Staffing and Organisation of Nursing Care in Cardiac Intensive Care Units in Greece

2003 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 123-129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anastasios Merkouris ◽  
Elizabeth D.E. Papathanassoglou ◽  
Dimitrios Pistolas ◽  
Vasileia Papagiannaki ◽  
John Floros ◽  
...  

Purpose: To explore staffing and organisational characteristics of nursing care in cardiac intensive care units (CICUs) in Greece. Methodology: An exploratory descriptive survey design with additional cross-sectional comparisons was employed. A specifically developed survey-type questionnaire, addressed to nurse managers, was distributed to all CICUs in Greece. Results: The response rate was 76.2% ( N=32 units). Nursing staff per bed ratios over 24 h (whole-time equivalent) were very low and exhibited a mean of 1.25 (±0.53). The total registered nurse to assistance nurse (RN/AN) ratio was 2.74, but a lot of variability was observed and in many units ANs operated in RNs positions. Only 42% of the nurses had participated at in-service continuing education programs and a systematic training program in cardio pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was provided in only 12 (37.5%) units. The reported frequencies at which specific technical tasks were performed autonomously by nurses varied substantially and reflected a medium to low level of practice autonomy; the most frequently reported tasks were: peripheral IV line insertion, CPR chest compression, titration of vasoactive drugs and administration of analgesics. Higher percentages of nurses had received in-service training associated with the likelihood of performance of several technical tasks ( P<0.03). Conclusions: Future studies need to explore the effect of these organisational characteristics on patient outcomes. The endorsement of nation-wide standards for nursing staffing and training in CICUs is imperative.

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shiva Khaleghparast ◽  
Soodabeh Joolaee ◽  
Majid Maleki ◽  
Hamid Peyrovi ◽  
Behrooz Ghanbari ◽  
...  

<p><strong>BACKGROUND: </strong>Families play a vital role in the recovery of patients admitted to Intensive Care Units. They can help patients to adapt themselves to the crisis and feel more satisfied.</p><p><strong>OBJECTIVE: </strong>In this study, we examined the patients’ and families’ satisfaction with the current visiting policies in Cardiac Intensive Care Units in the largest Cardiovascular Medical and Research Center of Iran.</p><p><strong>METHOD:</strong> This research used<strong> </strong>a cross-sectional design with a simple random sampling. To do so, 303 patients admitted to those Cardiac Intensive Care Units and their families responded to a two-part questionnaire between September 2014 and March 2015. The inclusion criteria for patients were aged between 18 and 85, acceptable general status to respond to the questions of the questionnaire, and having one of the cardiac diseases symptoms. Intention to attend was the only inclusion criterion for the family members.</p><p><strong>RESULTS:</strong> The results showed that 167(55.1%) of the participants were dissatisfied with the limited visiting policies of the Cardiac Intensive Care Units, while the satisfaction rate was 43(14.2%). The remaining participants (30.7%) were slightly satisfied with the visiting policies in Cardiac Intensive Care Units.</p><p><strong>CONCLUSIONS: </strong>Patient-centered care is an expectation among patients and their families in the Cardiac Intensive Care Units. It seems that a change in visiting policies is necessary.</p>


Author(s):  
Georgia Fasoi ◽  
Eirini C. Patsiou ◽  
Areti Stavropoulou ◽  
Evridiki Kaba ◽  
Dimitrios Papageorgiou ◽  
...  

Introduction: Nursing activities score scales are valuable instruments for assessing the quality of nursing care provided in critically ill patients and easy to use in validating nurse staffing. The aim of this study was the assessment of nursing workload (NW) as a predictive factor of mortality by using the nursing activities score (NAS) scale. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study of 91 days during 2019, convenience sampling was employed to recruit 82 registered nurses (RN) from three intensive care units (ICUs) of two public hospitals with 41 beds in total. Data were collected using the NAS scale, the researcher’s observation, the information given by the staff, and the nursing care reports. Descriptive and inductive statistics were used with significance level α = 0.05. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS 25.0) was used for analyzing the data. Results: Females were the majority of the sample (84.1%), with a mean age of 38.9 (7.7) years, 87.8% had a nursing degree from a technological educational institute (T.E.I), the average working experience was 14 (8.1) years and the ICU experience was 12.9 (8.5) years. There were 3764 daily records of NAS with an average of 54.81 (2.34) and total NAS of 756.51 (150.27). The NW of the first day’s admission in the ICU was 65.15 (13.05), NW was 13.15 h/day and the NW of patients who died was 57.37 (4.06). The optimal nurse/patient ratio (NPR) was 1:1.82, while the existing NPR was 1:2.86. The mortality rate was 28.7%. Conclusion: Although the study results did not demonstrate a significant correlation between NW and mortality, the NW in ICU appeared to be relatively higher for patients who died than for those who survived. This result may serve as an indication for a positive correlation between these two variables. In addition, NW was found to be moderate, while one ICU nurse can take care of more than one patient.


2010 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 285-295 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark O’Connor ◽  
Tracey Bucknall ◽  
Elizabeth Manias

Objective To explore the use of sedatives and analgesics, tools for scoring level of sedation, sedation and pain protocols, and daily interruptions in sedation in Australian and New Zealand intensive care units and to examine doctors’ and nurses’ opinions about the sedation management of critically ill patients. Methods A cross-sectional Internet-based survey design was used. In total, 2146 members of professional critical care organizations in Australia and New Zealand were e-mailed the survey during a 4-month period in 2006 through 2007. Results Of 348 members (16% response rate) who accessed the survey, 246 (71%) completed all sections. Morphine, fentanyl, midazolam, and propofol were the most commonly used medicines. Newer medicines, such as dexmedetomidine and remifentanil, and inhalant medications, such as nitrous oxide and isoflurane, were rarely used by most respondents. Respondents used protocols to manage sedatives (54%) and analgesics (51%), and sedation assessment tools were regularly used by 72%. A total of 62% reported daily interruption of sedation; 23% used daily interruption for more than 75% of patients. A disparity was evident between respondents’ opinions on how deeply patients were usually sedated in practice and how deeply patients should ideally be sedated. Conclusions Newer medications are used much less than are traditional sedatives and analgesics. Sedation protocols are increasingly used in Australasia, despite equivocal evidence supporting their use. Similarly, daily interruption of sedation is common in management of patients receiving mechanical ventilation. Research is needed to explore contextual and personal factors that may affect sedation management.


2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yolima Carmona González ◽  
Amparo Montalvo Prieto

Objective. The purpose, herein, was to determine the moral sensitivity of nurses when caring for terminally ill patients.Methods. Descriptive study conducted in the city of Cartagena (Colombia) with the participation of 118 nurses with minimum experience of six months in caring for the terminally ill in general hospitalization, caring for chronic patients, and intensive care units. The study used the 23-item questionnaire on Moral Sensitivity in Nursing Care – (Sensibilidad Moral en el Cuidado Enfermero -CuSMCE-23, in spanish) - by Campillo, which has six Likert-type response options (0 = total disagreement, to 5 = total agreement) and which has two dimensions: Nurse values (12 items) and Care responses (11 items). A higher score meant a higher degree of moral sensitivity.Results. It was found that 89.8% of the participants were women; 20.3% had a graduate degree; 39.8% had less than five years of care experience; 58.5% worked in a public institution – by type of service: 58.5% worked in general hospitalization; 32.2% in the intensive care unit; and 9.3% with chronic patients. The global moral sensitivity regarding the terminally ill in the study group was at 80%. By dimensions, while the Values dimension obtained 90%, the Care responses dimension only reached 70.4%, with the latter dimension showing difficulties in the items: ‘Often, when I am with a patient, I talk about myself to be more comfortable’ (27.1%), ‘It is hard for me to accept certain decisions by the patients’ (55.1%), and ‘It is hard for me to identify concerns regarding the religious expression’ (60.2%).Conclusion. Although the global levels of nurse’s moral sensitivity regarding the terminally ill and of the dimension Nurse Values are high, the dimension of Care responses has limitations, especially in accepting the diversity of expressions presented by patients Descriptors: nursing care, terminally ill, intensive care units; hospitalization; morals; ethics, nursing; surveys and questionnaires; cross-sectional studies. How to cite this article: Carmona Y, Montalvo A. Nurses’ Moral Sensitivity Regarding the Terminally Ill. Invest. Educ. Enferm. 2019; 37(3):e07. 


2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 100-104
Author(s):  
Maksudur Rahman ◽  
Mohammad Abdullah Al Mamun ◽  
MAK Azad Chowdhury ◽  
Abu Sayeed Munsi

Background: Recently it has been apprehended that sildenafil, a drug which has been successfully using in the treatment of PPHN and erectile dysfunction in adult, is going to be withdrawn from the market of Bangladesh due to threat of its misuses. Objective: The aim of this study was to see the extent of uses of sildenafil in the treatment of PPHN and importance of availability of this drugs in the market inspite of its probable misuses. Methods: This cross sectional study was conducted in neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), special baby care unit (SCABU) and cardiac intensive care unit (CICU) of Dhaka Shishu (Children) Hospital from June, 2017 to May 2018. Neonates with PPHN were enrolled in the study. All cases were treated with oral sildenefil for PPHN along with others management according to hospital protocol. Data along with other parameters were collected and analyzed. Results: Total 320 patients with suspected PPHN were admitted during the study period. Among them 92 (29%) cases had PPHN. Male were 49(53 %) cases and female were 43(47%) cases. Mean age at hospital admission was 29.7±13.4 hours. Based on echocardiography,13(14%) cases had mild, 38 (41%) cases moderate and 41(45%) cases severe PPHN. Mean duration of sildenafil therapy was 11.9±7.1 days. Improved from PPHN were 83 (90%) cases. Mortality was 10% (9). Conclusion: In this study it was found that the incidence of PPHN is 29% among the suspected newborns. Sildenafil is successfull in improving the oxygenation of PPHN and to decrease the mortality of neonates. DS (Child) H J 2019; 35(2) : 100-104


CJC Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kim Volle ◽  
Clément Delmas ◽  
Jean Ferrières ◽  
Olivier Toulza ◽  
Stephanie Blanco ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 58 ◽  
pp. 102705
Author(s):  
Zeinab Kia ◽  
Maryam Allahbakhshian ◽  
Mahnaz Ilkhani ◽  
Malihe Nasiri ◽  
Atefeh Allahbakhshian

2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 205-211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mansooreh Azzizadeh Forouzi ◽  
Marjan Banazadeh ◽  
Jila Soltan Ahmadi ◽  
Farideh Razban

Objective: Neonatal nurses face numerous barriers in providing end-of-life (EOL) care for neonates and their families. Addressing neonatal nurses’ attitudes could provide insight into barriers that impede neonatal palliative care (NPC). This study thus conducted to examine neonatal nurses’ attitude toward barriers in providing NPC in Southeast Iran. Method: In this cross-sectional study, a translated modified version of Neonatal Palliative Care Attitude Scale was used to examine attitudes of 70 nurses toward barriers of palliative care in 3 neonatal intensive care units in Southeast Iran. Results: Findings indicated that overall 42.63% of nurses were strongly agreed or agreed with the proposed barriers in NPC. Among all categories, the highest and the lowest scores belonged to the categories of “insufficient resources” (3.42 ± 0.65) and “inappropriate personal and social attitudes” (2.33 ± 0.48), respectively. Neonatal nurses who had less education and study regarding NPC reported the presence of more barriers to NPC in the categories of “inappropriate organizational culture” and/or “inadequate nursing proficiency.” Also, younger nurses had more positive attitudes toward the category of inappropriate organizational culture as being a barrier to provision of NPC (4.62). Conclusion: The findings suggest that developing a context-based instrument is required to represent the barrier more precisely. Neonatal palliative care can be improved by establishing a special environment to focus on infants’ EOL care. This establishment requires standard palliative care guidelines and adequate NPC-trained nurses.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document