The proqol-21: A revised version of the professional quality of life (ProQOL) scale based on Rasch analysis

The Professional Quality of Life scale is a measure intended to provide practitioners and researchers with an indication of a caring professional’s compassion satisfaction, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress. While this measure has been used extensively in nursing research, owing to the relevancy of patient-care associated satisfaction and fatigue within this profession, information regarding the construct validity of this measure is less well represented in the literature. We examined the construct validity of the Professional Quality of Life scale using a Rasch analysis procedure on each of its three scales, as a means of substantiating their measurement adequacy. Responses on the Professional Quality of Life scale from 1615 registered nurses (age x̅ = 46.48 years, SD = 11.78) were analysed. While support for the measurement adequacy (invariance, person/item fit, and unidimensionality) of the compassion satisfaction scale was found, the burnout and secondary traumatic stress scales did not demonstrate adequate measurement properties. We instead present an alternative measurement model of these subscales, involving items from each, to form a robust measure of compassion fatigue, and provide recoding, scoring, and normed scores for both measures. Our findings indicate that use of the Professional Quality of Life scale’s burnout and secondary traumatic stress scales may require caution, while our revised compassion satisfaction and fatigue scales provide robust measurement options for practitioners and researchers

What do Australian medical programs teach medical students about breastfeeding?

Objectives To investigate what breastfeeding information is included in Australian medical program curricula and how and by whom it is taught. Method The ten Australian medical schools who have graduated students from their current programs were asked to nominate a person to complete an 11-item questionnaire. Data collected from the questionnaire included: if and where breastfeeding is located within the medical program; who teaches medical students about breastfeeding; and other opportunities medical students have to learn about breastfeeding. Results The questionnaire was completed and returned by nine of the ten nominated people, giving a response rate of 90 percent. One respondent did not know whether breastfeeding was included in the curriculum. The advantages of breastfeeding, normal breastfeeding management and breastfeeding problems were taught within the curriculum in the remaining eight programs. All medical programs encouraged contact with breastfeeding mothers and infants although it was not clear whether this included clinical teaching. Teaching about breastfeeding was undertaken by people from a number of different professional areas (e.g. midwives, doctors, lactation consultants) with all schools utilizing a minimum of three professions. Conclusions While most Australian medical students received some instruction about breastfeeding, the subject areas taught and the method of teaching varied widely between medical programs. Some students received little formal teaching, with patient contact being the main avenue for gaining breastfeeding knowledge and experience. Others had minimal clinical contact. Ideally breastfeeding should be incorporated into the broader curriculum whenever it is applicable and include both formal teaching and clinical instruction

The emerging role of the urban-based Aboriginal peer support worker: A Western Australian study

Purpose: To explore the self-perceived role of the Aboriginal peer support worker working with families with young children. This study was a component of a larger participatory action research study undertaken in a Western Australian metropolitan setting to develop and evaluate the suitability, feasibility and effectiveness of an Aboriginal peer-led home visiting program. Methods: Focus group interviews were carried out with peer support workers using unstructured and semi-structured interviews within Action Learning Sets. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Results: The overarching theme on the self-perceived role of the Aboriginal peer support worker was Giving Parent Support, with subsidiary themes relating to development and ongoing sustainability of the support. Discussion: The peer support workers viewed their role as providing parent support through enabling strategies which developed client acceptance and trust, delivered culturally relevant support, advocated for families, developed therapeutic engagement and communication strategies, and created safe home visiting practices. They recognised the importance of linking families with community support such as community child health nurses which was important for improving long term physical and psychosocial health outcomes for children. Conclusion: Aboriginal Peer Support Workers identified their emerging integral role in the development of this unique culturally acceptable home visitingsupport for Aboriginal parents. Innovative approaches towards client engagement demonstrated their value in developing creative ways of working in partnership with families, community support services and child health nurses across a range of challenging psychosocial environments

Exploring the role of nurses in after-hours telephone services in regional areas; A scoping review

Introduction The management of patients who need chronic and complex care is a focus of attention internationally, brought about by an increase in chronic conditions, requiring significantly more care over longer periods of time. The increase in chronic conditions has placed pressure on health services, financially and physically, bringing about changes in the way care is delivered, with hospital avoidance and home-based care encouraged. In this environment, nurses play an important role in co-ordinating care across services. This review formed one part of a funded project that explored the nurse navigator role within a proposed 24-hour telephone-call service in one regional area that has a diverse population in terms of cultural identity and geographical location in relation to service access. Aim The review reports on the extant literature on the nurse’s role in the provision of afterhours telephone services for patients with chronic and complex conditions. The specific aim was to explore the effectiveness of services for patients in geographically isolated locations. Methods The methodological approach to the review followed the Preferred Reporting System for Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. A thematic analysis was used to identify themes with chronic care models underpinning analysis. Results Three themes were identified; nurse-led decision making; consumer profile; and program outcomes. Each theme was divided into two sub-themes. The two sub-themes for decision making were: the experience of the staff who provided the service and the tool or protocol used. The two sub-themes for consumers profile were; the geographic/demographic identity of the consumers, and consumer satisfaction. The final theme of outcomes describes how the effectiveness of the service is measured, broken into two sub-themes: the economic/workforce outcomes and the consumer outcomes. Discussion The provision of an after-hours telephone service, in whatever model used should align with a Chronic Care Model. In this way, after-hours telephone services provided by experienced nurses, supported by ongoing professional development and relevant protocols, form part of the ongoing improvement for chronic and complex care management as a health priority

Exploring environmental factors in nursing workplaces that promote psychological resilience: Constructing a unified theoretical model

Building nurses' resilience to complex and stressful practice environments is necessary to keep skilled nurses in the workplace and ensuring safe patient care. A unified theoretical framework titled Health Services Workplace Environmental Resilience Model (HSWERM), is presented to explain the environmental factors in the workplace that promote nurses' resilience. The framework builds on a previously-published theoretical model of individual resilience, which identified the key constructs of psychological resilience as self-efficacy, coping and mindfulness, but did not examine environmental factors in the workplace that promote nurses' resilience. This unified theoretical framework was developed using a literary synthesis drawing on data from international studies and literature reviews on the nursing workforce in hospitals. The most frequent workplace environmental factors were identified, extracted and clustered in alignment with key constructs for psychological resilience. Six major organizational concepts emerged that related to a positive resilience-building workplace and formed the foundation of the theoretical model. Three concepts related to nursing staff support (professional, practice, personal) and three related to nursing staff development (professional, practice, personal) within the workplace environment. The unified theoretical model incorporates these concepts within the workplace context, linking to the nurse, and then impacting on personal resilience and workplace outcomes, and its use has the potential to increase staff retention and quality of patient care

Rural men and mental health: their experiences and how they managed

There is a growing awareness that a primary source of information about mental health lies with the consumers. This article reports on a study that interviewed rural men with the aim of exploring their mental health experiences within a rural environment. The results of the interviews are a number of stories of resilience and survival that highlight not only the importance of exploring the individuals' perspective of their issues, but also of acknowledging and drawing on their inner strengths. Rural men face a number of challenges that not only increase the risk of mental illness but also decrease the likelihood of them seeking and/or finding professional support. These men's stories, while different from each other, have a common thread of coping. Despite some support from family and friends participants also acknowledged that seeking out professional support could have made the recovery phase easier. Mental health nurses need to be aware, not only of the barrier to professional support but also of the significant resilience that individuals have and how it can be utilised

Workplace violence in a large correctional health servce in New South Wales, Australia: a retrospective review of incident management records

BackgroundLittle is known about workplace violence among correctional health professionals. This studyaimed to describe the patterns, severity and outcomes of incidents of workplace violenceamong employees of a large correctional health service, and to explore the help-seekingbehaviours of staff following an incident.MethodsThe study setting was Justice Health, a statutory health corporation established to providehealth care to people who come into contact with the criminal justice system in New SouthWales, Australia. We reviewed incident management records describing workplace violenceamong Justice Health staff. The three-year study period was 1/7/2007-30/6/2010.ResultsDuring the period under review, 208 incidents of workplace violence were recorded. Verbalabuse (71%) was more common than physical abuse (29%). The most (44%) incidents ofworkplace violence (including both verbal and physical abuse) occurred in adult maleprisons, although the most (50%) incidents of physical abuse occurred in a forensic hospital.Most (90%) of the victims were nurses and two-thirds were females. Younger employees andmales were most likely to be a victim of physical abuse. Preparing or dispensing medicationand attempting to calm and/or restrain an aggressive patient were identified as ‘high risk’work duties for verbal abuse and physical abuse, respectively. Most (93%) of the incidents ofworkplace violence were initiated by a prisoner/patient. Almost all of the incidents receivedeither a medium (46%) or low (52%) Severity Assessment Code. Few victims of workplaceviolence incurred a serious physical injury – there were no workplace deaths during the studyperiod. However, mental stress was common, especially among the victims of verbal abuse(85%). Few (6%) victims of verbal abuse sought help from a health professional.ConclusionsAmong employees of a large correctional health service, verbal abuse in the workplace wassubstantially more common than physical abuse. The most incidents of workplace violenceoccurred in adult male prisons. Review of the types of adverse health outcomes experiencedby the victims of workplace violence and the assessments of severity assigned to violentincidents suggests that, compared with health care settings in the community, correctionalsettings are fairly safe places in which to practice

Callers’ attitudes and experiences of UK breastfeeding helpline support

Background: Breastfeeding peer support, is considered to be a key intervention for increasing breastfeeding duration rates. Whilst a number of national organisations provide telephone based breastfeeding peer support, to date there have been no published evaluations into callers’ experiences and attitudes of this support. In this study we report on the descriptive and qualitative insights provided by 908 callers as part of an evaluation of UK-based breastfeeding helpline(s). Methods: A structured telephone interview, incorporating Likert scale responses and open-ended questions was undertaken with 908 callers over May to August, 2011 to explore callers’ experiences of the help and support received via the breastfeeding helpline(s). Results: Overall satisfaction with the helpline was high, with the vast majority of callers’ recalling positive experiences of the help and support received. Thematic analysis was undertaken on all qualitative and descriptive data recorded during the evaluation, contextualised within the main areas addressed within the interview schedule in terms of ‘contact with the helplines’; ‘experiences of the helpline service’, ‘perceived effectiveness of support provision’ and ‘impact on caller wellbeing’. Conclusion: Callers valued the opportunity for accessible, targeted, non-judgmental and convenient support. Whilst the telephone support did not necessarily influence women’s breastfeeding decisions, the support they received left them feeling reassured, confident and more determined to continue breastfeeding. We recommend extending the helpline service to ensure support can be accessed when needed, and ongoing training and support for volunteers. Further advertising and promotion of the service within wider demographic groups is warranted

Tenure, mobility and retention of nurses in Queensland, Australia: 2001 and 2004

[Abstract]: Aim: Data were collected on tenure, mobility and retention of the nursing workforce in Queensland to aid strategic planning by the Queensland Nurses’ Union. Background: Shortages of nurses negatively affect the health outcomes of patients. Population rise is increasing the demand for nurses in Queensland. The supply of nurses is affected by recruitment of new and returning nurses, retention of the existing workforce and mobility within institutions. Methods: A self-reporting, postal survey was undertaken of Queensland Nurses Union members from the major employment sectors of aged care, public acute and community health and private acute and community health. Results: Only 60% of nurses had been with their current employer more than five years. In contrast 90% had been nursing for five years or more and most (80%) expected to remain in nursing for at least another five years. Breaks from nursing were common and part-time positions in the private and aged care sectors offered flexibility. Conclusion: The study demonstrated a mobile nursing workforce in Queensland although data on tenure and future time in nursing suggested that retention in the industry was high. Concern is expressed for replacement of an aging nursing population

Family systems and mental health issues: A resilience approach

In many cases the consumers of mental health information and support are the families of mental health sufferers. The aim of the project was to understand resilience in people who live with or support a family member with a diagnosed or undiagnosed mental illness. Participants were 15 carers (one male, 14 female). Semi-structured interviews were transcribed and analysed using content analysis. Eight recurring themes emerged which indicated the challenges the carers faced and provided indications of the positive and negative personal, family and social factors that impacted on their lives. These themes were \u27Getting to CLAN WA\u27, \u27Accessing help including CLAN WA\u27, \u27Impact of living with a person who has a mental illness or problematic behaviour\u27, \u27Family and cultural issues\u27, \u27Communication within the family\u27,\u27Coping strategies and evidence of resilience\u27, \u27Social support\u27 and \u27Notion of sacrifice\u27. There is still considerable work to do in supporting people who live with or support a family member in these circumstances. The findings demonstrate that individuals living with adversity can do more than just survive the proces