Objective: To obtain insight into (a) the prevalence of nursing staff–experienced barriers regarding the promotion of functional activity among nursing home residents, and (b) the association between these barriers and nursing staff–perceived promotion of functional activity. Method: Barriers experienced by 368 nurses from 41 nursing homes in the Netherlands were measured with the MAastrIcht Nurses Activity INventory (MAINtAIN)-barriers; perceived promotion of functional activities was measured with the MAINtAIN-behaviors. Descriptive statistics and hierarchical linear regression analyses were performed. Results: Most often experienced barriers were staffing levels, capabilities of residents, and availability of resources. Barriers that were most strongly associated with the promotion of functional activity were communication within the team, (a lack of) referral to responsibilities, and care routines. Discussion: Barriers that are most often experienced among nursing staff are not necessarily the barriers that are most strongly associated with nursing staff–perceived promotion of functional activity.
Aims and objectives: To describe the process of implementing evidence-based practice (EBP) in a clinical nursing setting. Background: EBP has become a major issue in nursing, it is insufficiently integrated in daily practice and its implementation is complex. Design: Participatory action research. Method: The main participants were nurses working in a lung unit of a rural hospital. A multi-method process of data collection was used during the observing, reflecting, planning and acting phases. Data were continuously gathered during a 24-month period from 2010 to 2012, and analysed using an interpretive constant comparative approach. Patients were consulted to incorporate their perspective. Results: A best-practice mode of working was prevalent on the ward. The main barriers to the implementation of EBP were that nurses had little knowledge of EBP and a rather negative attitude towards it, and that their English reading proficiency was poor. The main facilitators were that nurses wanted to deliver high-quality care and were enthusiastic and open to innovation. Implementation strategies included a tailored interactive outreach training and the development and implementation of an evidence-based discharge protocol. The academic model of EBP was adapted. Nurses worked according to the EBP discharge protocol but barely recorded their activities. Nurses favourably evaluated the participatory action research process. Conclusions: Action research provides an opportunity to empower nurses and to tailor EBP to the practice context. Applying and implementing EBP is difficult for front-line nurses with limited EBP competencies. Relevance to clinical practice: Adaptation of the academic model of EBP to a more pragmatic approach seems necessary to introduce EBP into clinical practice. The use of scientific evidence can be facilitated by using pre-appraised evidence. For clinical practice, it seems relevant to integrate scientific evidence with clinical expertise and patient values in nurses’ clinical decision making at the individual patient level.
BACKGROUND: Nursing home residents are mainly inactive. Nursing staff can encourage residents to perform functional activities during daily care activities. This study examines 1) the extent to which nursing staff perceive that they encourage functional activity in nursing home residents and 2) the associations between these nursing behaviors and professional characteristics, contextual factors, and information-seeking behaviors. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, 368 registered nurses and certified nurse assistants, working in somatic and psychogeriatric wards of forty-one nursing homes throughout the Netherlands participated. Self-reported data were collected with a questionnaire, comprising the MAINtAIN-behaviors, which assesses the extent to which nursing staff encourage functional activities, including different activities of daily living (ADL), household activities, and miscellaneous encouraging activities (e.g., discouraging informal caregivers from taking over activities residents can do themselves). Additional data collected included professional characteristics (e.g., age), contextual factors (e.g., ward type), and information-seeking behaviors (e.g., reading professional journals). Descriptive statistics were used to determine the extent to which functional activities were encouraged. Hierarchical linear regression analyses were performed to determine the associations between the encouragement of functional activities and other factors. RESULTS: Nursing staff perceived that household activities (mean 4.1 (scale range 1-9), SD 1.9) were less often encouraged than ADL (mean 6.9, SD 1.2) or miscellaneous activities (mean 6.7, SD 1.5). The percentage of nursing staff stating that different household activities, ADL, or miscellaneous activities were almost always encouraged ranged from 11 to 45%, 41 to 86%, and 50 to 83% per activity, respectively. The extent to which these activities were encouraged differed for some of the professional characteristics, contextual factors, or information-seeking behaviors, but no consistent pattern in associations emerged. CONCLUSIONS: According to nursing staff, household activities are not as often encouraged as ADL or miscellaneous activities. Professional characteristics, contextual factors, and information-seeking behaviors are not consistently associated with the encouragement of functional activity. Nursing staff should also focus on improving the encouragement of household activities. Future research could examine the role of other factors in encouraging functional activity, such as experienced barriers, and assess to what extent the perception of nursing staff corresponds with their actual behavior.
In the Netherlands, 125 people suffer a stroke every day, which annually results in 46.000 new stroke patients Stroke patients are confronted with combinations of physical, psychological and social consequences impacting their long term functioning and quality of live. Fortunately many patients recover to their pre-stroke level of functioning, however, almost half of them never will. Consequently, rehabilitation often means that patients need to adapt to a new reality in their lives, requiring not only physical but also psychosocial adjustments. Nurses play a key role during rehabilitation of stroke patients. However, when confronted with psychosocial problems, they often feel insecure about identifying the specific psycho-social needs of the individual patient and providing adequate care. In our project ‘Early Detection of Post-Stroke Depression’, (SIA RAAK; 2010-12-36P), we developed a toolkit focusing on early identification of depression after stroke continued with interventions nurses can use during hospitalisation. During this project it became clear that evidence regarding possible interventions is scarce and inclusive. Moreover feasibility of interventions is often not confirmed. Our project showed that during the period of hospital admission patients and health care providers strongly focus on surviving the stroke and on the physical rehabilitation. Therefore, we concluded that to make one step beyond we first have to go one step back. To strengthen psychosocial care for patients after stroke we have to add, reconsider and shape knowledge in context of health care practices in a systematic way, resulting in evidence based and practice informed stepping stones. With this project we aim to collect these stepping stones and develop a nursing care programme that improves psychosocial well-being of patients after stroke, is tailored to the particular concerns and needs of patients, and is considered feasible for use in the usual care process of nurses in the stroke rehabilitation pathway.
Aanleiding Mede door de vergrijzing groeit de zorgvraag in Nederland. Tegelijkertijd vallen veel verpleegkundigen uit door fysieke en mentale arbeidsbelasting. Dit begint al tijdens de opleiding/aan de start van de loopbaan. Dreigende arbeidstekorten en decentralisatie in de zorg vragen om verpleegkundigen die regie kunnen voeren over hun eigen werkgerelateerde gezondheid. Er is nog weinig wetenschappelijke kennis over het vroegtijdig signaleren en aanpakken van uitval onder verpleegkundigen. Bovendien hapert de invoer van effectieve interventies. Daarom willen zorginstellingen, verpleegkunde-opleidingen en wetenschappelijke organisaties onderzoek doen naar de oorzaken van uitval en een instrument ontwikkelen om problemen vroegtijdig te herkennen en te ondervangen. Doelstelling Het consortium wil een wetenschappelijk en praktisch onderbouwd instrumentarium ontwikkelen voor het signaleren van risicofactoren, gezondheidsproblemen, productiviteitsverlies en uitval bij stagiairs en beginnende verpleegkundigen, met daaraan gekoppeld effectieve preventieve interventies voor in de onderwijs- en stagepraktijk. Het programma kent twee fases. 1) literatuuronderzoek, kwalitatief onderzoek naar nog onbekende risicofactoren en longitudinaal cohortonderzoek vormen de basis voor een signaleringsinstrument/predictiemodel. In het cohortonderzoek worden van 750 (aankomend) verpleegkundigen 2,5 jaar de determinanten voor uitval gemonitord. In expertmeetings selecteert men vervolgens 6 evidencebased interventies. 2) het onderzoeksteam pre-test deze interventies op eerste haalbaarheid bij studenten verpleegkunde met risico. De 2 kansrijkste interventies, één voor mentale en één voor fysieke werkbelasting, worden in pilots op effectiviteit getoetst. In het onderzoek zet men de psychometrisch beproefde meetinstrumenten in van de European Nurses Early Exit Study (online enquêtes), aangevuld met inzichten uit interviews, fysieke metingen en praktijkobservaties. Beoogde resultaten De beoogde resultaten van het project zijn: " inzicht in de fysieke en mentale problemen van verpleegkundigen; " een gevalideerd predictiemodel voor geïndiceerde preventie in de zorg; " good practices en een kant-en-klare webapplicatie voor vroegsignalering met interventies in het stageonderwijs en het werkveld om uitval te voorkomen; " valorisatie van kennis in co-creatie met studenten, zorginstellingen en zorgprofessionals in de regio; " kennisinput voor de opleidingen Nurse practitioner, Verpleegkunde, Arbeid en Gezondheid, HRM. Een grote groep studenten is respondent in het onderzoek. In de uitvoering participeren ook studenten en daarnaast onder meer lectoren, onderzoekers en docenten van Hogeschool Rotterdam en twee promovendi. Voor de wetenschappelijke disseminatie worden refereerbijeenkomsten en presentaties gehouden op internationale congressen, en proefschriften en artikelen geschreven gepubliceerd. De verspreiding onder maatschappelijke partners gebeurt via vakpublicaties, expertmeetings en een slotsymposium. Met internationale partners uit het netwerk worden mogelijkheden verkend voor internationale parallelstudies.
