The nurses' touch: An irreplaceable component of caring.

BACKGROUND: Touch is an integral part of human interaction. Health care makes significant use of touch, and for most healthcare professionals, it is indispensable to their practice. An essential and inevitable facet of the nursing profession is the touching of patients during the provision of care. Unfortunately, touch is seldom considered in the nursing framework today. AIMS: To emphasize the importance of touch in contemporary nursing practice in a highly technological environment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A search was conducted on February-May 2022. The initial search identified 84 articles and the final analysis included 38 articles that met the inclusion criteria (touch; touch in health care; touch and nursing; touch and technology; nursing and technology; nursing and caring; touch and caring). RESULTS: The nurses' touch will always be an irreplaceable component of caring in nursing. DISCUSSION: There can be no substitute to the expressive touch of a nurse. As the technological revolution in nursing is inevitable, it is imperative that nurses consider how much these technologies impact the nurse-patient relationships. CONCLUSION: The study emphasized the importance of touch in contemporary nursing practice. The study found that the nurses' touch will always be an irreplaceable component of caring in nursing. The finding will have an impact on nurses and patients situated in highly technological healthcare environments.

Congruence of Effective Leadership Values between Nurse Leaders and Staff Nurses in a Multicultural Medical City in Saudi Arabia: A Sequential Mixed-Methods Study.

This study explores the perceived congruence of effective values of nursing leadership between the nurse leaders and the staff nurses in a multicultural tertiary hospital. METHODS: This is a descriptive sequential mixed-methods study conducted in a multicultural medical city in Saudi Arabia. Purposive sampling was used in the qualitative phase, while stratified sampling was used for the quantitative part. There were 70 participants in the qualitative phase, including 33 nurse leaders and 37 staff nurses. The quantitative phase had 571 participants, including 105 nurse leaders and 466 staff nurses. RESULTS: Congruent values were categorised into six emerging themes: (1) cascading deference; (2) paragon of probity; (3) professional competence; (4) compassionate presence; (5) team diversity and inclusion; (6) calibrated communication. The quantitative survey confirmed that the values identified from the interviews were considered to be vital by both nurse leaders and staff nurses, and there were no statistically significant differences between staff nurses' and nurse leaders' perceptions, regardless of their nationality, as demonstrated by one-way ANOVA, with p-values less than 0.05 deemed to be statistically significant. CONCLUSION: Both nurse leaders and staff nurses in the multicultural institution have congruent leadership values that are perceived as essential to achieve institutional goals and, ultimately, safe and high-quality patient care.

Palatine Tonsil Measurements and Echogenicity during Tonsillitis Using Ultrasonography: A Case-Control Study.

This case-control study aimed to assess the size and echogenicity of inflamed tonsils using ultrasonography. It was carried out at different hospitals, nurseries, and primary schools in Khartoum state. About 131 Sudanese volunteers between 1 and 24 years old were recruited. The sample included 79 volunteers with normal tonsils and 52 with tonsillitis according to hematological investigations. The sample was divided into groups according to age-1-5 years old, 6-10 years old, and more than ten years. Measurements in centimeters of height (AP) and width (transverse) of both tonsils (right and left) were taken. Echogenicity was assessed according to normal and abnormal appearances. A data collection sheet containing all the study variables was used. The independent samples test (t-test) showed an insignificant height difference between normal controls and cases with tonsillitis. The transverse diameter increased significantly with inflammation (p-value < 0.05) for both tonsils in all groups. Echogenicity can differentiate between normal and abnormal tonsils (p-value < 0.05 using the chi-square test) for samples from 1-5 years and 6-10 years. The study concluded that measurements and appearance are reliable indicators of tonsillitis, which can be confirmed with the use of ultrasonography, helping physicians to make the correct diagnosis and decisions.

Adherence of Type 2 Diabetic Patients to Self-Care Activity: Tertiary Care Setting in Saudi Arabia.

AIM: To analyse the prevalence of self-care practices in T2D patients in KSA. METHODS: The study was conducted in King Fahad Medical City (KFMC) in Saudi Arabia, and 385 patients were selected as samples. Data were collected using the Summary of Diabetes Self-Care Activities-Arabic (SDSCA) and consisted of 14 items related to self-care activities of T2D patients related to management and control of disease and four other aspects related to education and advice from healthcare members regarding management of T2D. RESULTS: The self-care attributes including adherence to medication commitment activities (M = 6.13, SD = 1.25) were the most practised of all the domains. Glucose monitoring (M = 4.15, SD = 2.42) and foot care (M = 3.28, SD = 1.69) were at an average level, and adherence to the diet plan and exercise was found to be at a poor level (M = 2.57, SD = 1.73 and M = 2.13, SD = 2.00) respectively. About 179 patients (74.3%) were found to be advised to follow a low-fat eating plan, and only 89 patients (36.9%) had received information concerning fruits and vegetables in their diet. More than 90% patients were found to be advised to strictly carry out exercise and blood sugar monitoring. CONCLUSION: It was found that adherence to self-care activities including diet, exercise, and foot care was relatively poor while intake of medication was strictly followed. The education provided by healthcare providers related to self-management attributes was found to be significant and had positive effects on the overall health and well-being of T2D patients.

Determinants and prevalence of depression in patients with chronic renal disease, and their caregivers.

INTRODUCTION: This study explored the prevalence of depression among the patients with chronic kidney disease and their caregivers and its association to their demographic profile. METHODS: A descriptive, correlational, cross-sectional study that used the Hamilton rating scale tool to assess the prevalence of depression among 226 patients undergoing hemodialysis and 105 of their caregivers in a hospital in Saudi Arabia. RESULTS: Patients with chronic renal disease and their caregivers experience depression at varying levels. Depression was positively associated with the socioeconomic and marital status of the patients. Socioeconomic status of the caregivers was seen to be associated with their depression. CONCLUSION: Depression is highly prevalent among patients with chronic renal disease and their caregivers.

Solitude, Religious and Cultural Uniqueness in a Foreign Environment: Adjustments as an Arab Student.

Arab-Muslims have extremely religious-centered and restrictive cultural practices. Living in a foreign country where Islam is a minority religion and culture is categorically different entails a great deal of adjustment. This study explored how Arab-Muslim International Students live and cope in a non-Arab, non-Muslim country. The authors used phenomenological approach with Colaizzi's method of analysis to (1) explore the lived experience of the Arab students' academic and social life and (2) come up with recommendations that can be supported by universities in Philippines and other countries with Arab students. Emergent themes include Hybrid vision and empowerment from education beyond borders "Tatallo at wa kudurat," Stigma in the Arab world "Hallah," Islam as way of life "Al Islam: Manhaj Hayyat," and Future of the Arab-Muslim students "Wahaa." The major concepts that emerged from the lived experience of these students focused on the practical reasons for quality education, challenges along the way, culture shock, the stigma, and misconceptions about Arabs and Muslims. They experienced discrimination, the impact of stereotyping and misconceptions about the Arab-Muslims. Their tenacity of the Islam faith has become a coping mechanism and kept them enormously strong. They also strived to show the real meaning of being Muslim, and finally, looking forward to how they can become the oasis in the desert. The Arab-Muslim International Students experience difficult adjustments in a foreign country to acquire high quality education, while holding on to their Islam faith and keeping their culture intact.