Mathematical models in nursing research

This paper discusses the use of advanced mathematical tools in nursing research, such as mathematical models used in medicine for description and prediction of experimental tumor growth. They are rarely used in nursing research, but fortunately in the last decade, their use is increased, particularly due to the artificial intelligence and Big Data, with great benefits for further development of nursing. Therefore, a strong interaction between nurses and mathematicians is needed to improve nursing research, and consequently the nurses performance in daily work

Clinical risk and patient safety: a multicenter cross-sectional study to explore knowledge, attitudes and practice of hospital nurses

Objectives: To investigate knowledge, attitudes, and behavior of nurses working in acute care hospitals regarding clinical risk and patient safety, and to identify predisposing factors. Design: Cross-sectional multicenter study. Methods: The study was conducted in thirteen non-teaching acute public and private hospitals of a region of southern Italy from September through December 2015. A structured self-report questionnaire was administered to clinical nurses working in the hospitals involved. Three multivariate linear and logistic regression models have been constructed: knowledge of the definition of an adverse event; attitude towards risk of making an error while working and nurses who reported at least one error in the past 12 months. Results: The sample consisted of 484 respondents out of 670 (72.2%) nurses approached. The final multivariable model showed that educational courses about patient safety play a significant role in nurses gaining knowledge of adverse events. In the absence of organization-wide patient safety programs, nurses with low knowledge levels showed a significantly higher perceived risk. Nurses (n=96) who made errors over the past 12 months had discussed them with head nurses (75%) and colleagues (41.7%). Anonymous reporting to the organization was very low, with only 8.3% of nurses who had made an error submitting an anonymous report. Conclusions: Managers should implement multimodal improvement strategies aimed at enabling nurses’ to recognize the critical issues of the system and to increase their reporting, in order to make the organizations safer

Nurses and Stigma at the Time of COVID-19: A Phenomenological Study

The COVID-19 pandemic is putting strain on every country in the world and their health systems. Healthcare professionals struggle on the frontline and they can experience stigma, which can create difficulties in controlling epidemic diseases, influencing the mental health of healthcare professionals, caregivers, families, communities, and the provided quality of care. The aim of this study is to explore the lived experience of Italian nurses about perceived stigma during COVID-19 pandemic with the phenomenological Cohen method. The principal themes that emerged from data analysis were “stigma in the working environment” and “stigma in everyday life”. Each of these themes had subthemes: “looks like gun sights”, “avoiding closeness to others”, “nobody wants to touch you”, and “the fault of being your family members”. Public health emergencies, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, are stressful events for individuals and communities. Stigma can be more dangerous than the disease, and a major obstacle to appropriate medical and mental health interventions. Understanding how healthcare professionals experience stigma is essential to design and implement specific educational, psychological, and organisational programmes

Nurses in Public Health: A profession in continuous evolution

Today, nurses play a fundamental role in Public Health. In the last few decades the health profession has seen strong professional growth, in the areas of Clinical practice, Management and Education. In particular, this growth has been also informed by the progress being made in nursing research. In fact, nursing research has contributed to the establishment of support tools to facilitate and evaluate the daily work done by nurses, contributing significantly to the improvement of their professional performance

Vaccination coverage in healthcare workers: a multicenter cross-sectional study in Italy

IntroductionIn recent years, a phenomenon known as "vaccine hesitancy" has spread throughout the world, even among health workers, determining a reduction in vaccination coverage (VC). A study aimed at evaluating VC among healthcare workers (HCWs) in 10 Italian cities (L'Aquila, Genoa, Milan, Palermo, Sassari, Catanzaro, Ferrara, Catania, Naples, Messina) was performed.Materials and methodsAnnex 3 of the Presidential Decree n. 445 of 28 December 2000 was used to collect information on the vaccination status of HCWs. The mean and standard deviation (SD) were calculated with regard to the quantitative variable (age), while absolute and relative frequencies were obtained for categorical data (sex, professional profile, working sector, vaccination status). The connection between VC and the categorical variables was evaluated by chi-square method (statistical significance at p<0.05). The statistical analyses were performed by SPSS and Stata software.ResultsA total of 3,454 HCWs participated in the project: 1,236 males and 2,218 females. The sample comprised: physicians (26.9%), trainee physicians (16.1%), nurses (17.2%) and other professional categories (9.8%). Low VC was generally recorded. Higher VC was found with regard to polio, hepatitis B, tetanus and diphtheria, while coverage was very low for measles, mumps, rubella, pertussis, chickenpox and influenza (20-30%). ConclusionsThis study revealed low VC rates among HCWs for all the vaccinations. Measures to increase VC are therefore necessary in order to prevent HCWs from becoming a source of transmission of infections with high morbidity and/or mortality both within hospitals and outside

Knowledge, attitudes, and practice on the prevention of central line-associated bloodstream infections among nurses in oncological care: A cross-sectional study in an area of southern Italy

<div><p>The objectives of the cross-sectional study were to delineate the knowledge, attitudes, and behavior among nurses regarding the prevention of central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) and to identify their predisposing factors. A questionnaire was self-administered from September to November 2011 to nurses in oncology and outpatient chemotherapy units in 16 teaching and non-teaching public and private hospitals in the Campania region (Italy). The questionnaire gathered information on demographic and occupational characteristics; knowledge about evidence-based practices for the prevention of CLABSIs; attitudes towards guidelines, the risk of transmitting infections, and hand-washing when using central venous catheter (CVC); practices about catheter site care; and sources of information. The vast majority of the 335 nurses answered questions correctly about the main recommendations to prevent CLABSIs (use sterile gauze or sterile transparent semipermeable dressing to cover the catheter site, disinfect the needleless connectors before administer medication or fluid, disinfect with hydrogen peroxide the catheter insertion site, and use routinely anticoagulants solutions). Nurses aged 36 to 50 years were less likely to know these main recommendations to prevent CLABSIs, whereas this knowledge was higher in those who have received information about the prevention of these infections from courses. Nurses with lower education and those who do not know two of the main recommendations on the site’s care to prevent the CLABSIs, were more likely to perceive the risk of transmitting an infection. Higher education, attitude toward the utility allow to dry antiseptic, and the need of washing hands before wearing gloves for access to port infusion were predictors of performing skin antiseptic and aseptic technique for dressing the catheter insertion site. Educational interventions should be implemented to address the gaps regarding knowledge and practice regarding the prevention of CLABSIs and to ensure that nurses use evidence-based prevention interventions.</p></div

Experience of Vaginal Birth After Cesarean: A Phenomenological Study

: The international literature concerning cesarean surgeries (CSs) make it clear that many of these procedures are unnecessary. Using a phenomenological methodology, we seek to understand the experiences and decisions of women who have undergone vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC). Various factors contribute to the choice of VBAC. Making VBAC a more regular practice would contribute to a decrease in the total number of repeat CSs. The purpose of this study is threefold: (a) to understand the process that women use to select a VBAC rather than a repeat cesarean, (b) to understand the mothers' lived experience of that VBAC, and (c) to use the aforementioned data to inform the development of new educational programs for mothers considering VBAC