Objectives: To understand healthcare professionals' experiences and perceptions of nurses' potential or ideal roles in pharmaceutical care (PC). Design: Qualitative study conducted through semi-structured in-depth interviews. Setting: Between December 2018 and October 2019, interviews were conducted with healthcare professionals of 14 European countries in four healthcare settings: hospitals, community care, mental health and long-term residential care. Participants: In each country, pharmacists, physicians and nurses in each of the four settings were interviewed. Participants were selected on the basis that they were key informants with broad knowledge and experience of PC. Data collection and analysis: All interviews were conducted face to face. Each country conducted an initial thematic analysis. Consensus was reached through a face-to-face discussion of all 14 national leads. Results: 340 interviews were completed. Several tasks were described within four potential nursing responsibilities, that came up as the analysis themes, being: 1) monitoring therapeutic/adverse effects of medicines, 2) monitoring medicines adherence, 3) decision making on medicines, including prescribing 4) providing patient education/information. Nurses' autonomy varied across Europe, from none to limited to a few tasks and emergencies to a broad range of tasks and responsibilities. Intended level of autonomy depended on medicine types and level of education. Some changes are needed before nursing roles can be optimised and implemented in practice. Lack of time, shortage of nurses, absence of legal frameworks and limited education and knowledge are main threats to European nurses actualising their ideal role in PC. Conclusions: European nurses have an active role in PC. Respondents reported positive impacts on care quality and patient outcomes when nurses assumed PC responsibilities. Healthcare professionals expect nurses to report observations and assessments. This key patient information should be shared and addressed by the interprofessional team. The study evidences the need of a unique and consensus-based PC framework across Europe.
LINK
In indoor comfort research, thermal comfort of care-professionals in hospital environment is a little explored topic. To address this gap, a mixed methods study, with the nursing staff in hospital wards acting as participants,was undertaken. Responses were collected during three weeks in the summer (n = 89), and four weeks in the autumn (n = 43). Analysis of the subjective feedback from nurses and the measured indoor thermal conditions revealed that the existent thermal conditions (varying between 20 and 25 °C) caused a slightly warm thermal sensation on the ASHRAE seven point scale. This led to a slightly unacceptable thermal comfort and a slightly obstructed self-appraised work performance. The results also indicated that the optimal thermal sensation for the nurses—suiting their thermal comfort requirements and work performance—would be closer to‘slightly cool’than neutral. Using a design approach of dividing the hospital ward into separate thermal zones, with different set-points for respectively patient and care-professionals’comfort, would seem to be the ideal solution that contributes positively to the work environment and, at the same time, creates avenues for energy conservation.
Aim: To describe the extent of perceived collaboration between family caregivers of older persons and hospital nurses.Background: Collaboration between hospital nurses and family caregivers is of increasing importance in older patient’s care. Research lacks a specific focus on family caregiver’s collaboration with nurses.Method: Using a cross-sectional design, 302 caregivers of older patients (≥ 70 years) completed the 20-item Family Collaboration Scale with the subscales: trust in nursing care, accessible nurse, and influence on decisions. Date were analyzed with descriptive statistics and bivariate correlations.Results: Family caregivers rated their level of trust in nurses and nurses’ accessibility higher than the level of their influence on decisions. Family caregivers who had more contact with nurses perceived higher levels of influence on decisions (p ≤ .001) and overall collaboration (p ≤ .001).Conclusion: Family caregivers’ collaboration with nurses can be improved, especially in recognizing and exploiting family caregivers as partner in the care for older hospitalized persons and regarding their level of influence on decisions.Implications for Nursing Management: Insight into family caregivers’ collaboration with nurses will help nurse managers to jointlydevelop policy with nurses on how to organize more family caregiver’ involvement in the standard care for older persons.
Since 2015, the research group Lifelong Learning in Music of Hanze University of Applied Sciences Groningen, together with the University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG), has developed and researched the MiMiC practice for patients and nurses on surgical wards. The musicians make tailor-made music in the patients' rooms in collaboration with patients and nurses. They do this on the basis of verbal and non-verbal contact with patients and nurses. Person-centred music-making turns out to be easy to realise in a medical setting and to be meaningful for all involved. People who have just had surgery experience less pain. Nurses feel more deeply involved with their patients. Musicians show sensitivity for the social context in which they carry out their artistic practice.In this project the research group is developing an innovative artistic practice with a focus on elderly patients. Musicians work with patients and the care staff that are taking care of these patients during their stay in hospital. The research should lead to insights in the effects of this practice and to a new training for master students and professional musicians who want wish to specialise themselves in this field. Pilots on six different wards of the UMCG with professional musicians and master students are part of the research which will last two years in its entirety. The project has been granted funding from the 'Banning de Jong Fonds' of the national 'Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds' and the 'Fonds Sluyterman van Loo'.
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.
Mattresses for the healthcare sector are designed for robust use with a core foam layer and a polyurethane-coated polyester textile cover. Nurses and surgeons indicate that these mattresses are highly uncomfortable to patients because of poor microclimatic management (air, moisture, temperature, friction, pressure regulation, etc) across the mattress, which can cause pressure ulcers (in less than a day). The problem is severe (e.g., extra recovery time, medication, increased risk, and costs) for patients with wounds, infection, pressure-sensitive decubitus. There are around 180,000 waterproof mattresses in the healthcare sector in the Netherlands, of which yearly 40,000 mattresses are discarded. Owing to the rapidly aging population it is expected to increase the demand for these functional mattresses from 180,000 to 400,000 in the next 10 years in the healthcare sector. To achieve a circular economy, Dutch Government aims for a 50% reduction in the use of primary raw materials by 2030. As of January 1, 2022, mattress manufacturers and importers are obliged to pay a waste management contribution. Within the scope of this project, we will design, develop, and test a circular & functional mattress for the healthcare (cure & care) sector. The team of experts from knowledge institutes, SMEs, hospital(s), branch-organization joins hands to design and develop a functional (microclimate management, including ease of use for nurses and patients) mattress that deals with uncomfortable sleeping and addresses the issue of pressure ulcers thereby overall accelerating the healing process. Such development addresses the core issue of circularity. The systematic research with proper demand articulation leads to V-shape verification and validation research methodology. With design focus and applied R&D at TRL-level (4-6) is expected to deliver the validated prototype(s) offering SMEs an opportunity to innovate and expand their market. The knowledge will be used for dissemination and education at Saxion.
