Community Nurses' Role as Counselors in Primary Health Care

B A C K G R O U N D : Counselling is regarded as an interactive process during which help is usually provided toindividuals with health problems. In the framework of nursing, nurses also play a counselling role.A I M : The present study aims at determining the general public’s attitudes and opinions about the role that nursescan play as counsellors in health related topics.M A T E R I A L - M E T H O D : Our sample consisted of 246 participants randomly chosen; 104 (43.2%) were menand 137 (56.8%) were women. The data were collected using a questionnaire specifically developed for this study andbased on literature review.R E S U L T S : 56.1% of the participants are unaware of the term “health counselling” and 59.4% are unaware of thecounselling process performed by nurses. However, unawareness does not mean that they have negative attitudes,since 202 participants (82.8%) say that they would seek counselling on health topics from nurses. Furthermore, themajority (90.7%, n=215) of the participants responded that they would trust the family nurse and 95.1% (n=231) saidthat they would welcome a family nurse’s placement in their neighbourhood. People with chronic diseases, and mainlyelderly people (n=127) would be the ones who would mostly seek counselling.C O N C L U S I O N S : The results indicate that nurses are accepted as counsellors by lay people. The communitynurse’s role is important because it contributes to detection, as well as addressing of health needs of communitymembers

Temporal changes in the epidemiology, management, and outcome from acute respiratory distress syndrome in European intensive care units: a comparison of two large cohorts

Background: Mortality rates for patients with ARDS remain high. We assessed temporal changes in the epidemiology and management of ARDS patients requiring invasive mechanical ventilation in European ICUs. We also investigated the association between ventilatory settings and outcome in these patients. Methods: This was a post hoc analysis of two cohorts of adult ICU patients admitted between May 1–15, 2002 (SOAP study, n = 3147), and May 8–18, 2012 (ICON audit, n = 4601 admitted to ICUs in the same 24 countries as the SOAP study). ARDS was defined retrospectively using the Berlin definitions. Values of tidal volume, PEEP, plateau pressure, and FiO2 corresponding to the most abnormal value of arterial PO2 were recorded prospectively every 24 h. In both studies, patients were followed for outcome until death, hospital discharge or for 60 days. Results: The frequency of ARDS requiring mechanical ventilation during the ICU stay was similar in SOAP and ICON (327[10.4%] vs. 494[10.7%], p = 0.793). The diagnosis of ARDS was established at a median of 3 (IQ: 1–7) days after admission in SOAP and 2 (1–6) days in ICON. Within 24 h of diagnosis, ARDS was mild in 244 (29.7%), moderate in 388 (47.3%), and severe in 189 (23.0%) patients. In patients with ARDS, tidal volumes were lower in the later (ICON) than in the earlier (SOAP) cohort. Plateau and driving pressures were also lower in ICON than in SOAP. ICU (134[41.1%] vs 179[36.9%]) and hospital (151[46.2%] vs 212[44.4%]) mortality rates in patients with ARDS were similar in SOAP and ICON. High plateau pressure (> 29 cmH2O) and driving pressure (> 14 cmH2O) on the first day of mechanical ventilation but not tidal volume (> 8 ml/kg predicted body weight [PBW]) were independently associated with a higher risk of in-hospital death. Conclusion: The frequency of and outcome from ARDS remained relatively stable between 2002 and 2012. Plateau pressure > 29 cmH2O and driving pressure > 14 cmH2O on the first day of mechanical ventilation but not tidal volume > 8 ml/kg PBW were independently associated with a higher risk of death. These data highlight the continued burden of ARDS and provide hypothesis-generating data for the design of future studies

Translation, cultural adaptation and validation of the Attitude Scale towards e-learning (ATel) into the Greek language

INTRODUCTION During the COVID-19 pandemic, nursing students were challenged with a new digital reality of distance education. The aim of the study was the translation into Greek, cultural adaptation and validation of the Attitude Scale towards e-learning (ATel) during the period of the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS A questionnaire already developed through theoretical research by experts in the Philippines was used. The present study reports the translation, cultural adaptation and validation of the measurement of the attitude of nursing students regarding the sudden implementation of distance education in Greece during the pandemic. The translation strategy for intercultural research was used to translate the questionnaire into Greek. A cross-sectional study was performed among 341 undergraduate nursing students, who were recruited by convenience sampling and analyzed for validity and reliability. Cronbach's alpha was applied for measuring the internal consistency of data. Independent samples t-test or the corresponding non-parametric Mann-Whitney test was applied for comparing means or distributions between continuous variables divided into two groups. RESULTS The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin and Cronbach's alpha scores showed satisfactory results. The value of alpha was 0.90, indicating that the sample size was suitable for factor analysis. The validity and reliability of the questionnaire were determined through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. The main findings of this study were that the marital status of the participants, their age (which was proportional to their attitude) and their previous experience in distance education through the COVID-19 pandemic restrictive measures, influenced the adaptation of the population to the new educational conditions. CONCLUSIONS The questionnaire was found to have satisfactory psychometric properties in Greece and therefore can be used as a tool in future research on the attitude of nursing students during the COVID-19 pandemic. © 2022. All Rights Reserved

Diabetic patient assessment of chronic illness care using PACIC+

Background: The Patient Assessment of Chronic Illness Care plus is used in order to assess whether provided care is congruent with the Chronic Care Model, according to patients. The purpose of this study was to correlate PACIC+ and the revised 5As "ask, advise, agree, assist and arrange"scoring of a sample of DM patients, with their QoL, depressive symptomatology, demographic and disease characteristics, self-management behaviours of healthy eating and physical activity. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study where data were collected between January and April 2018 by using three questionnaires (PACIC+, SF-36, CES-D) from a sample of 90 DM patients treated at a Public General Hospital of Central Greece. Anonymous self-completed questionnaires were used to collect the data. Data was processed in the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Results: The mean age of the participants with DM was 52.8 years (SD = 21.2 years), with cardiovascular disease and arterial hypertension scoring as the most frequently reporting chronic comorbidities. The healthcare received by DM patients has been correlated with their QoL. More specifically SF - 36 and PACIC+ scale scores showed a positive and low correlation in several subscales. The total score of PACIC+ scale as well as the Patient activation score were increased in higher scores of vitality (p = 0.034 &p = 0.028 respectively), hence both scores correlate significantly with latter. In addition, Delivery System / Practice Design score was increased in higher scores of mental health (p = 0.01) and MCS (p = 0.03). Conclusions: The shift from hospital care focusing on the disease to a more patient-oriented approach puts forward a dynamic holistic approach to chronic diseases and the reduction of their impact. Finding evidence-based and effective strategies to promote health, prevent and manage chronic diseases such as diabetes mellitus is deemed to be crucial and necessary. PACIC+, which is a tool of a patient-level assessment of CCM implementation, can be used by countries which intend to apply changes in the way their health systems provide chronic care and specifically wish to improve the quality of chronic disease care and the QoL of their patients. © 2020 The Author(s)