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This study tested whether empirical data about health and social care educators' occupational well-being would fit the proposed Content Model for the Promotion of the School Community Staff's Occupational Well-being. Descriptive, cross-sectional survey was conducted with 552 health and social care educators in 2020. Results confirmed that the four-aspect Content Model for the Promotion of School Community Staff's Occupational Well-being is suitable for promoting health and social care educators' occupational well-being, with some modifications. The results strengthen the view of occupational well-being as a wide-ranging phenomenon, the development of which should take into account four aspects of promoting occupational well-being.
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BACKGROUND: There is a global need for more support for the occupational well-being of educators working in nurse education, where nurse educators experience challenges when managing their own occupational well-being. However, there is a lack of research studies into occupational well-being interventions. Aim To evaluate the usability and utility of the Self-Help INtervention for Educators in nurse education. DESIGN: A process evaluation was conducted after the intervention in Spring 2022. SETTINGS: Educational organisations providing national regulated practical nurse education in Finland. PARTICIPANTS: Nurse educators (n = 37), completing the 8-workweek intervention. METHODS: Data were collected with the self-reported electronic feedback questionnaire consisting of three sections: 1) 10-item System Usability Scale, 2) 7-item Utility scale developed for this study and 3) 4 open ended questions. The data were analysed statistically and with content analysis. RESULTS: The intervention was found to be usable; especially the easy learnability and usage of the digital Smart Break-SHINE program and the applicable exercises. It was estimated to be moderately useful as a well-being and break promoter at work. The utility of the intervention to promote physical activity and recovery during working hours was statistically more positive for educators with <5 years of work experience than those with over 15 years. Usability and utility barriers were found especially regarding workload issues. CONCLUSIONS: The Self-Help INtervention for Educators supports the occupational well-being of nurse educators and includes well-being actions suitable for different work surroundings (e.g., remote working) without the need for constant facilitating. The intervention was found to be most beneficial for early career nurse educators. The Self-Help INtervention for Educators needs more development to overcome the usability and utility barriers related to workload issues.
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Docentes de Enfermagem , Humanos , Docentes de Enfermagem/psicologia , Finlândia , Inquéritos e Questionários , Feminino , Masculino , Adulto , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Saúde Ocupacional , Carga de Trabalho/psicologiaRESUMO
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.
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Docentes de Enfermagem , Competência Profissional , Humanos , Estudos Transversais , Pessoal de Saúde , Europa (Continente)RESUMO
AIM: To evaluate factors related to the occupational well-being of social and health care educators' work communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study was conducted among social and health care educators in Finland 2020. METHODS: Data (n = 552) were collected through a questionnaire containing continuous, Likert scale and categorical variables. Descriptive, exploratory factor analysis and multiple regression modelling were used for analysing the data. RESULTS: Educators regarded their work as meaningful and experienced collegiality. Age and work experience were related to experiences on work community subscales and community occupational well-being. Personal occupational well-being and activities promoting occupational well-being on the community level were most related to experiences of the work community and its well-being. The activities that promote occupational well-being on the work community level should be emphasized.
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COVID-19 , Humanos , Estudos Transversais , Pandemias , Análise Fatorial , Atenção à SaúdeRESUMO
OBJECTIVES: The study aimed at describing the field of research in continuing professional development for nurse educators and the continuous education and development needs of nurse educators by asking: What research has been done in the field of continuing professional development of nurse educators? What are the continuing education and development needs and requirements reported for and by nurse educators? DESIGN: An integrative review of peer-reviewed academic literature following a systematic search design. DATA SOURCES: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods publications in CINAHL, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Embase, ERIC, and PubMed. REVIEW METHODS: Search results were screened for full text and assessed for quality using the Mixed Methods Assessment Tool. Full texts were then thematic analysed using an inductive and reflective process. RESULTS: The number of published academic articles about the continuing professional development for nurse educators is small (n = 13). The themes produced from the articles identify heterogenous development needs for nurse educators, clustered around four themes: (1) professional competencies (2) management and resources, (3) communication and collaboration, and (4) agency. The findings of this review show that nurse educators have multiple roles which have specific and multiple personal and institutional needs. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this review show that the continuing professional development needs are heterogenous between nurse educators, yet share commonalities across departmental teams as a whole, and across different countries. This raises the issue of how these needs can or should be, focused on the sustainable development of nurse educators.
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Docentes de Enfermagem , Competência Profissional , Humanos , Educação ContinuadaRESUMO
The digital competence of health sciences educators is important for the delivery and development of modern education and lifelong learning. The aim of the study was to assess the appearance of digital competence in the work of Finnish health sciences educators and to determine whether educators' background factors are related to the areas of digital competence appearance. The European Framework for the Digital Competence of Educators was used as a theoretical background. The participants were Finnish health sciences educators (n = 388). Data were collected by quantitative survey and statistically analyzed. Results show that health sciences educators had participated in continuing education to develop their expertise and used a variety of digital methods and materials. Educators need more competence to improve healthcare students' ability to use digital technology. In the area of Teaching and Learning, educators younger than 40 years rated the appearance of digital competence as better than did those between the ages of 40 and 49 years. In the future, health sciences educators' basic and continuing education could take into account the competence requirements for digital competence, and educators' expertise must be increased in areas where digital competence does not appear strong.
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Aprendizagem , Adulto , Estudos Transversais , Finlândia , Humanos , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Inquéritos e QuestionáriosRESUMO
There is a scarcity of evidence on the association between shift work, sleeping parameters, heart rate variability (HRV), and chronotype, i.e., morningness and eveningness. The aims of this study were to 1) compare participants with different chronotypes (morning (M), evening (E), or neither (N)) in terms of their total sleep time, sleep efficiency, and HRV parameters, taking their age into account, and 2) examine whether self-reported work-related stress, the length of the working career and years performing shift work affect this association. The participants of the study were home care workers working in two shifts in one municipality in Eastern Finland (N = 395). Of these, 52 females (mean age 42.78 y, SD 12.92 y) completed the study questionnaire and participated in physiological measurements. Several sleep-related parameters were assessed (total sleep time, sleep efficiency, number of awakenings, and length of awakening) and indices of autonomic nervous system based on HRV were calculated. The participants worked in two shifts: a morning shift (7:00-15:00 h) and an evening shift (14:00-21:30 h). All these parameters were assessed during the night before the first work shift (N1), the night before the second work shift (N2), the night before the final work shift (N3), and the night before the first day off work (N4). According to the results, 21.2% of the participants were M-types, 17.3% were E-types, and 61.5% were N-types. On average, the participants had been in working life for 18.8 years and performing shift work for 13.7 years. On night N3, E-types had a significantly shorter total sleep time and spent less time in bed compared to M- and N-types. The total sleep time of M-type and N-type participants was on average 66 minutes and 82 minutes longer, respectively, when compared to E-types on night N3. There were no statistically significant differences in actigraphy-based sleep quality parameters between M-, N-, and E-types on nights N1, N2, and N4. Our results together indicate that M- and N-type individuals may have better sleep quality than E-types, which was also reflected in HRV parameters. Further research with longitudinal study design and workplace interventions is needed to determine how the chronotype can be optimally and individually utilized to improve the health and well-being of morning-type and evening-type people. This is particularly important for both younger and older workers entering the workforce to support healthier and longer working lives.
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Serviços de Assistência Domiciliar , Jornada de Trabalho em Turnos , Adulto , Ritmo Circadiano/fisiologia , Feminino , Humanos , Estudos Longitudinais , Sono/fisiologia , Qualidade do Sono , Inquéritos e Questionários , Tolerância ao Trabalho Programado/fisiologiaRESUMO
AIM: To examine how work community factors are related to occupational well-being and work ability, and how occupational well-being is related to work ability. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study was conducted among home care workers in one municipality in Finland. METHODS: A self-administered survey on work and well-being was filled out by 167 employees working two shifts in 2019. Structural equation modelling was used to analyse the association between work community factors, occupational well-being and work ability. RESULTS: The only work community factor directly affecting Occupational well-being was Information and work organization; the effect of the other two factors, Social support and Influence on work shifts, was indirect. All work community factors indirectly affected Work ability. Home care should emphasize information provision and work organization with optimal time use. This requires social support, a well-functioning work atmosphere and providing employees with opportunities for influence and participation.
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Serviços de Assistência Domiciliar , Visitadores Domiciliares , Estudos Transversais , Humanos , Análise de Classes Latentes , Avaliação da Capacidade de TrabalhoRESUMO
Implementing digital technologies has become a policy priority worldwide among all types of education. The COVID-19 pandemic has further accelerated educational institutions' efforts to reorganize their teaching and introduce new digital learning technologies. Although using digital technologies in higher education, including nursing, is considered a modern and innovative way of teaching and learning, uncertainty exists concerning these technologies' actual usefulness in achieving positive learning outcomes. The aim of this scoping review was to examine the current evidence related to the effects of using digital technologies on learning outcomes in higher education. The authors searched five electronic databases for relevant studies and used a scoping review method to analyze and synthesize the evidence. Eighty-six articles from six disciplines met the selection criteria. As a key finding, the outcomes of the interventions were mainly positive. Increased professional knowledge, skills, and attitudes reflect the advancement of professional competence. Academic, collaborative, and study skills, in turn, contribute to general competence development. Our findings suggest that digital technology has the potential to improve learning in various disciplines.
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COVID-19 , Pandemias , Humanos , Aprendizagem , SARS-CoV-2RESUMO
There is a scarcity of evidence on the association between heart rate variability (HRV) and chronotype, i.e., morningness and eveningness. The aim of this systematic review was to examine the association between chronotype, HRV, mood and stress response. We searched PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Cinahl, PsycINFO and Google Scholar for peer-reviewed articles published in English between January 2000 and June 2020. A total of 11 articles met the inclusion criteria and were on study population, assessment of HRV and chronotype, main results and study limitations. Seven of the included studies were experimental and four were crossovers. The sample size varied from 9 to 221 participants, and both females and males were included. HRV was assessed using mostly time-domain and frequency-domain parameters; nonlinear parameters were used in only one study. The most used assessments for measuring chronotype were the Horne-Östberg Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ) and the Munich Chronotype Questionnaire (MCTQ). The results showed that chronotype was associated with HRV, but the study designs were situation-specific, focusing, for example, on the effects of shiftwork, stressful situations, exercise, or sleep deprivation on HRV. In addition, some studies showed that evening types (E-type) performed better during evening or nighttime tasks, whereas morning types (M-type) performed better during morning activities. Specifically, E-types showed decreased HRV and HRV recovery in relation to tasks performed during morning or daytime when compared to M-types. As the findings are somewhat contradictory and include some methodological limitations (e.g., small sample sizes, age groups), it is important for future studies to evaluate the association between chronotype and HRV in a longitudinal setting. In addition, further research is needed to determine how chronotype can be optimally and individually utilized to increase the health and well-being of M-type and E-type individuals.