Why does work cause fatigue? A real-time investigation of fatigue, and determinants of fatigue in nurses working 12-hour shifts.

BACKGROUND: One of the striking regularities of human behavior is that a prolonged physical, cognitive, or emotional activity leads to feelings of fatigue. Fatigue could be due to (1) depletion of a finite resource of physical and/or psychological energy or (2) changes in motivation, attention, and goal-directed effort (e.g. motivational control theory). PURPOSE: To contrast predictions from these two views in a real-time study of subjective fatigue in nurses while working. METHODS: One hundred nurses provided 1,453 assessments over two 12-hr shifts. Nurses rated fatigue, demand, control, and reward every 90 min. Physical energy expenditure was measured objectively using Actiheart. Hypotheses were tested using multilevel models to predict fatigue from (a) the accumulated values of physical energy expended, demand, control, and reward over the shift and (b) from distributed lag models of the same variables over the previous 90 min. RESULTS: Virtually all participants showed increasing fatigue over the work period. This increase was slightly greater when working overnight. Fatigue was not dependent on physical energy expended nor perceived work demands. However, it was related to perceived control over work and perceived reward associated with work. CONCLUSIONS: Findings provide little support for a resource depletion model; however, the finding that control and reward both predicted fatigue is consistent with a motivational account of fatigue.

Extending the assessment of patient-centredness in health care: Development of the updated Valuing Patients as Individuals Scale using exploratory factor analysis.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To update and re-validate the Valuing Patients as Individuals Scale for use as a patient appraisal of received healthcare. BACKGROUND: Healthcare in the United Kingdom and beyond is required to deliver high quality, person-centred care that is clinically effective and safe. However, patient experience is not uniform, and complaints often focus on the way patients have been treated. Legislation in United Kingdom requires health services to gather and use patients' evaluations of care to improve services. DESIGN: This study uses scoping literature reviews, cognitive testing of questionnaire items with patient and healthcare staff focus groups, and exploratory factor analysis. METHODS/SETTING/PARTICIPANTS: Data were collected from 790 participants across 34 wards in two acute hospitals in one National Health Service Health Board in Scotland from September 2011-February 2012. Ethics and Research and Development approval were obtained. RESULTS: Fifty six unique items identified through literature review were added to 72 original Valuing Patients as Individuals Scale items. Face validity interviews removed ambiguous or low relevance items leaving 88 items for administration to patients. Two hundred and ninety questionnaires were returned, representing 37% response rate, 71 were incomplete. Thus 219 complete data were used for Exploratory Factor Analysis with varimax orthogonal rotation. This revealed a 31 item, three factor solution, Care and Respect; Understanding and Engagement; Patient Concerns, with good reliability, concurrent and discriminant validity in terms of gender. A shortened 10 item measure based on the top 3 or 4 loading items on each scale was comparable. CONCLUSIONS: The Updated Valuing Patients as Individuals Scale is sufficiently developed to capture patient appraisals of received care. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: The short scale version is now being routinized in real-time evaluation of patient experience contributing to this United Kingdom, National Health Service setting meeting its policy and legislative requirements.

'Just not for me' - contributing factors to nonattendance/noncompletion at phase III cardiac rehabilitation in acute coronary syndrome patients: a qualitative enquiry.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To explore what reasons do nonattenders and noncompleters give for their patterns of participation or nonparticipation in cardiac rehabilitation programmes and how future uptake could be enhanced. BACKGROUND: Cardiac rehabilitation is a cost-effective clinical intervention designed for adults with acute coronary syndrome. Despite evidence from meta-analyses demonstrating that cardiac rehabilitation programmes facilitate physical and psychological recovery from acute coronary syndrome, only 20-50% of eligible patients attend Phase III outpatient programmes. DESIGN: A qualitative study using thematic analysis. METHOD: Within the context of a larger mixed-method study, acute coronary syndrome patients were recruited between 2012-2014 from three hospitals in Scotland. Of 214 patients who consented to enrol in the main study, a purposive subsample of 25 participants was recruited. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and analysed using thematic analysis. RESULTS: Three major influences of participation were identified: (1) personal factors, (2) programme factors and (3) practical factors. In addition, valuable suggestions for future programme modifications were provided. A significant barrier to attending cardiac rehabilitation programmes is that participants perceived themselves to be unsuitable for the programme alongside a lack of knowledge and/or misconceptions regarding cardiac rehabilitation. CONCLUSION: The responses of nonattenders and noncompleters revealed misconceptions related to programme suitability, the intensity of exercise required and the purpose of a cardiac rehabilitation programme. As long as these misconceptions continue to persist in coronary syndrome patients, this will impact upon attendance. The lack of perceived need for cardiac rehabilitation stems from a poor understanding of the programme, especially among nonattenders and noncompleters and subsequently an inability to comprehend possible benefits. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: The knowledge of common misconceptions puts clinical nurses in a better position to identify and pro-actively address these erroneous assumptions in their patients in order to improve participation in cardiac rehabilitation.

Work stress and well-being in oncology settings: a multidisciplinary study of health care professionals.

OBJECTIVES: Staff working in oncology report high levels of work-related stress. This arises partly from the nature of clinical work, including practitioner perceptions of high demand and low control or high effort and low reward. This comparative study investigated the correlates of work stress in a multidisciplinary group of staff and the associations between staff perceptions of the work environment, emotional distress, job satisfaction and work-based social support. METHODS: This questionnaire study combined quantitative and qualitative assessment in a cohort sample of multidisciplinary staff (N = 85) working in a cancer centre in North East Scotland. Ethical approval was granted by the local Research Ethics Committee. This paper reports on the quantitative element of the study, RESULTS: Response rate was 50.6% (N = 85). Older, female and nursing and support staff were more likely to participate. Support staff reported the lowest perceptions of control, job satisfaction and managerial support. Radiographers reported the highest levels of job satisfaction, co-worker and managerial support. Nurses perceived lower decision control and job satisfaction than allied health professionals or doctors. In general, perceptions of decisional control and reward were protective of job satisfaction, particularly when work demands were high. Co-worker support was associated with perceptions of reduced effort, greater reward and increased satisfaction. Managerial support was also associated with greater control beliefs. Overall, sickness absence exceeded the 5% rates seen in other National Health Service surveys, whereas turnover intention rates were similar. CONCLUSION: The development and introduction of multilevel strategies to reduce demand, improve control and support perceptions are warranted, particularly for support staff.

Stress in nurses: stress-related affect and its determinants examined over the nursing day.

BACKGROUND: Nurses are a stressed group and this may affect their health and work performance. The determinants of occupational stress in nurses and other occupational groups have almost invariably been examined in between subject studies. PURPOSE: This study aimed to determine if the main determinants of occupation stress, i.e. demand, control, effort and reward, operate within nurses. METHODS: A real time study using personal digital-assistant-based ecological momentary assessment to measure affect and its hypothesised determinants every 90 min in 254 nurses over three nursing shifts. The measures were negative affect, positive affect, demand/effort, control and reward. RESULTS: While the effects varied in magnitude between people, in general increased negative affect was predicted by high demand/effort, low control and low reward. Control and reward moderated the effects of demand/effort. High positive affect was predicted by high demand/effort, control and reward. CONCLUSIONS: The same factors are associated with variations in stress-related affect within nurses as between.

Do mood and the receipt of work-based support influence nurse perceived quality of care delivery? A behavioural diary study.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To examine the effect of nurse mood in the worst event of shift (negative affect, positive affect), receipt of work-based support from managers and colleagues, colleague and patient involvement on perceived quality of care delivery. BACKGROUND: While the effect of the work environment on nurse mood is well documented, little is known about the effects of the worst event of shift on the quality of care delivered by nurses. DESIGN: This behavioural diary study employed a within-subject and between-subject designs incorporating both cross-sectional and longitudinal elements. METHODS: One hundred and seventy-one nurses in four large district general hospitals in England completed end-of-shift computerised behavioural diaries over three shifts to explore the effects of the worst clinical incident of shift. Diaries measured negative affect, positive affect, colleague involvement, receipt of work-based support and perceived quality of care delivery. Analysis used multilevel modelling (MLWIN 2.19; Centre for Multi-level Modelling, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK). RESULTS: High levels of negative affect and low levels of positive affect reported in the worst clinical incident of shift were associated with reduced perceived quality of care delivery. Receipt of managerial support and its interaction with negative affect had no relationship with perceived quality of care delivery. Perceived quality of care delivery deteriorated the most when the nurse reported a combination of high negative affect and no receipt of colleague support in the worst clinical incident of shift. Perceived quality of care delivery was also particularly influenced when the nurse reported low positive affect and colleague actions contributed to the problem. CONCLUSIONS: Receipt of colleague support is particularly salient in protecting perceived quality of care delivery, especially if the nurse also reports high levels of negative affect in the worst event of shift. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: The effect of work-based support on care delivery is complex and requires further investigation.

An exploration of self-efficacy and self-management in COPD patients.

AIM: This study examined if self-efficacy in managing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is associated with better mood, less breathlessness and fewer exacerbations; what helps or hinders patients in managing their chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD); and patients' suggestions to improve the self-management support they receive. BACKGROUND: COPD is the fifth leading cause of death in the UK, and it has been suggested that supporting self-efficacy and self-management could improve patient outcomes and reduce demands for NHS resources. METHODS: An exploratory, descriptive survey involving the collection of both quantitative and semistructured qualitative data was chosen. Participants were randomly selected from four GP practices across the north east of Scotland. RESULTS: Higher levels of self-efficacy were associated with lower levels of breathlessness, lower levels of anxiety and lower levels of depression in COPD patients. There was no association between high self-efficacy and exacerbation rates. CONCLUSION: Increasing self-efficacy and reducing anxiety and depression in patients living with COPD are important focus points for self-management support.

Assessing acute coronary syndrome patients' cardiac-related beliefs, motivation and mood over time to predict non-attendance at cardiac rehabilitation.

AIM: This research protocol describes and justifies a study to assess patients' cardiac-related beliefs (i.e. illness representations, knowledge/misconceptions, cardiac treatment beliefs), motivation and mood over time to predict non-attendance at a cardiac rehabilitation programme by measuring weekly/monthly changes in these key variables. BACKGROUND: Heart disease is the UK's leading cause of death. Evidence from meta-analyses suggests that cardiac rehabilitation facilitates recovery following acute cardiac events. However, 30-60% of patients do not attend cardiac rehabilitation. There is some evidence from questionnaire studies that a range of potentially modifiable psychological variables including patients' cardiac-related beliefs, motivation and mood may influence attendance. DESIGN: Mixed-methods. METHODS: In this study, during 2012-2013, electronic diary data will be gathered weekly/monthly from 240 patients with acute coronary syndrome from discharge from hospital until completion of the cardiac rehabilitation programme. This will identify changes and interactions between key variables over time and their power to predict non-attendance at cardiac rehabilitation. Data will be analysed to examine the relationship between patients' illness perceptions, cardiac treatment beliefs, knowledge/misconceptions, mood and non-attendance of the cardiac rehabilitation programme. The qualitative component (face-to-face interviews) seeks to explore why patients decide not to attend, not complete or complete the cardiac rehabilitation programme. DISCUSSION: The identification of robust predictors of (non-)attendance is important for the design and delivery of interventions aimed at optimizing cardiac rehabilitation uptake. Funding for the study was granted in February 2011 by the Scottish Government Chief Scientist Office (CZH/4/650).

Evaluation of the impact of an augmented model of The Productive Ward: Releasing Time to Care on staff and patient outcomes: a naturalistic stepped-wedge trial.

BACKGROUND: Improving the quality and efficiency of healthcare is an international priority. A range of complex ward based quality initiatives have been developed over recent years, perhaps the most influential programme has been Productive Ward: Releasing Time to Care. The programme aims to improve work processes and team efficiency with the aim of 'releasing time', which would be used to increase time with patients ultimately improving patient care, although this does not form a specific part of the programme. This study aimed to address this and evaluate the impact using recent methodological advances in complex intervention evaluation design. METHOD: The objective of this study was to assess the impact of an augmented version of The Productive Ward: Releasing Time to Care on staff and patient outcomes. The design was a naturalistic stepped-wedge trial. The setting included fifteen wards in two acute hospitals in a Scottish health board region. The intervention was the Productive Ward: Releasing Time to Care augmented with practice development transformational change methods that focused on staff caring behaviours, teamwork and patient feedback. The primary outcomes included nurses' shared philosophy of care, nurse emotional exhaustion, and patient experience of nurse communication. Secondary outcomes covered additional key dimensions of staff and patient experience and outcomes and frequency of emergency admissions for same diagnosis within 6 months of discharge. RESULTS: We recruited 691 patients, 177 nurses and 14 senior charge nurses. We found statistically significant improvements in two of the study's three primary outcomes: patients' experiences of nurse communication (Effect size=0.15, 95% CI; 0.05 to 0.24), and nurses' shared philosophy of care (Effect size =0.42, 95% CI; 0.14 to 0.70). There were also significant improvements in secondary outcomes: patients' overall rating of ward quality; nurses' positive affect; and items relating to nursing team climate. We found no change in frequency of emergency admissions within six months of discharge. CONCLUSIONS: We found evidence that the augmented version of The Productive Ward: Releasing Time to Care Intervention was successful in improving a number of dimensions of nurse experience and ward culture, in addition to improved patient experience and evaluations of the quality of care received. Despite these positive summary findings across all wards, intervention implementation appeared to vary between wards. By addressing the contextual factors, which may influence these variations, and tailoring some elements of the intervention, it is likely that greater improvements could be achieved. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: UKCRN 14195.

Testing Two Student Nurse Stress Instruments in Chinese Nursing Students: A Comparative Study Using Exploratory Factor Analysis.

BACKGROUND: The development and transformation of nursing within professional tertiary education have exerted a great pressure and challenge upon nursing students. Stress experienced by nursing students is a common precursor of psychological distress and attrition. However, no scale is specifically used to evaluate the sources of stress experienced by nursing students in Mainland China. Aims and Objective. This study is aimed at testing and comparing the reliability and validity including sensitivity and specificity of two nursing students' stress instruments, the Chinese version of Student Nurse Stress Index Scale (SNSI-CHI), and the Stressors in Student Nursing Scale (SINS-CN) in Chinese nursing students, and describing the stress status of nursing students in China. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in two nursing schools in Henan Province from August 2017 to January 2018. Data were collected by using a questionnaire comprising the Chinese version of SNSI (SNSI-CHI), the Chinese version of SINS (SINS-CN), and the Chinese Perceived Stress Scale (CPSS). Homogeneity and stability, content, construct and concurrent validity, and sensitivity and specificity were assessed. RESULTS: The Cronbach's alpha (α) of SNSI-CHI was 0.90, and the item-to-total correlations ranged from 0.35 to 0.66. The Cronbach's α of SINS-CN was 0.93, and the item-to-total correlations ranged from 0.19 to 0.61. The findings of exploratory factor analysis (EFA) confirmed a good construct validity of SNSI-CHI and SINS-CN. The Pearson's rank correlation coefficients, between total scores of SNSI-CHI and CPSS and SINS-CN and CPSS, were assessed to 0.38 (P < 0.01) and 0.39 (P < 0.01), respectively. Regarding the CPSS, as the criterion, the cut-points of SNSI-CHI and SINS-CN for the area under the receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve were 0.77and 0.66, respectively. CONCLUSION: Both scales are valid and reliable for evaluating the source of stress of student nurses in China. Each has its own characteristics, but the SNSI-CHI demonstrated marginal advantage over the SINS-CN. The SNSI-CHI is short, is easily understood, and with clear dimension for the nursing students, and the SNSI-CHI is more acceptable for the users in China.

Cross-cultural validation of the Student Nurse Stress Index Scale: A descriptive survey targeting student nurses in China.

BACKGROUND: Currently, relatively little is known regarding the sources and levels of stress experienced by nursing students in China. This is largely because there is no reliable and valid, culturally appropriate measure of student nurse' stress. A culturally acceptable, Chinese Version of the Student Nurse Stress Index Scale (SNSI-CHI), with established reliability and validity, is needed to identify sources of stress in Chinese nursing students. METHODS: This validation study used a cross-sectional descriptive survey design. Stratified cluster random sampling was used to collect data from August 2017 to January, 2018 from 1100 nursing students in Henan Province, China. A demographic questionnaire, SNSI-CHI and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-14) were administered. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis was carried out on two randomly selected samples (each N = 538) from the overall return. The content, construct, predictive and concurrent validity of the translated SNSI-CHI were examined. RESULTS: 1076 nursing students returned the survey (97.82% response rate). The average total score of SNSI-CHI was 58.455 ±â€¯13.903. The internal consistency, test-retest reliability and content validity of the SNSI-CHI was excellent with a content validity index of 0.954. A four factor simple structure was revealed and confirmed using exploratory (explaining 75% of the variance) and confirmatory factor analysis (x2/df = 1.347, GFI = 0.956, AGFI = 0.945, RMR = 0.032, RMSEA = 0.025, NFI = 0.974, IFI = 0.993, TLI = 0.992, CFI = 0.993). This structure, i.e. academic load, clinical concerns, interface worries and personal problems compared well with the original SNSI. The SNSI-CHI totals and subscales showed good concurrent and predictive validity with the PSS-14 as comparator or criterion. A score of higher than 65 on the SNSI-CHI indicates high levels of perceived stress symptoms. Some 10.5% of respondents experience high levels of stressful demand. Sensitivity and specificity values of 71.7% and 75.1% respectively, demonstrated good predictive validity. LIMITATIONS: This study sample was confined to the Henan Province, which may limit its generalizability. A larger and more diverse sample is needed in the future research. CONCLUSIONS: The SNSI-CHI is both reliable and valid and culturally appropriate for use in China and its structure enables cross-cultural comparison.

Clinical decisions and time since rest break: An analysis of decision fatigue in nurses.

OBJECTIVE: The present study investigates whether nurses working for a national medical telephone helpline show evidence of "decision fatigue," as measured by a shift from effortful to easier and more conservative decisions as the time since their last rest break increases. METHOD: In an observational, repeated-measures study, data from approximately 4,000 calls to 150 nurses working for the Scottish NHS 24 medical helpline (37% of the national workforce) were modeled to determine whether the likelihood of a nurse's decision to refer a patient to another health professional the same day (the clinically safest but most conservative and resource inefficient decision) varied according to the number of calls taken/time elapsed since a nurse's last rest break and/or since the start of shift. Analyses used mixed-effect logistic regression. RESULTS: For every consecutive call taken since last rest break, the odds of nurses making a conservative management decision (i.e., arranging for callers to see another health professional the same day) increased by 5.5% (p = .001, 95% confidence interval [CI: 2.2, 8.8]), an increase in odds of 20.5% per work hour (p < .001, 95% CI [9.1, 33.2]) or 49.0% (on average) from immediately after 1 break to immediately before the next. Decision-making was not significantly related to general or cumulative workload (calls or time elapsed since start of shift). CONCLUSIONS: Every consecutive decision that nurses make since their last break produces a predictable shift toward more conservative, and less resource-efficient, decisions. Theoretical models of cognitive fatigue can elucidate how and why this shift occurs, helping to identify potentially modifiable determinants of patient care. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Intention, beliefs and mood assessed using electronic diaries predicts attendance at cardiac rehabilitation: An observational study.

BACKGROUND: Cardiac rehabilitationis effective in promoting physical/psychological recovery following acute coronary syndrome. Yet, rates of attendance at outpatient cardiac rehabilitation by eligible patients are low. OBJECTIVES: This study examined the determinants of attendance at outpatient cardiac rehabilitation in acute coronary syndrome patients following discharge until cardiac rehabilitation commencement. DESIGN: A weekly electronic diary measured cardiac-related cognitions and mood and examined their relation to attendance at outpatient cardiac rehabilitation. SETTINGS: Three United Kingdom National Health Service secondary care settings in two Health Board areas in Scotland. PARTICIPANTS: Acute coronary syndrome patients were recruited from March 2012 to June 2013 prior to hospital discharge. Of 488 eligible patients referred for cardiac rehabilitation, 214 consented. METHODS: Consecutive patients completed a pre-hospital discharge questionnaire targeting age, diagnosis, social class and smoking history. Acute coronary syndrome patients then completed a weekly electronic diary from the first week of discharge until the start of cardiac rehabilitation. Multilevel structural equation models estimated the effects of initial, i.e. baseline and rate of change in cardiac-related cognition and mood on attendance. Intention to attend cardiac rehabilitation was reflected, log transformed, reported thereafter as "do not intend". The role of "do not intend" was explored as a mediator of the relationship between cardiac-related cognition and mood on attendance. RESULTS: 166 participants provided, on average, 5 weeks of diary entries before cardiac rehabilitation commenced. High intention (i.e. low "do not intend") to attend CR and its rate of increase over time predicted attendance. Low negative emotional representation, high perceived necessity, high confidence in maintaining function, low negative affect, and high positive affect following discharge predicted attendance at cardiac rehabilitation. The rate of change in cardiac-related mood and these cognitions was not predictive. Baseline and rate of change in "do not intend" entirely mediated relationships between a) perceived necessity, b) negative affect and attendance at cardiac rehabilitation. CONCLUSIONS: Negative affect in the first weeks following discharge represents the key challenge to a patient maintaining their intention to attend cardiac rehabilitation. Intervention to improve attendance should focus on improving intention to attend following discharge and during recovery by improving patient understanding of cardiac rehabilitation and reducing negative affect.

Is the introduction of a student-centred, problem-based curriculum associated with improvements in student nurse well-being and performance? An observational study of effect.

AIMS: To explore the impact of curriculum redesign and innovation on student well-being and performance, including essay and examination marks and sickness absence. BACKGROUND: While the emotional impact of preparing to be a health professional can be reduced by helping students to adapt, the positive effect of curriculum innovation and redesign is rarely evaluated. DESIGN, SAMPLE AND METHODS: Student nurse well-being and performance was compared at weeks 24/25 and 40/50 following course entry between comparable independent cohorts of students undertaking a traditional programme (N=406, 83% return rate) with those on an innovative, student-centred, problem-based educational programme (N=447, 79% return rate). The setting was a School of Nursing and Midwifery in the North-East of Scotland. Measures included stress and mental health outcomes and measures of performance including academic marks and sickness absence. RESULTS: At week 25 into the course students on the innovative course had fewer academic, clinical and personal worries than students in the previous more traditional programme and were more likely to report using adaptive direct, problem-solving coping at week 50. While students on the innovative course reported less distress in their first year of the course, they scored less well on comparable essay assignments and had reliably greater sickness absence totals than those educated by traditional methods. CONCLUSION: In this setting, curriculum innovation was associated with positive changes in student well-being but not on performance.

Stress in telephone helpline nurses is associated with failures of concentration, attention and memory, and with more conservative referral decisions.

Nurses working for telephone-based medical helplines must maintain attentional focus while quickly and accurately processing information given by callers to make safe and appropriate treatment decisions. In this study, both higher levels of general occupational stress and elevated stress levels on particular shifts were associated with more frequent failures of attention, memory, and concentration in telephone nurses. Exposure to a stressful shift was also associated with a measurable increase in objectively assessed information-processing errors. Nurses who experienced more frequent cognitive failures at work made more conservative decisions, tending to refer patients on to other health professionals more often than other nurses. As stress is associated with cognitive performance decrements in telephone nursing, stress-reduction interventions could improve the quality and safety of care that callers to medical helplines receive.

Ethnic differences and socio-demographic predictors of illness perceptions, self-management, and metabolic control of type 2 diabetes.

OBJECTIVES: This study investigated ethnic differences in diabetes-specific knowledge, illness perceptions, self-management, and metabolic control among black-African, black-Caribbean,and white-British populations with type 2 diabetes. The study also examined associations between demographic/disease characteristics and diabetes-specific knowledge, illness perceptions, self-management, and metabolic control in each of the three ethnic groups. DESIGN: Cross-sectional. SETTING: Diabetes/retinal screening clinics in Hackney and Brent, London. METHODS: Black-African, black-Caribbean and white-British populations with type 2 diabetes were asked to participate. Questionnaires measuring demographic/disease characteristics, diabetes-specific knowledge, self-management, and illness perceptions were used for data collection. Data for glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and microvascular complications were obtained from medical records. Ethnic differences in diabetes-related measures were estimated using analysis of variance/covariance. Multiple regression techniques were used to determine relationships between demographic/disease characteristics and measured diabetes-related outcomes. RESULTS: Three hundred and fifty-nine patients participated in the study. White-British participants had high diabetes-specific knowledge compared to their black-African and black-Caribbean counterparts. Black-Africans reported better adherence to self-management recommendations than the other ethnic groups. Compared to the white-British patients, black-African and black-Caribbean participants perceived diabetes as a benign condition that could be cured. Educational status and treatment category were determinants of diabetes-specific knowledge in all three ethnic groups. However, different demographic/disease characteristics predicted adherence to self-management recommendations in each ethnic group. CONCLUSION: Clearly, there is disease (diabetes) knowledge-perception variation between different ethnic groups in the UK which may partly influence overall disease outcome. It is plausible to recommend screening, identifying, and dispelling misconceptions about diabetes among ethnic minority patients by health care professionals as well as emphasizing the importance of self-management in managing chronic diseases such as diabetes.

What predicts the selection of nursing as a career choice in 5th and 6th year school students?

Demand for nursing care, and nurses, is growing in the United Kingdom given an increasingly ageing patient population with long-term co-morbidities. An ageing nursing workforce and fewer school leavers entering nursing are key barriers to student nurse recruitment. This paper aims to identify the socio-demographic and correlates nursing as a career choice in 5th and 6th year school students. This cross-sectional descriptive study gathered self-administered questionnaires from a total cohort of 5th and 6th year school students (n=1059) in one educational authority in Scotland. A response rate of 100% was achieved, with 702 students expressing a career choice. Some 71.7% (n=503) of students providing a full data set would never consider nursing, even if they obtained poor grades. Only 28.3% (n=199) would ever consider nursing. Students cited nursing as a career choice if they were female, of average to below average academic ability/achievement, expressed a positive attitude to nursing as a degree subject which was shared by their career guidance teacher. Each additional higher reduced the likelihood of nursing as a career choice by 22%. Nursing is an unpopular career choice amongst school students. Strategies are required to improve the occupational image of nursing in secondary education.

Does clinical incident seriousness and receipt of work-based support influence mood experienced by nurses at work? A behavioural diary study.

BACKGROUND: While the relationship between general perceptions of the work environment and negative mood is well detailed, little is known about the effect of specific clinical incident characteristics on the mood experienced at work by nurses. This study examines the effect of incident seriousness and receipt of work-based support in the worst event of a shift from managers and colleagues on the Negative and Positive Affect experienced by nurses at work. METHODS: We approached the total cohort of medical and surgical nurses in 4 large district general hospitals in England, 17% volunteered. Some 171 nurses filled end of shift and standard entry (every 90 min) computerised behavioural diaries over three consecutive shifts. The diaries measured Incident Seriousness, Receipt of Managerial and Co-worker Support, Negative Affect and Positive Affect. Results were analysed using multilevel modelling (MLwiN 2.19). FINDINGS: Following the worst clinical incident of a shift, nurses reported higher Negative Affect (ß=1.28, [95%CI: 0.12, 2.45], z=2.17, p<.05) and lower Positive Affect (ß=-2.39, [95%CI: -3.96, -0.82], z=2.99, p<.005) which persisted for the remainder of the shift. Most critically, Negative Affect was more elevated after serious incidents (ß=0.07, [95%CI: 0.04, 0.10], z=3.5, p<.005). Nurses who reported Receipt of Managerial Support following an incident reported significantly lower levels of Positive Affect compared to those reporting no such contact (ß=-5.30, [95%CI: -9.51, -1.09], z=2.47, p<.05). The interaction between Incident and the Receipt of Work-Based Support on NA was not significant (ß=2.34 [95%CI: -0.82, 3.95], z=1.45, p>.05). Receipt of Colleague Support had no relationship with Negative Affect or Positive Affect. Free text reports mainly revealed the negative impact of managerial support, although there were instances of contact with managers which were sought following exposure to difficult clinical situations. DISCUSSION: Serious clinical incidents have enduring effects on Negative Affect and Positive Affect for the remainder of the shift. Nurse Positive Affect was significantly worse following the worst clinical incident of shift when managerial support was received. Further research is required to determine the positive and negative effects of managerial support on the mood experienced by nurses at work.

Psychometric properties of the Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire: factor structure and reliability among African-origin populations with type 2 diabetes.

BACKGROUND: The Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ-R) has been used extensively to measure illness perceptions of several patient populations. However, the instrument was developed using participants of mainly European-origin. The reliability and validity of the IPQ-R may therefore need to be established before use among populations of different ethnic and cultural origins. OBJECTIVES: This study investigated the factor structure and internal consistency reliability of the IPQ-R in African-origin patients with type 2 diabetes. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, 221 adults of African descent with type 2 diabetes completed the IPQ-R. Participants were recruited from patients attending diabetes and retinal screening clinics in the London boroughs of Brent and Hackney. Confirmatory Factor Analysis based on the covariance matrix was used to determine factorial validity for the Timeline-acute/chronic, Consequences, Personal control, Treatment control, Illness coherence, Timeline-cyclical, Emotional representation and three causal subscales of the IPQ-R. Composite internal consistency reliability for individual subscales was determined using Cronbach's alpha coefficients. RESULTS: After eliminating three items and re-specifying six error covariances associated with large standardised residuals and low factor loadings, the hypothesised model adequately explained the covariance of African and Caribbean patients' responses to items of the IPQ-R. Also, composite reliability coefficients of all measured subscales were acceptable and inter-correlations between subscales were in line with those reported from other population groups. CONCLUSIONS: The findings in this study suggest that although the IPQ-R may be valid and reliable across cultures, investigators may need to modify (e.g. by rewording) some of its items taking into account any linguistic origins of their populations of study. Further evaluation of the IPQ-R (including the identity subscale) in larger samples of African-origin populations is also recommended.

Stress in telephone helpline nurses: research protocol for a study of theoretical determinants, physiological aspects and behavioural consequences.

AIM: This is a report of a research protocol to assess level, determinants and consequences of stress in NHS-24 telephone helpline nurses. BACKGROUND: Nurses working in traditional hospital settings report high levels of occupational stress. Many nurses now work in call centres, environments with their own inherent stressors. Stress in nurses has been linked to reduced physical and psychological health, reduced job satisfaction, increased sickness absence and turnover, and poorer job performance. In this study, we will use multiple methods, including real time data collection to assess stress in telephone helpline nurses. DESIGN: During 2008/09, NHS-24 nurses will (a) report general stress and call-by-call stress over two working shifts, (b) complete measures of theoretical determinants of occupational stress (demand, control, effort and reward), (c) have their concentration and attention tested before and after two shifts, (d) have their heart rate monitored over two shifts, (e) report job satisfaction, absenteeism and intended turnover and (f) allow the research team to retrieve related call data and performance indicators. Relationships between the variables will be assessed using regression and multi-level modelling. DISCUSSION: Data will be analysed to examine the relationships between reported stress, physiological aspects of stress, call type, workplace attributes, cognitive performance, job satisfaction and absenteeism. The analysis will test models of occupational stress and assess the effects of stress on multiple work outcomes. The results will inform theoretical understanding of nurse stress, its determinants and possible methods of management. The practical challenges of conducting such a comprehensive study in a clinical environment are discussed.