Technology developments applied to healthcare/nursing

Future technology developments as applied to healthcare and particularly nursing were discussed. Emerging technologies such as genetics, small unobtrusive monitoring devices, use of information and communication technologies are as tools to not only facilitate but also promote communication among all parties of the healthcare process. These emerging technologies can be used for ubiquitous healthcare (uhealth). The role of nursing in the u-health is fundamental and required for success and growth. Nursing's role will evolve as nurses become 'information- mediators' in a broader-sense than current role. All technologies will ultimately focus on the consumer through 'behind-the-scenes' data collection, which in turn will also allow nurses to analyze these data to improve care. We need to acknowledge an increased presence and or pervasiveness of information technologies as key components of quality healthcare. This sort of acknowledgment will help propel nursing, and healthcare, to increase use of these tools. To develop nurses with these types of skills the nursing education process will require a fundamental change to integrate these technology-sorts of tools as necessary elements for success.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Cross-cultural evaluation of the relevance of the HCAHPS survey in five European countries

Objective To describe the systematic language translation and cross-cultural evaluation process that assessed the relevance of the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems survey in five European countries prior to national data collection efforts. Design An approach involving a systematic translation process, expert review by experienced researchers and a review by ‘patient' experts involving the use of content validity indexing techniques with chance correction. Setting Five European countries where Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Italian and Polish are spoken. Participants ‘Patient' experts who had recently experienced a hospitalization in the participating country. Main OutcomeMeasure(s) Content validity indexing with chance correction adjustment providing a quantifiable measure that evaluates the conceptual, contextual, content, semantic and technical equivalence of the instrument in relationship to the patient care experience. Results All translations except two received ‘excellent' ratings and no significant differences existed between scores for languages spoken in more than one country. Patient raters across all countries expressed different concerns about some of the demographic questions and their relevance for evaluating patient satisfaction. Removing demographic questions from the evaluation produced a significant improvement in the scale-level scores (P= .018). The cross-cultural evaluation process suggested that translations and content of the patient satisfaction survey were relevant across countries and languages. Conclusions The Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems survey is relevant to some European hospital systems and has the potential to produce internationally comparable patient satisfaction score

Validation of the impact of health information technology (I-HIT) scale: An international collaborative

In 2005, the Healthcare Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Nursing Informatics Community developed a survey to measure the impact of health information technology (HIT), the IHIT Scale, on the role of nurses and interdisciplinary communication in hospital settings. In 2007, nursing informatics colleagues from Australia, England, Finland, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland and the United States formed a research collaborative to validate the IHIT across countries. All teams have completed construct and face validation in their countries. Five out of six teams have initiated reliability testing by practicing nurses. This paper reports the international collaborative’s validation of the IHIT Scale completed to date

Organization of nursing care in three Nordic countries: relationships between nurses’ workload, level of involvement in direct patient care, job satisfaction, and intention to leave

Background Health care systems in Finland, Norway and Sweden share many similarities, e.g. full-coverage and tax-financed, with predominately public sector hospitals. Despite similarities, there are differences in the working situations for RNs within these Nordic countries. The aim of this study was to analyze associations between RNs’ patient workload and level of involvement in direct patient care, their job satisfaction and intention to leave in these countries. Methods A workforce survey was conducted through RN4CAST, an EU 7th framework project. The survey included 118 items derived from validated instruments or tested in prior research. Responses from 1133 RNs at 32 Finnish hospitals, 3752 RNs at 35 Norwegian hospitals, and 11 015 RNs at 71 Swedish hospitals comprise the database, which was analyzed using logistic and odds ratio regressions analyses. Results We found statistically significant differences in RNs’ level of involvement in direct patient care (p < 0.001, Sweden compared to Norway and Finland), in patient workload and in number of patients needing ADL assistance and surveillance. A U-formed relationship was found between level of involvement in direct patient care and intention to leave in Sweden, and more satisfaction among RNs in roles with more direct patient care (OR = 1.16, 1.02 ≤ CI95% ≤ 1.32). Nearly half the Finnish sample report intention to leave, with significantly lower levels in Norway and Sweden (p < 0.001). Patient workload is associated with job satisfaction and intention to leave to some degree in all countries, i.e. greater patient workload, less job satisfaction and greater intention to leave. Conclusions This study suggests that more attention paid to patient mix, workload and role of RNs in patient care might potentially diminish intention to leave and increase job satisfaction in these Nordic countrie

Organization of nursing care in three Nordic countries: relationships between nurses’ workload, level of involvement in direct patient care, job satisfaction, and intention to leave

Background: Health care systems in Finland, Norway and Sweden share many similarities, e.g. full-coverage and tax-financed, with predominately public sector hospitals. Despite similarities, there are differences in the working situations for RNs within these Nordic countries. The aim of this study was to analyze associations between RNs’ patient workload and level of involvement in direct patient care, their job satisfaction and intention to leave in these countries. Methods: A workforce survey was conducted through RN4CAST, an EU 7th framework project. The survey included 118 items derived from validated instruments or tested in prior research. Responses from 1133 RNs at 32 Finnish hospitals, 3752 RNs at 35 Norwegian hospitals, and 11 015 RNs at 71 Swedish hospitals comprise the database, which was analyzed using logistic and odds ratio regressions analyses. Results: We found statistically significant differences in RNs’ level of involvement in direct patient care (p < 0.001, Sweden compared to Norway and Finland), in patient workload and in number of patients needing ADL assistance and surveillance. A U-formed relationship was found between level of involvement in direct patient care and intention to leave in Sweden, and more satisfaction among RNs in roles with more direct patient care (OR = 1.16, 1.02 ≤ CI95% ≤ 1.32). Nearly half the Finnish sample report intention to leave, with significantly lower levels in Norway and Sweden (p < 0.001). Patient workload is associated with job satisfaction and intention to leave to some degree in all countries, i.e. greater patient workload, less job satisfaction and greater intention to leave. Conclusions: This study suggests that more attention paid to patient mix, workload and role of RNs in patient care might potentially diminish intention to leave and increase job satisfaction in these Nordic countries. Keywords: Health services research, Job satisfaction, Nursing, Organization and administration, Workloa

Organization of nursing care in three Nordic countries: relationships between nurses’ workload, level of involvement in direct patient care, job satisfaction, and intention to leave

Background Health care systems in Finland, Norway and Sweden share many similarities, e.g. full-coverage and tax-financed, with predominately public sector hospitals. Despite similarities, there are differences in the working situations for RNs within these Nordic countries. The aim of this study was to analyze associations between RNs’ patient workload and level of involvement in direct patient care, their job satisfaction and intention to leave in these countries. Methods A workforce survey was conducted through RN4CAST, an EU 7th framework project. The survey included 118 items derived from validated instruments or tested in prior research. Responses from 1133 RNs at 32 Finnish hospitals, 3752 RNs at 35 Norwegian hospitals, and 11 015 RNs at 71 Swedish hospitals comprise the database, which was analyzed using logistic and odds ratio regressions analyses. Results We found statistically significant differences in RNs’ level of involvement in direct patient care (p < 0.001, Sweden compared to Norway and Finland), in patient workload and in number of patients needing ADL assistance and surveillance. A U-formed relationship was found between level of involvement in direct patient care and intention to leave in Sweden, and more satisfaction among RNs in roles with more direct patient care (OR = 1.16, 1.02 ≤ CI95% ≤ 1.32). Nearly half the Finnish sample report intention to leave, with significantly lower levels in Norway and Sweden (p < 0.001). Patient workload is associated with job satisfaction and intention to leave to some degree in all countries, i.e. greater patient workload, less job satisfaction and greater intention to leave. Conclusions This study suggests that more attention paid to patient mix, workload and role of RNs in patient care might potentially diminish intention to leave and increase job satisfaction in these Nordic countrie

12-hr shifts in nursing: Do they remove unproductive time and information loss or do they reduce education and discussion opportunities for nurses? A cross-sectional study in 12 European countries

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To examine the association between registered nurses' (referred to as "nurses" for brevity) shifts of 12 hr or more and presence of continuing educational programmes; ability to discuss patient care with other nurses; assignments that foster continuity of care; and patient care information being lost during handovers. BACKGROUND: The introduction of long shifts (i.e., shifts of 12 hr or more) remains controversial. While there are claims of efficiency, studies have shown long shifts to be associated with adverse effects on quality of care. Efficiency claims are predicated on the assumption that long shifts reduce overlaps between shifts; these overlaps are believed to be unproductive and dangerous. However, there are potentially valuable educational and communication activities that occur during these overlaps. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey of 31,627 nurses within 487 hospitals in 12 European countries. METHODS: The associations were measured through generalised linear mixed models. The study methods were compliant with the STROBE checklist. RESULTS: When nurses worked shifts of 12 hr or more, they were less likely to report having continuing educational programmes; and time to discuss patient care with other nurses, compared to nurses working 8 hr or less. Nurses working shifts of 12 hr or more were less likely to report assignments that foster continuity of care, albeit the association was not significant. Similarly, working long shifts was associated with reports of patient care information being lost during handovers, although association was not significant. CONCLUSION: Working shifts of 12 hr or more is associated with reduced educational activities and fewer opportunities to discuss patient care, with potential negative consequences for safe and effective care. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Implementation of long shifts should be questioned, as reduced opportunity to discuss care or participate in educational activities may jeopardise the quality and safety of care for patients.status: publishe