Another Link to Improving the Working Environment in Acute Care Hospitals: Registered Nurses’ Spirit at Work

Background Nurses in acute care are frequently involved in ethical decision making and experience a higher prevalence of ethical conflicts and dilemmas. Nurses in underresourced rural acute care settings also are likely to face unique ethical challenges. However, rarely have the particular contexts of these experiences in rural acute care settings been researched. A culture of silence and fear in small towns has made exploring these issues difficult. Objectives To explore registered nurses’ experiences of ethical issues and ethical decision making in rural acute care hospitals in northern Ontario, Canada. Research design Guided by an interpretive descriptive approach, data were collected by two nurse researchers using in-depth, individual, and semistructured telephone interviews. Data were managed with NVivo v.11 and analyzed using inductive, comparative, thematic analyses. Participants and research context The participants were eight registered nurses working in two acute care hospitals in northern Ontario. Ethical considerations Ethical protocols were followed in accordance with ethics approval from the researchers’ university and the hospitals. Findings Results identified four themes that culminated in the development of a quadruple helix ethical decision-making framework of power, trust, care, and fear. Discussion and conclusion The participants described complex ethical conflicts and dilemmas in acute care settings that were influenced by the context of working and living in small rural communities in northern Ontario. Nurses described navigating ethics in practice using a tension-based approach to ethical decision making, needing to carry these issues silently and often having no resolution to ethical challenges. These findings have important implications for nursing education, research, and practice. Nurses need safe spaces, formal ethics support, and improved access to resources. Additional ethics education and training specific to the unique contexts of rural settings are needed.

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Collaboration among registered nurses and practical nurses in acute care hospitals: A scoping review

Nursing Forum ◽

10.1111/nuf.12339 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 54 (3) ◽

pp. 376-385 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Jane Moore ◽

Dawn Prentice ◽

Joanne Crawford ◽

Sara Lankshear ◽

Jacqueline Limoges ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Registered Nurses ◽

Acute Care ◽

Scoping Review ◽

Acute Care Hospitals ◽

Practical Nurses

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Job satisfaction among registered nurses in two Scandinavian acute care hospitals

Journal of Nursing Management ◽

10.1111/jonm.12620 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 26 (7) ◽

pp. 888-897 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Tuija Ylitörmänen ◽

Hannele Turunen ◽

Tarja Kvist

Keyword(s):

Job Satisfaction ◽

Registered Nurses ◽

Acute Care ◽

Acute Care Hospitals

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Physical restraint to patients with dementia in acute physical care settings: effect of the financial incentive to acute care hospitals

International Psychogeriatrics ◽

10.1017/s104161021700240x ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 30 (7) ◽

pp. 991-1000 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Miharu Nakanishi ◽

Yasuyuki Okumura ◽

Asao Ogawa

Keyword(s):

Acute Care ◽

Financial Incentive ◽

Physical Restraint ◽

Acute Care Hospitals ◽

Dementia Care ◽

Lower Percentage ◽

Public Healthcare ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Insurance Program ◽

Healthcare Insurance

ABSTRACTBackground:In April 2016, the Japanese government introduced an additional benefit for dementia care in acute care hospitals (dementia care benefit) into the universal benefit schedule of public healthcare insurance program. The benefit includes a financial disincentive to use physical restraint. The present study investigated the association between the dementia care benefit and the use of physical restraint among inpatients with dementia in general acute care settings.Methods:A national cross-sectional study design was used. Eight types of care units from acute care hospitals under the public healthcare insurance program were invited to participate in this study. A total of 23,539 inpatients with dementia from 2,355 care units in 937 hospitals were included for the analysis. Dementia diagnosis or symptoms included any signs of cognitive impairment. The primary outcome measure was “use of physical restraint.”Results:Among patients, the point prevalence of physical restraint was 44.5% (n= 10,480). Controlling for patient, unit, and hospital characteristics, patients in units with dementia care benefit had significantly lower percentage of physical restraint than those in any other units (42.0% vs. 47.1%; adjusted odds ratio, 0.76; 95% confident interval [0.63, 0.92]).Conclusions:The financial incentive may have reduced the risk of physical restraint among patients with dementia in acute care hospitals. However, use of physical restraint was still common among patients with dementia in units with the dementia care benefit. An educational package to guide dementia care approach including the avoidance of physical restraint by healthcare professionals in acute care hospitals is recommended.

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Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in health care personnel of two acute care hospitals in Linz, Austria

Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (CCLM) ◽

10.1515/cclm-2020-1681 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 0 (0) ◽

Author(s):

Margot Egger ◽

Christian Bundschuh ◽

Kurt Wiesinger ◽

Elisabeth Bräutigam ◽

Thomas Berger ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Acute Care ◽

Acute Care Hospitals ◽

Health Care Personnel

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Effectiveness of Ultraviolet-C Room Disinfection on Preventing Healthcare-Associated Clostridioides difficile Infection

Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology ◽

10.1017/ice.2020.512 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 41 (S1) ◽

pp. s33-s33

Author(s):

Michihiko Goto ◽

Erin Balkenende ◽

Gosia Clore ◽

Rajeshwari Nair ◽

Loretta Simbartl ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Acute Care ◽

Acute Care Hospitals ◽

Incidence Rates ◽

Positive Test ◽

Negative Binomial Regression Model ◽

Test Results ◽

Clostridioides Difficile ◽

Ultraviolet C ◽

Healthcare Associated ◽

Uv C

Background: Enhanced terminal room cleaning with ultraviolet C (UVC) disinfection has become more commonly used as a strategy to reduce the transmission of important nosocomial pathogens, including Clostridioides difficile, but the real-world effectiveness remains unclear. Objectives: We aimed to assess the association of UVC disinfection during terminal cleaning with the incidence of healthcare-associated C. difficile infection and positive test results for C. difficile within the nationwide Veterans Health Administration (VHA) System. Methods: Using a nationwide survey of VHA system acute-care hospitals, information on UV-C system utilization and date of implementation was obtained. Hospital-level incidence rates of clinically confirmed hospital-onset C. difficile infection (HO-CDI) and positive test results with recent healthcare exposures (both hospital-onset [HO-LabID] and community-onset healthcare-associated [CO-HA-LabID]) at acute-care units between January 2010 and December 2018 were obtained through routine surveillance with bed days of care (BDOC) as the denominator. We analyzed the association of UVC disinfection with incidence rates of HO-CDI, HO-Lab-ID, and CO-HA-LabID using a nonrandomized, stepped-wedge design, using negative binomial regression model with hospital-specific random intercept, the presence or absence of UVC disinfection use for each month, with baseline trend and seasonality as explanatory variables. Results: Among 143 VHA acute-care hospitals, 129 hospitals (90.2%) responded to the survey and were included in the analysis. UVC use was reported from 42 hospitals with various implementation start dates (range, June 2010 through June 2017). We identified 23,021 positive C. difficile test results (HO-Lab ID: 5,014) with 16,213 HO-CDI and 24,083,252 BDOC from the 129 hospitals during the study period. There were declining baseline trends nationwide (mean, −0.6% per month) for HO-CDI. The use of UV-C had no statistically significant association with incidence rates of HO-CDI (incidence rate ratio [IRR], 1.032; 95% CI, 0.963–1.106; P = .65) or incidence rates of healthcare-associated positive C. difficile test results (HO-Lab). Conclusions: In this large quasi-experimental analysis within the VHA System, the enhanced terminal room cleaning with UVC disinfection was not associated with the change in incidence rates of clinically confirmed hospital-onset CDI or positive test results with recent healthcare exposure. Further research is needed to understand reasons for lack of effectiveness, such as understanding barriers to utilization.Funding: NoneDisclosures: None

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Pathogens Associated With Repeat Versus Single Central-Line–Associated Bloodstream Infections, Acute-Care Hospitals, NHSN

Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology ◽

10.1017/ice.2020.956 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 41 (S1) ◽

pp. s343-s344

Author(s):

Margaret A. Dudeck ◽

Katherine Allen-Bridson ◽

Jonathan R. Edwards

Keyword(s):

Acute Care ◽

National Level ◽

Bloodstream Infections ◽

Acute Care Hospitals ◽

Central Line ◽

Patient Specific ◽

Healthcare Associated Infections ◽

Healthcare Associated ◽

Repeat Infection ◽

Single Versus

Background: The NHSN is the nation’s largest surveillance system for healthcare-associated infections. Since 2011, acute-care hospitals (ACHs) have been required to report intensive care unit (ICU) central-line–associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) to the NHSN pursuant to CMS requirements. In 2015, this requirement included general medical, surgical, and medical-surgical wards. Also in 2015, the NHSN implemented a repeat infection timeframe (RIT) that required repeat CLABSIs, in the same patient and admission, to be excluded if onset was within 14 days. This analysis is the first at the national level to describe repeat CLABSIs. Methods: Index CLABSIs reported in ACH ICUs and select wards during 2015–2108 were included, in addition to repeat CLABSIs occurring at any location during the same period. CLABSIs were stratified into 2 groups: single and repeat CLABSIs. The repeat CLABSI group included the index CLABSI and subsequent CLABSI(s) reported for the same patient. Up to 5 CLABSIs were included for a single patient. Pathogen analyses were limited to the first pathogen reported for each CLABSI, which is considered to be the most important cause of the event. Likelihood ratio χ2 tests were used to determine differences in proportions. Results: Of the 70,214 CLABSIs reported, 5,983 (8.5%) were repeat CLABSIs. Of 3,264 nonindex CLABSIs, 425 (13%) were identified in non-ICU or non-select ward locations. Staphylococcus aureus was the most common pathogen in both the single and repeat CLABSI groups (14.2% and 12%, respectively) (Fig. 1). Compared to all other pathogens, CLABSIs reported with Candida spp were less likely in a repeat CLABSI event than in a single CLABSI event (P < .0001). Insertion-related organisms were more likely to be associated with single CLABSIs than repeat CLABSIs (P < .0001) (Fig. 2). Alternatively, Enterococcus spp or Klebsiella pneumoniae and K. oxytoca were more likely to be associated with repeat CLABSIs than single CLABSIs (P < .0001). Conclusions: This analysis highlights differences in the aggregate pathogen distributions comparing single versus repeat CLABSIs. Assessing the pathogens associated with repeat CLABSIs may offer another way to assess the success of CLABSI prevention efforts (eg, clean insertion practices). Pathogens such as Enterococcus spp and Klebsiella spp demonstrate a greater association with repeat CLABSIs. Thus, instituting prevention efforts focused on these organisms may warrant greater attention and could impact the likelihood of repeat CLABSIs. Additional analysis of patient-specific pathogens identified in the repeat CLABSI group may yield further clarification.Funding: NoneDisclosures: None

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