Nurses’ performance in palliative care: spiritual care in the light of Theory of Human Caring

ABSTRACT Objectives: to analyze nurses’ role in assisting patients in palliative care, with emphasis on the spiritual dimension, in the light of Theory of Human Caring. Methods: this is an exploratory, qualitative study, carried out in a hospital in João Pessoa, Paraíba, between August and December 2019, with 10 nurses. For data collection, semi-structured interviews were used. For analysis, we opted for content analysis. Results: the spiritual dimension of care is contemplated by several religious and spiritual practices. These are respected and encouraged by nurses, although there is difficulty in providing care for the spiritual dimension. Final Considerations: nurses have attitudes consistent with Jean Watson’s Theory and apply the Caritas Process elements during assistance to patients’ spiritual dimension in palliative care.

Interventions to Promote a Healthy Sexuality among School Adolescents: A Scoping Review

Schools are particularly suitable contexts for the implementation of interventions focused on adolescent sexual behavior. Sexual education and promotion have a multidisciplinary nature. Nurses’ role and the spectrum of the carried-out interventions is not clear. We aimed to identify interventions that promote a healthy sexuality among school adolescents. Our review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews and was registered in the Open Science Framework. Published articles on sexuality in adolescents in school contexts were considered. The research limitations included primary studies; access in full text in English, Spanish, or Portuguese; and no data publication limitation. Research was carried out on the EBSCOhost, PubMed, SciELO, and Web of Science platforms; gray literature and the bibliographies of selected articles were also searched. A total of 56 studies were included in the sample. The studies used a broad range of research methods, and 10 types of interventions were identified. Multi-interventional programs and socio-emotional interventions showed a greater impact on long-term behavioral changes, and continuity seemed to be a key factor. Long-term studies are needed to reach a consensus on the effectiveness of interventions. Nurses’ particular role on the multidisciplinary teams was found to be a gap in the research, and must be further explored.

Presa in carico infermieristica nella Malattia Renale Cronica

n 2017, thanks to an initiative of IPASVI College (the Order of Nursing Professionals of the province of Bologna) in response to 2014 legislations referring to the Guidelines about Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD), nephrology professionals and members of EDTNA/ERCA Italian Branch Association (which in 2018 became Società Infermieri Area Nefrologica, SIAN) in 2021 were requested to contribute to define the role and skills performed by nurses on a daily basis. The management of the CKD patient has been structured into 7 phases: the model for each phase takes into consideration the professionals involved, the care settings and the tools used. To support this approach, we decided to introduce two elements which broaden the clinical and care approach to the patient and at the same time highlight the contribution of nursing professionals, with a referring workflow for the CKD patient, the nurses’ role and skills required throughout the patient’s journey. Furthermore, to ensure the best continuity of care, we believe that it is necessary to apply a logical model based on the principles of early recognition of health and welfare needs; guarantee the most appropriate healthcare response; ensure early care; standardize the procedures of professionals to improve the quality of life of the patient and manage the social and economic impact.

Role of Dutch internal policy advisors in a hospital quality improvement programme and their influence on nurses’ role development: a qualitative study

ObjectiveNurses are vital in providing and improving quality of care. To enhance the quality improvement (QI) competencies of nurses, hospitals in the Netherlands run developmental programmes generally led by internal policy advisors (IPAs). In this study, we identify the roles IPAs play during these programmes to enhance the development of nurses’ QI competencies and studied how these roles influenced nurses and management.DesignAn exploratory ethnographical study comprising observations, informal conversations, semistructured interviews, focus groups and a strategy evaluation meeting.SettingA teaching hospital in an urban region in the Netherlands.ParticipantsIPAs (n=7) in collaboration with four teams of nurses (n=131), team managers (n=4), senior managers (n=4) and the hospital director (n=1).ResultsWe identified five distinct advisory roles that IPAs perform in the hospital programme: gatekeeper, connector, converter, reflector and implementer. In describing these roles, we provide insights into how IPAs help nurses to develop QI competencies. The IPA’s professional background was a driving force for nurses’ QI role development. However, QI development was threatened if IPAs lost sight of different stakeholders’ interests and consequently lost their credibility. QI role development among nurses was also threatened if the IPA took on all responsibility instead of delegating it timely to managers and nurses.ConclusionsWe have shown how IPAs’ professional background and advisory knowledge connect organisational, managerial and professional aims and interests to enhance professionalisation of nurses.