Attitudes of patients towards being cared for by male nurses in a Jamaican hospital.

AIM: To determine the attitudes of patients towards male nurses in a Jamaican hospital. BACKGROUND: More males in nursing will help to address the nursing shortage and provide diversity in the profession. Patient attitudes towards male nurses will influence recruitment and retention. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was used. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire and an attitudinal measuring scale. RESULTS: Seventy-three patients responded (response rate 91%). Male nurses were perceived negatively by 51% of respondents. However, only 10% had a negative perception of the care they received from male nurses. More males (80%) than females (54%) had a negative attitude towards receiving an enema from a male nurse. CONCLUSIONS: Patients generally had a negative attitude towards male nurses but had a positive view if they were cared for by a male nurse. These traits can be used as the basis of changing the gender balance of nurses in Jamaica.

Satisfaction with nursing care in the emergency department of an urban hospital in the developing world: A pilot study.

INTRODUCTION: Nurses form the largest group of the workforce in hospitals and as such the quality of nursing care is a critical indicator of patient satisfaction. OBJECTIVE: To determine the level of patient satisfaction with nursing care in the emergency department of an urban teaching hospital in Jamaica. METHODS: This descriptive cross-sectional study used a convenience sampling technique to recruit 142 adult patients who accessed nursing care in the emergency and intermediate areas of the emergency department. Data were collected using a 22- item questionnaire adapted from the Patient Satisfaction with Nursing Care Quality Questionnaire and managed using SPSS® version 19.0 for Windows®. RESULTS: The response rate was 77.6%; most respondents (62%) were female, and educated at the secondary level (42.3%). The mean satisfaction score was 32.60 (± 7.11) out of a possible 42. Most (59.9%) patients reported that they were very satisfied with nursing care in the emergency department. Satisfaction with nursing care was associated with clients' education. Perceived health status and empathy of nursing care offered were associated with patient's satisfaction with care (p = 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Patients were highly satisfied with nursing care in the emergency department studied. Client's education, perceived health status and empathy of care were predictors of satisfaction.

Physical restraint usage at a teaching hospital: a pilot study.

This mixed method study examines the prevalence of restraint usage; perception of nurses and doctors about the practice and whether they were trained to apply physical restraints. The physical restraint prevalence tools were used to observe 172 adult patients and conduct 47 chart audits in the medical-surgical wards and a psychiatric unit in November 2011. Focus group discussions with nurses and doctors were conducted. Quantitative data were analyzed using the SPSS and focus group discussions thematically analyzed. The prevalence of physical restraints between the medical-surgical wards was 75%. Nurses and medical doctors were not formally trained to apply restraint, and had learnt from peer observation. They expressed sadness, guilt, and fear when restraints are used and identified that inadequate institutional support existed. Restraint usage was high, and nurses and doctors experienced moral dilemma when they perceived that lack of formal training and inadequate institutional support may contribute to patient injury.

Ethical challenges and opportunities for nurses in HIV and AIDS community-based participatory research in Jamaica.

As part of a multinational program of research, we undertook a community-based participatory research project in Jamaica to strengthen nurses' engagement in HIV and AIDS policy. Three leadership hubs were purposefully convened and included small groups of people (6-10) from diverse HIV and AIDS stakeholder groups in Jamaica: frontline nurses and nurse managers in primary and secondary care settings; researchers; health care decision makers; and other community members. People living with HIV or AIDS were among the hub members. Using a relational public health ethics framework, we outline some of the ethical challenges and opportunities experienced by the research team and the leadership hubs. Data included research assistant field notes and hub progress reports. Emerging ethical concerns were associated with relational personhood, social justice, relational autonomy, relational solidarity, and sustainability of the hub activities.