Public image of the profession is associated with the choice of nursing career among Arab high school students: A cross-sectional study.

AIMS: The aim of this study is to examine (a) public image of nursing and the intention to choose nursing as a future career and (b) the relationship between the public image, gender roles and the choice of the nursing career among Arab high school students. BACKGROUND: School graduates from the Arab sector represent an important social group with the potential to provide quality candidates for the nursing profession in Israel. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, 138 high school students from two Arab schools in Israel completed a structured questionnaire. RESULTS: One third of the sample intended to choose nursing as a future career. Students from families with a higher level of paternal education and those exposed to the work of nurses perceived nursing as more positive. The profession's public image contributed to the explanation of 21% of the variance of the intention to choose a nursing career. CONCLUSION: A positive public image of nursing contributes to decisions about choosing a nursing career in the future among Arab high school students. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: School graduates may be influenced by providing information and presenting the role of a nurse as significant, as well as by emphasizing the positive image of nursing to parents and influential people in the Arab community.

Inventory of complicated grief: Factor structure among middle-aged and older bereaved parents.

This study examines the psychometric properties and factorial structure of the Hebrew version of Prigerson's Inventory of Complicated Grief (ICG), on 116 middle-aged and older Israeli bereaved parents. Analysis revealed a three-factor structure: emotional distress, yearning for the dead and social-emotional detachment. A high percentage of explained variance and sound internal consistency were found for the entire scale and for all factors, as well as adequate convergent and construct validity. These findings suggest that the Hebrew version of the ICG questionnaire is reliable, valid and appropriate for evaluation of grief in later life.

Vulnerability and Resilience in Sensitive Research: The Case of the Quantitative Researcher.

The emotional experiences of quantitative researchers, particularly while conducting sensitive research, are largely neglected. This article aims to advance the awareness of possible emotional strains for quantitative researchers engaged in sensitive research. It qualitatively assesses the ethical and emotional experiences of quantitative researchers conducting a study on aging of bereaved parents and people with a physical disability. Based on the detailed minutes of 66 weekly research meetings held during 2015-2017, a thematic analysis of the researchers' experiences was performed. Our analysis identified two main themes: vulnerability and resilience. We delineate these themes, along with their subthemes and affinity to vicarious traumatization, moral stress, and vicarious posttraumatic growth. The current study is among the first to introduce the emotional and ethical experiences of the quantitative researcher. Tentative recommendations for the advancement of the researcher's safety and well-being by training, institutional support, self-care skills, and policy development are provided.

The Association Between Quality and Safety Climate of a Hospital Ward, Family Members' Empowerment, and Satisfaction With Provided Care.

PURPOSE: This study was designed to examine the perceptions of ward quality and safety held by family members and nurses, and investigate its impact on family members' empowerment, and satisfaction with patient hospitalization. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study on two study groups was conducted at a large public hospital in Israel. The first group comprised 86 family members of patients hospitalized for more than 72 hours in acute critical condition in intensive care units (ICU) or general wards (GW). The second group included 101 registered nurses who treated the patients in the ICU or GW. METHODS: Data were collected by a validated self-administered structured questionnaire. All participants voluntarily signed an informed consent and answered questions related to their demographic characteristics, perceptions, and attitudes toward quality and safety climate, empowerment, and satisfaction with the patients' hospitalization. Pearson correlations coefficient, t-test for independent samples, and a multiple regression model were performed to analyze the data. FINDINGS: The mean age of family members was 51.4 ± 14.1 years and of nurses was 40.9 ± 9.9 years. A significant positive association was found between ward quality and safety climate and empowerment of the family member (r = .716; p < .001); empowerment of the family member and family members' satisfaction with the patients' hospitalization (r = .695; p < .001); and ward safety and quality climate and family members' satisfaction with the patients' hospitalization (r = .763; p <.001). Family members ranked ward quality and safety climate (M = 4.20 ± 0.60 vs. M = 3.61 ± 0.40), and their satisfaction with the patients' hospitalization (M = 4.49 ± 0.69 vs. M = 4.07± 0.54), which were significantly (p < .001) higher than the nurses' estimate. The significant predictors for family members' satisfaction with patients' hospitalization were commitment to quality leadership (b = .210; p = .027); implementing a quality improvement (b = .547; p < .001); and hand-off communication (b = .299; p = .001). CONCLUSIONS: Positive relationships between quality and safety climate, empowerment, and satisfaction with patients' hospitalization suggest that by improving the ward quality and safety climate, and family empowerment, we may also improve family satisfaction. Although family members reported being satisfied with hospitalization in the ICU and GW, quality leadership and implementing a quality improvement among the nurses and hand-off communication between nurses and patients' families, will be targeted to improve family satisfaction with the patients' hospitalization. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Nurses who provide care for patients in a critical condition should maintain high levels of safety and quality care in order to improve the patients' family empowerment and satisfaction. Specifically, their efforts should target a commitment to quality leadership, implementing quality improvement, and hand-off communication.

Mental Health Nurse's Exposure to Workplace Violence Leads to Job Stress, Which Leads to Reduced Professional Quality of Life.

Professional quality of life (ProQOL) reflects how individuals feel about their work as helpers. Psychiatric ward nurses cope with significant psychological and physical challenges, including exposure to verbal and physical violence. This study was based on two aspects of ProQOL, the positive compassion satisfaction, and the negative compassion fatigue, with the aim of investigating the relation of ProQOL to job stress and violence exposure at a large mental health center. Data were collected from 114 mental health nurses (49/63 M/F) who completed a self-administered questionnaire examining violence exposure, ProQOL, and job stress. The results showed that during the last year, almost all nurses (88.6%) experienced verbal violence, and more than half (56.1%) experienced physical violence. Only 2.6% experienced no violence. ProQOL was not associated with violence exposure but was reduced by work stress and by previous exposure to violence; nurses who perceived their work as more stressful had lower satisfaction from their work. In conclusion, although most mental health nurses are exposed to physical and verbal violence, their ProQOL is more related to job stress than to workplace violence (WPV). Hospital managements should conduct work stress reduction intervention programs and promote strategizes to reduce WPV. Further exploration of (a) factors affecting ProQOL and (b) the effect of violence coping workshops on ProQOL is warranted.

Anxiety and support resources for Israeli women before gynecological surgery.

Gynecologic surgery is a frequent procedure for benign and malignant diseases and may evoke anxiety and a need for support. The purpose of the present study was to examine whether women with suspicion of gynecologic malignancy and those with no suspicion of gynecologic malignancy had different sources of social support and the relationship between this support and their anxiety. A descriptive cross-sectional method was used at a large medical center. Data were collected between June and December 2010 from 100 hospitalized women 20-28 hours prior to gynecologic surgery: 50 with suspicion of gynecologic malignancy and 50 with no suspicion of gynecologic malignancy. Social Support and Anxiety Questionnaires were distributed to the participants. The results showed that sources of support differed between the groups: women with suspicion of gynecologic malignancy reported receiving more support from their family and from the nursing staff while women with no suspicion of gynecologic malignancy reported receiving more support from friends or the Internet. Both groups reported similar levels of anxiety. Because women seek support prior to gynecologic surgery, healthcare professionals should play a more active role by offering their support in addition to guiding patients to websites that aim to provide information and support.

Exposure of mental health nurses to violence associated with job stress, life satisfaction, staff resilience, and post-traumatic growth.

Workplace violence towards health workers in hospitals and in mental health units in particular is increasing. The aim of the present study was to explore the effects of exposure to violence, job stress, staff resilience, and post-traumatic growth (PTG) on the life satisfaction of mental health nurses. A descriptive, cross-sectional design was used. The sample consisted of mental health nurses (n = 118) working in a large mental health centre in Israel. Verbal violence by patients was reported by 88.1% of the nurses, and 58.4% experienced physical violence in the past year. Physical and verbal violence towards nurses was correlated with job stress, and life satisfaction was correlated with PTG and staff resilience. Linear regression analyses indicated that life satisfaction was mainly affected by PTG, staff resilience, and job stress, and less by exposure to verbal and physical violence. The present study is the first to show that, although mental health nurses are frequently exposed to violence, their life satisfaction is affected more by staff resilience, PTG, and job stress than by workplace violence. Therefore, it is recommended that intervention programmes that contribute to PTG and staff resilience, as well as those that reduce job stress among mental health nurses, be explored and implemented.

Posttraumatic growth, posttraumatic stress symptoms and mental health among coronary heart disease survivors.

The present study aimed to estimate posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and posttraumatic growth (PTG) among heart disease survivors and examine whether PTG moderates the association between PTSS and mental health. Data from 82 myocardial infarction and acute coronary artery bypass graft survivors (aged 46-82) was obtained at admission to a cardiac rehabilitation unit. Mental status was assessed by the PTSD Inventory, Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI), Mental Health Inventory and Health Related Quality of Life (HRQOL). 17.1 % of the participants suffered significantly from PTSS and most of the study sample (71.2 %) reported PTG. PTSS were positively associated with PTG and psychological distress and negatively with well-being and HRQOL. PTG moderated the association between PTSS and most mental health outcomes. We conclude that posttraumatic growth may attenuate the negative effect of posttraumatic stress symptoms on mental health.

Factors affecting the actions and emotional reactions of nursing teachers following encounters with students who present them with Internet information.

OBJECTIVE: The Internet is a preferred source of information for nursing students. The purpose of the research was to identify teachers' reactions towards students who present them with information retrieved from the Internet. METHOD: A total of 137 nursing teachers from 15 nursing schools in Israel were surveyed by a questionnaire. The dependent variable was nursing teachers' actions following encounters with students who present them with information from the Internet. Independent variables were: teacher's emotional reactions, teachers' Internet efficacy, Internet anxiety, and perceived student Internet efficacy. RESULTS: The intensity of positive emotional reactions was the only predictor of teachers' actions towards Internet information retrieved by students. When teachers perceived students as having higher Internet efficacy, their emotional reactions were more positive and they took more actions. Teachers' Internet anxiety was negatively correlated with their positive emotional reactions and actions. No correlation was found between nursing teachers' Internet self efficacy and their reactions or actions following an encounter with students presenting Internet information. Positive emotional reactions mediated correlations between teachers' Internet anxiety, perceived student Internet efficacy, and teachers' actions. CONCLUSIONS: Nursing teachers' positive emotions foster openness and acceptance of Internet information retrieved by students.

The effect of sertraline add-on to brief dynamic psychotherapy for the treatment of postpartum depression: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

OBJECTIVE: The efficacy of antidepressants in the treatment of mild-to-moderate postpartum depression and the possible advantage of the combination of an antidepressant and psychotherapy have not been adequately studied. We hypothesized that psychotherapy and concurrent antidepressant treatment would be more effective than psychotherapy alone in the treatment of postpartum depression. METHOD: Women diagnosed with mild-to-moderate severity postpartum depression according to DSM-IV-TR criteria were enrolled in an 8-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Participants received 12 sessions of focused brief dynamic psychotherapy (BDP) concurrently with 8-week sertraline or placebo treatment, followed by a 4-week open phase. Primary outcomes were depression scores measured by the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) and remission rates. The study was conducted in a referral center from May 2008 to September 2010. RESULTS: Forty of 42 women randomized into the study entered the intent-to-treat analysis. A significant time effect for the MADRS was observed (F4,35 = 21.3, P < .0001); however, no time-by-group effect was found for any outcome measure. Response rates were 70% and 55% for the drug and placebo groups, respectively, and remission rates were 65% and 50%, respectively, with no significant difference between groups. CONCLUSION: While both treatment groups improved significantly, the results of the present study did not demonstrate a significant benefit for sertraline over placebo as an add-on treatment to focused BDP in mild-to-moderate postpartum depression. Because of the study's small sample, the results cannot be viewed as definitive, and a much larger study is needed to confirm these results. Furthermore, the promising potential of focused BDP as an intervention in this population should be studied under controlled conditions. TRIAL REGISTRATION: clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT01028482.