Critical Care Nurses' Perceptions of Clinical Alarm Management on Nursing Practice.

The alarm management of physiological monitoring systems is a key responsibility of critical care nurses. However, the high numbers of false and nonactionable (true but clinically irrelevant) alarms cause distractions to healthcare professionals, interruptions to nursing workflow, and ignoring of crucial tasks. Therefore, understanding how nurses manage large amounts of alarms in their daily work could provide a direction to design interventions to prevent adverse patient care effects. A qualitative design with focus group interviews was conducted with 37 nurses in Taiwan. Content analysis was performed to analyze the interview data, and four main themes were derived: (1) the foundation stone of critical care nursing practice; (2) a trajectory adaptation of alarms management; (3) adverse impacts on the quality of care and patient safety; and (4) a hope for multimodal learning alternatives and wireless technology. Nurses manage alarm parameter settings influenced not only by their knowledge and skills of patient care, but also in accordance with the three dimensions of technology, human, and organization evaluation framework. Customized alarm management training alternatives, patient-centered care values, and application of wireless technology are the suggested approaches to enhance nursing care and minimize the risk of adverse events.

Intensive care nurses' experiences using volatile anaesthetics in the intensive care unit: An exploratory study.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the experiences intensive care nurses have with volatile anaesthetics in the intensive care unit. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND DESIGN: A qualitative exploratory and descriptive design was used. Data were collected in 2019 from individual interviews with nine intensive care nurses, who were recruited using purposive sampling. Data were analysed using systematic text condensation. SETTING: The study was undertaken in two general intensive care units from different university hospitals in Norway where volatile anaesthetics were utilised. FINDINGS: Three categories emerged from the data analysis: experiencing the benefits of volatile anaesthetics; coping with unfamiliarity in handling volatile anaesthetics; and meeting challenges related to volatile anaesthetics in practice. CONCLUSION: The intensive care nurses had positive experiences related to administering volatile anaesthetics in the intensive care unit and responded positively to the prospect of using it more often. Because volatile anaesthetics were rarely used in their units, the participants felt uncertain regarding its use due to unfamiliarity. Collegial support and guidelines were perceived as pivotal in helping them cope with this uncertainty. The participants also experienced several challenges in using volatile anaesthetics in the intensive care unit, with ambient pollution being regarded as the main challenge.

A qualitative study of nurses' perception on patients' thirst in intensive care units.

BACKGROUND: Thirst is a prevalent and intense symptom among patients in intensive care units. Occurrence of thirst in the intensive care unit cannot be avoided because of the nature of critical illnesses and their treatments like the side effects of administered medication or dehydration. In the intensive care unit, nurses have the opportunity and responsibility to prevent and reduce thirst by recognizing the different types of thirst. Thus, knowing nurses' perception on patients' thirst is crucial. OBJECTIVES: Exploration of intensive care nurses' perception on patients' thirst. RESEARCH DESIGN: A qualitative descriptive study. METHODS: Data were collected from December 2020 to January 2021 and analyzed by using a phenomenographic methodology. Data were transcribed verbatim and thematic analysis was performed. RESULTS: Sixteen nurses, in Chongqing, China, aged 25-48 years, were interviewed. Four themes emerged: (1) perceived barriers for thirst; (2) perceived signs of thirst; (3) perceived reasons of thirst; (4) perceived consequences for thirst. Overall nurses' perception of patients' thirst is poor. Nurses give a low priority and insufficient attention to the issue of thirst in intensive care patients. CONCLUSION: Intensive care nurses' perception on thirst in patients should be evaluated and, if necessary, this issue should be given more attention in training in order to create sufficient awareness about the topic.

Evaluation of the Effect of Intensive Nursing Intervention Based on Process Analysis.

In order to achieve significant improvements in the evaluation of key indicators such as speed, quality, cost, and service, this paper fundamentally rethinks and completely redesigns the business process, and recreates a new business process. This study combines the particularity of AMI with emergency nursing to construct an in-hospital AMI emergency nursing process to further standardize the AMI rescue work. The implementation of the process helps to clarify the responsibilities and requirements of nurses in the AMI emergency process, reduce the delay time of AMI emergency, and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of emergency. In addition, after refactoring the business process, this paper builds an intelligent digital critical illness monitoring system. This system combines the original work flow of the ICU medical staff, optimizes the work flow of the medical staff through computer technology and information technology, and designs and completes the digital intensive nursing system software to run and use in the hospital and obtain significant results.

Predictors of Pressure Injury Prevention Practices Among ICU Nurses in China.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the predictors of knowledge of pressure injury (PI) prevention, attitudes on PI prevention, organization support for PI prevention, and the influence of a healthy work environment (HWE) on PI prevention practices among ICU nurses in China. METHODS: A descriptive, predictive, online survey was conducted among 510 ICU nurses in Guizhou province, China. A PI prevention knowledge questionnaire, PI prevention attitude questionnaire, organizational support for PI prevention questionnaire, HWE assessment tool, and PI prevention practice questionnaire were used for data collection. A hierarchical regression analysis was used to determine the influence of certain predictive factors. RESULTS: An HWE, organizational support for PI prevention, and positive attitudes toward PI prevention were significant predictors of good practice regarding PI prevention. However, knowledge of PI prevention was not a significant predictor. CONCLUSIONS: To achieve optimal nursing quality in terms of PI prevention, hospital and nursing administrators should develop strategies or interventions to create and sustain an HWE and supportive organizational culture for ICU nurses and enhance positive attitudes toward PI prevention.

Parametrización de cuidados de enfermería para satisfacer necesidades humanas en personas con lesiones por quemaduras / Parameterization of Nursing Care for Satisfying Human Needs in People with Burn Injuries

Introducción: El cuidado de enfermería para satisfacer necesidades humanas es un proceso individualizado de atención a cada persona, a partir de una valoración que se apoya en el razonamiento clínico y contribuye a la toma de decisiones. Objetivo: Parametrizar los cuidados de enfermería para satisfacer necesidades humanas en personas con lesiones por quemaduras. Métodos: Estudio descriptivo-transversal en el servicio de Caumatología del Hospital Miguel Enríquez, La Habana, durante 2019. Universo 80 enfermeras asistenciales. Se parametrizó la variable cuidados para satisfacer necesidades humanas en personas con lesiones por quemaduras, fraccionada en tres dimensiones, ocho subdimensiones y 29 indicadores. Se aplicaron: observación, encuesta y entrevista y se utilizó el criterio de expertos para constatar la validez de los instrumentos, así como la triangulación metodológica para comparar los datos obtenidos. Se calculó media ponderada y coeficiente alfa de Cronbach para medir confiabilidad de los instrumentos. La comparación de proporciones se realizó mediante chi-cuadrado, considerándose un nivel de significancia para p < 0,05. Resultados: La subdimensión comunicación obtuvo media ponderada 1.49, modo de actuación 2.65, formación de valores 4.98 y ética 4.99, las subdimensiones: necesidades humanas, razonamiento clínico, toma de decisiones y juicio clínico obtienen nivel de desarrollo bajo. Las categorías NANDA-NOC-NIC mostraron deficiencias en el conocimiento inadecuado (47,50 porciento, 58,75 porciento y 66,25 porciento). Conclusiones: La parametrización realizada permitió avalar que los cuidados para satisfacer necesidades humanas en personas con lesiones por quemaduras tienen un nivel medio de desarrollo. Se identificaron problemas y potencialidades que justifican el desarrollo de una intervención de enfermería(AU)

Introduction: Nursing care is an individualized process of care for each person aimed at satisfying her or his human needs, based on assessment supported by clinical reasoning and contributing to decision-making. Objective: To parameterize nursing care aimed at satisfying human needs in people with burn injuries. Methods: Descriptive-cross-sectional study carried out, during 2009, in the burn service at Miguel Enríquez Hospital, La Habana. The universe was eighty healthcare nurses. The variable care for satisfying human needs in people with burn injuries was parameterized, divided into three dimensions, eight subdimensions and twenty-nine indicators. Observation, survey and interview were applied. The method of expert judgment was used to verify the instruments' validity, as well as methodological triangulation to compare the data obtained. Weighted mean and Cronbach's alpha coefficient were calculated to measure the instruments' reliability. Comparison of proportions was carried out using chi-square, considering a level of significance for P < 0.05. Results: The subdimension communication obtained a weighted mean of 1.49, with a mode of action at 2.65, formation of values at 4.98, and ethics at 4.99. The subdimensions human needs, clinical reasoning, decision-making and clinical judgment obtained a low level of development. The NANDA-NOC-NIC categories showed deficiencies associated to inadequate knowledge (47.50 percent, 58.75 percent, and 66.25 percent,, respectively). Conclusions: The parameterization carried out permitted to guarantee that the cares for satisfying human needs in people with burn injuries have a medium level of development. Problems and potentialities that justify the development of a nursing intervention were identified(AU)

The Impact of Nursing Delirium Preventive Interventions in the ICU: A Multicenter Cluster-randomized Controlled Clinical Trial.

Rationale: Delirium is common in critically ill patients and is associated with deleterious outcomes. Nonpharmacological interventions are recommended in current delirium guidelines, but their effects have not been unequivocally established. Objectives: To determine the effects of a multicomponent nursing intervention program on delirium in the ICU. Methods: A stepped-wedge cluster-randomized controlled trial was conducted in ICUs of 10 centers. Adult critically ill surgical, medical, or trauma patients at high risk of developing delirium were included. A multicomponent nursing intervention program focusing on modifiable risk factors was implemented as standard of care. The primary outcome was the number of delirium-free and coma-free days alive in 28 days after ICU admission. Measurements and Main Results: A total of 1,749 patients were included. Time spent on interventions per 8-hour shift was median (interquartile range) 38 (14-116) minutes in the intervention period and median 32 (13-73) minutes in the control period (P = 0.44). Patients in the intervention period had a median of 23 (4-27) delirium-free and coma-free days alive compared with a median of 23 (5-27) days for patients in the control group (mean difference, -1.21 days; 95% confidence interval, -2.84 to 0.42 d; P = 0.15). In addition, the number of delirium days was similar: median 2 (1-4) days (ratio of medians, 0.90; 95% confidence interval, 0.75 to 1.09; P = 0.27). Conclusions: In this large randomized controlled trial in adult ICU patients, a limited increase in the use of nursing interventions was achieved, and no change in the number of delirium-free and coma-free days alive in 28 days could be determined. Clinical trial registered with www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT03002701).

COVID-19: Perspectives From Frontline Critical Care Nurses in New York.

New York City quickly became the epicenter of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) in early March of 2020. While hospitals were aware of the potential of COVID-19, the volume of critically ill patients that flooded the hospitals in the New York City area was clearly not anticipated. Hospital staff worked quickly to create COVID-19-free areas, but were overcome with the volume of COVID-positive critically ill patients. Many newly admitted patients required respiratory support with mechanical ventilation. As Governor Cuomo issued executive orders to stay at home in mid-March, some patients were afraid to go into hospitals despite symptoms of respiratory distress. Once these patients came to the hospital, they were often critically ill. Emergency departments and intensive care units filled rapidly, overwhelming staff and equipment needs with such things as pumps, dialysis machines, medications, and personal protective equipment. Plans for the day were disrupted with frequent rapid response calls and the need for additional beds. Key issues that confronted the COVID-19 response in critical care units at NYU Langone Health included communication, patient and staff safety.

The experiences of critical care nurses caring for patients with COVID-19 during the 2020 pandemic: A qualitative study.

AIM: Due to a lack of literature about US critical care nurses caring for patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the aim of this study was to examine their experiences caring for these patients. BACKGROUND: COVID-19 placed nurses at the forefront of battling this pandemic in the intensive care unit (ICU). Emerging international evidence suggests nurses experience psychological and physical symptoms as a result of caring for these patients. METHODS: A qualitative descriptive design was used. Using purposive sampling, 11 nurses from one ICU participated in semi-structured interviews. Interviews were recorded and coded; data were analyzed using content analysis. An audit trail was maintained and member checking was employed. RESULTS: The experiences among critical care nurses caring for patients diagnosed with COVID-19 were categorized into five themes and subthemes. Emotions experienced was subcategorized into anxiety/stress, fear, helplessness, worry, and empathy. Physical symptoms was subcategorized into sleep disturbances, headaches, discomfort, exhaustion, and breathlessness. Care environment challenges was subcategorized into nurse as surrogate, inability to provide human comforting connection, patients dying, personal protective equipment (PPE), isolation, care delay, changing practice guidelines, and language barrier. Social effects was subcategorized into stigma, divergent healthcare hero perception, additional responsibilities, strained interactions with others, and isolation/loneliness. Short term coping strategies was subcategorized into co-worker support, family support, distractions, mind/body wellness, and spiritualty/faith. CONCLUSION: ICU nurses are experiencing intense psychological and physical effects as a result of caring for patients diagnosed with COVID-19 in a challenging care environment. Outside of work, nurses faced pandemic-induced societal changes and divergent public perceptions of them.

The impact of the first COVID-19 surge on the mental well-being of ICU nurses: A nationwide survey study.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the impact of the first COVID-19 surge (March through June 2020) on mental well-being and associated risk factors among intensive care unit nurses. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY: In September 2020, a nationwide cross-sectional survey study among Dutch intensive care nurses was carried out to measure prevalence rates of symptoms of anxiety, depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, and need for recovery (NFR), objectified by the HADS-A, HADS-D, IES-6 and NFR questionnaires, respectively. Associated risk factors were determined using multivariate logistic regression analyses. RESULTS: Symptoms of anxiety, depression, and post traumatic stress disorder were reported by 27.0%, 18.6% and 22.2% of the 726 respondents, respectively. The NFR was positive, meaning not being recovered from work, in 41.7%. Working in an academic hospital, being afraid of infecting relatives and experiencing insufficient numbers of colleagues were associated with more mental symptoms, while having been on holiday was associated with reduced depression symptoms and need for recovery. CONCLUSION: The first COVID-19 surge had a high impact on the mental well-being of intensive care nurses, increasing the risk for drop out and jeopardising the continuity of care. Effort should be made to optimize working conditions and decrease workload to guarantee care in the next months of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Acerca del conocimiento sobre dolor en enfermeras de cuidados intensivos / About knowledge of intensive care unit nurses regarding pain

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Réplica de los autores a la carta: Acerca del conocimiento sobre dolor en enfermeras de cuidados intensivos / About knowledge about pain in intensive care nurses

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Nursing resources and patient outcomes in intensive care units: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: As nursing resources is directly related to patient outcomes in the intensive care unit setting, identifying factors related to nursing resources at various levels could contribute to improving those outcomes. This study aims to determine the association of nursing resources with outcomes of intensive care unit patients. METHOD: This study adheres to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis for Protocols. Chinese electronic Database (Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, Wanfang, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure) and international electronic databases (PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science) will be searched for all relevant published articles, with no restrictions on the year of publication or language. Study selection, data collection and assessment of study bias will be conducted independently by a pair of independent reviewers. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale tool will be used for the risk of bias assessment. The Grading of Recommendations Assessment Development and Evaluation system will be used to assess the quality of evidence. The statistical analysis of this meta-analysis will be calculated by Review manager version 5.3. RESULTS: The results of this study will be published in a peer-reviewed journal. CONCLUSION: The findings of this systematic review will provide a high-quality synthesis of latest evidence and provide a basis for assessing the association of nursing resources on patients' outcomes in intensive care units. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: 10.17605/OSF.IO/9FNEX.

Necesidades en familiares de pacientes críticos de una institución de IV nivel en Montería, Colombia / Needs in relatives of critical patients of a IV level institution in Monteria, Colombia

OBJETIVO: Determinar las necesidades en familiares de pacientes críticos de una institución de IV nivel en Montería, Colombia. METODOLOGÍA: Investigación descriptiva, transversal con enfoque cuantitativo. Para la recolección de la información se aplicó el Cuestionario de Necesidades de los Familiares de Pacientes de Cuidados Intensivos y una cédula de datos sociodemográficos. RESULTADOS: Las necesidades que se determinaron fueron la información sincera respecto al estado y progreso del paciente y recibir explicación del equipamiento que está utilizándose. La dimensión que presentó mayores necesidades fue la de comunicación. CONCLUSIONES: El familiar de una persona ingresada en un servicio de cuidado intensivo debe ser tomado en cuenta en el proceso de atención

OBJECTIVE: To determine the needs in relatives of critically ill patients of an IV level institution in Montería, Colombia. METHODOLOGY: Descriptive, cross-sectional research with a quantitative approach. For the collection of information, the Questionnaire of Needs of the Relatives of Intensive Care Patients and a sociodemographic data card were applied. RESULTS: The needs that were determined were honest information regarding the state and progress of the patient and receive an explanation of the equipment being used. The dimension that presented the greatest needs was that of communication. CONCLUSIONS: The family of a person admitted to an intensive care service should be taken into account in the care process

Bowen Family Systems Theory: Mapping a framework to support critical care nurses' well-being and care quality.

Intensive care nursing is prone to episodic anxiety linked to patients' immediate needs for treatment. Balancing biomedical interventions with compassionate patient-centred nursing can be particularly anxiety provoking. These patterns of anxiety may impact compassion and patient-centred nursing. The aim of this paper is to discuss the application of Bowen Family Systems Theory to intensive care nursing, mapping a framework to support critical care nurses' well-being and, consequently, the quality of care they provide. This article is founded on research, theoretical papers and texts focused on Bowen Family Systems Theory (BFST), and findings from a constructivist study on patient-centred nursing and compassion in the intensive care unit. The goal of Bowen Family Systems Theory is to empower individuals, decreasing blame and reactivity. Bowen Family Systems Theory can be applied to the sometimes intimate relationships that develop in this environment, aiding understanding of nurses' experience of compassion satisfaction and fatigue. Where organizational factors and management styles fall short in supporting critical care nurses to meet expectations, BFST can offer a perspective on the processes that occur within the intensive care unit, impacting nurse well-being and quality of care. This paper makes plain the importance of understanding the anxiety that occurs within the intensive care unit as a system, so that individuals, such as critical care nurses, can be supported appropriately to ensure nurse well-being and quality care.

How critical activities within COVID-19 intensive care units increase nurses' daily occupational calling.

During normal and predictable circumstances, employees' occupational calling (i.e., a transcendent passion to use their talent and competencies toward positive societal impact and a sense of meaningfulness derived from working in a chosen occupational domain) is observed to be relatively stable. However, with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, circumstances have become anything but normal and predictable, thus putting employees' sense of occupational calling to the test. In this study, we investigate the possibility that occupational calling fluctuates across days during situations of crisis, and we identify antecedents and consequence of such fluctuations. To test our model, we conducted a daily diary study of 66 nurses working in intensive care units over 5 consecutive work days in a specialized Wuhan hospital that only admitted confirmed COVID-19 patients during the peak of the pandemic in China. We found that the daily number of code blue events (i.e., cardiopulmonary resuscitation efforts with the primary goal of patient revival) was positively related to daily occupational calling for nurses. Moreover, individual differences in prosocial motivation predicted the average level and variability of occupational calling over the 5 days, which subsequently related to the nurses' job performance. Our study sheds light on how occupational calling enables people with the needed occupational knowledge and skills to function effectively in crisis situations. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

[Early Warning Scores at the nursing ward: what do you really want to know?] / 'Early warning scores' op de verpleegafdeling.

Early Warning Scores (EWSs) are based on the assumption that critical illness is preceded by physical deterioration. The question is whether measuring 5 vital parameters several times a day can predict changes in a highly complex and dynamic clinical condition. Little evidence has yet been found for clinical superiority of current EWSs over good clinical assessment. If we want to predict better and act structurally proactively, the measurement frequency of vital parameters must increase and much more complex scores are needed to identify specific changes in individual patients at an early stage. It is plausible that the many innovative developments in this area are the stepping stone to an era in which care in regular nursing wards is increasingly directed in the right direction by predictive algorithms. Integration of such super EWSs in new working methods may contribute to continuously adaptive care that is ultimately better and more efficient and relieves the care provider.

Tecnología de la información en cuidados críticos: una oportunidad de mejora de los cuidados / Information technology in critical care: An opportunity to improve our health care

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Demystifying, recognising and combating racism during the pandemic.

The increased reports of escalation of social inequalities, xenophobic and racist ideologies during the COVID-19 pandemic presents a growing concern. Nurses are not immune to xenophobia and racism, both as perpetrators and as victims. Although COVID-19 brings a new wave of xenophobia and racism, healthcare organisations have been tackling discriminatory and racist practices for decades. However, racist practice quite often goes undetected or unchallenged due to its associated sensitivity and a lack of understanding of its complexity. There is a need for a more open and non-judgemental discourse around interpretations of racism and its predisposing factors as a means of combating the growing reports. This discussion paper proposes a practice-orientated conceptualisation of racism and outlines some particular and sustainable areas for consideration for nurses to use in their daily practice. Developing self-awareness and nurturing the courage, confidence and commitment to challenge self and others is critical for transforming ethnocentric and racist ideologies.