. METHODS: We enrolled 90 consecutive patients admitted for surgery in a university-affiliated hospital from January 2013 to June 2013. Patients were administered the anxiety state subscale of the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and the anxiety subscale of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and they were presented the Faces Anxiety Scale. At the same time, patients' anxiety was rated by a nurse. RESULTS: The correlations among scores of self-report instruments, rating scale, and the Faces Anxiety Scale were high and statistically significant. Of the Faces Anxiety Scale cut-off scores tested, the cut-off score > 2 has an optimal combination of sensitivity and specificity. CONCLUSION: The Faces Anxiety Scale is valid and easy to administer. The scale is useful in settings where fast and precise screening is necessary.

Personality as significant predictor of post-stroke anxiety.

OBJECTIVES: Anxiety in stroke patients is very frequent. It negatively influences the whole recovery process. The study objective is to study personality traits, age, gender, and type of stroke as predictors of anxiety in stroke patients. METHODS: Research presents a prospective cross-sectional descriptive study. The sample consisted of 74 hospitalized stroke patients. The data collection methods were the HADS for anxiety measurement and the Mini IPIP for evaluation of five personality factors. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was used to study the relationship between anxiety and personality variables, gender, age, and type of stroke. RESULTS: We found three statistically significant predictors of anxiety in stroke patients. Neuroticism and low Agreeableness explain 50% of the variability of anxiety. Another statistically significant predictor was age; higher-level anxiety relates to lower age. Other personality traits (Extraversion, Openness to experience, and Conscientiousness), gender, and type of stroke do not appear as significant predictors of post-stroke anxiety. CONCLUSION: Anxiety in stroke patients is predicted mostly by the personality traits and young age of patients. Knowing these predictors can result in early detection and management of emotional consequences of disease, and thus influence the whole recovery process.