Using a Motivational Paradigm to Develop an Exercise Program for Nurses with High Risk of Metabolic Syndrome.

Nurses are frontline care providers whose health is vital to providing good quality of care to patients. The purpose of this study was to develop an exercise program for high-risk metabolic syndrome nurses based on the transtheoretical model. The transtheoretical model was used in this study due to its popular use in exercise behavior change and it can clearly identify the stage of exercise so as to plan an effective program to promote health. This was a quasi-experimental pilot study with a total of 40 participants who met the inclusion criteria. Exercise programs were developed for three groups distinguished by their commitment to exercising for health. Sixteen (40%) nurses moved one step forward, six (15%) nurses moved backward, and eighteen (45%) nurses maintained at the same stage over time (stable sedentary, 40%; stable active, 5%). Bowker's test of symmetry, χ2 = 14.00 (p < 0.01), revealed that the population exercising increased significantly after the intervention. After the program, the perceived benefits from exercise in the decisional balance significantly increased to 1.53 (t = 2.223, p < 0.05), perceived exercise barriers significantly decreased to 3.10 (t = −3.075, p < 0.05), and self-efficacy significantly increased to 2.90 (t = 3.251, p < 0.01), respectively. Applying the transtheoretical model to health behavior enables significant change. The benefits of applying the transtheoretical model for promoting exercise include increasing perceived exercise benefits and self-efficacy, decreasing perceived exercise barriers, and increasing physical activity levels.

Effects of music listening on anxiety and physiological responses in patients undergoing awake craniotomy.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of music listening on the level of anxiety and physiological responses for awake craniotomy. METHODS: An experimental design with randomization was applied in this study. Participants in experimental group (19 patients) selected and listened music at their preferences in the waiting room and throughout the entire surgical procedure in addition to usual care while control group (19 patients) only gave usual care. State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), heartbeat, breathing, and blood pressure were collected for analysis. RESULTS: The results of this study showed that after music listening, there was significant decrease in the level of anxiety (p<.001). The findings also showed that the music intervention significantly reduced heartbeat rate 84.5 (p<.004), systolic pressure 42 (p<.001), and diastolic pressure 38 (p<.001) over time. We concluded that music listening is associated with a decreased level of anxiety and distress after awake craniotomy patients. CONCLUSION: The results of this study can provide perioperative nursing care in providing music listening when patients were in the waiting room and during surgery to reduce the anxiety so as to reach the goal of human care and improve perioperative nursing care.

Music listening alleviates anxiety and physiological responses in patients receiving spinal anesthesia.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to explore the effects of listening to music on the anxiety levels and physiological responses of surgical patients receiving spinal anesthesia. METHODS: An experimental design was used in the study with an experimental group (n=50) and a control group (n=50). The experimental group received 30min of musical intervention and routine nursing care in the Post-Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) while the control group received only routine nursing care. RESULTS: The study found significant differences in both anxiety and physiological indices between the two groups. The mean score of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) in the study group decreased from a pre-test score of 59.0 to a post-test score of 31.20 (t=28.63, p<0.001). Physiological indices such as heart rate (t=2.61, p=0.012), respiration rate (t=2.29, p=0.026), systolic blood pressure (t=2.30, p=0.026), and diastolic blood pressure (t=3.02, p=0.004) decreased significantly as well. Control group was not seeing significant changes from pre-op values. CONCLUSION: Listening to music while in the recovery room may decrease the level of anxiety in surgical patients receiving spinal anesthesia. The results of this study can serve as a reference for PACU nurses in utilizing music listening programs to achieve the goal of holistic care.

The effectiveness of the newly designed thermal gown on hypothermic patients after spinal surgery.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To develop the newly designed thermal gown to test the effectiveness in relieving postoperative hypothermia as compared to traditional cotton cloth. BACKGROUND: Hypothermia is a common problem after spinal surgery. A patient's safety and comfort are significant. Currently, most research is focused on instruments that relieve a patient's hypothermia. Studies have rarely considered a patient's comfort while caring for their body temperature. DESIGN: This study employed an experimental design. The participants were assigned randomly to two groups: the experimental group (N = 50) and the control group (N = 50). METHODS: The experimental group received the newly designed thermal gown intervention. The control group received the standard postanaesthesia care unit re-warming intervention. The material used to collect data included demographic data, postoperative management and comfort level. Nurses measured patients' vital signs and asked for patients' subjective comfort level on admission to the postanaesthesia care unit every 10 minutes until their discharge from the postanaesthesia care unit. RESULT: The accumulated percentage for thermal gown group patients in reaching 36 °C during the first 20 minutes of admission was significantly higher than that of the cotton cloth group. The thermal gown group individuals showed significantly higher comfort levels (score = 4) at 10 minutes, when compared to the cotton cloth group. CONCLUSION: Results suggested that the newly designed thermal gown had effectively improved postoperative temperature and comfort level with an evidence-based intervention. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Maintaining a patient's body temperature is a major task for nurses working in the post-anaesthesia care unit. With the newly designed thermal gown, the duration of a patient's stay in the postanaesthesia care unit was shortened and the patient's comfort was increased.