Exploration of the factors related to self-efficacy among psychiatric nurses.

The average length of hospital stay in the psychiatric ward is longer, and the risk of patient-to-nurse violence is higher than that in other departments. Therefore, psychiatric nurses' work environment may differ from that of other nurses. The factors related to psychiatric nurses' self-efficacy may also differ from those of general workers or other nurses. Mental health care that considers the characteristics of psychiatric nurses requires exploration of self-efficacy unique to psychiatric nurses. This cross-sectional study aimed to explore the distinct factors related to psychiatric nurses' self-efficacy. The developed 24 items related to improvement in self-efficacy and 25 items related to decrease in self-efficacy were examined. The Generalized Self-Efficacy Scale was used to measure the validity of the factors. To extract the factors of self-efficacy, data from 132 nurses and assistant nurses who provided informed consent were analyzed, and the reliability and validity of the factors were calculated. The factors associated with improvement in self-efficacy were "Positive reactions by patients," "Ability to positively change nurse-patient relationship," and "Practicability of appropriate nursing." The factors associated with decrease in self-efficacy were "Uncertainty in psychiatric nursing" and "Nurses' role loss." The Cronbach's α for all factors exceeded .70. Of the five factors, four had significant weak-to-moderate correlations with the Japanese version of the Generalized Self-Efficacy Scale; therefore, the validity was quantitatively confirmed with four factors. Interventions based on these four factors may improve psychiatric nurses' self-efficacy. Additionally, it is possible that this tool assesses the unique facets of self-efficacy rather than psychiatric nurses' general self-efficacy. Interventions to improve psychiatric nurses' self-efficacy based on the characteristics of psychiatry are needed

Impact of individual factors and personality trait on psychological problems of family members living with staff of a COVID‐19 frontline hospital: A cross‐sectional self‐administered anonymous questionnaire survey

Abstract Aim This study aims to evaluate the association between individual factors/personality traits and depression and anxiety in family members living with staff working on the frontline of COVID‐19 care. Methods The subjects were family members over the age of 15 years living with staff members of a COVID‐19 frontline hospital. Between March 27 and April 11, 2021, 204 self‐administered anonymous questionnaires were distributed, and 149 responses were received. Symptoms of depression and anxiety were assessed using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Personality trait was assessed using the Big Five personality traits, and fear of COVID‐19 was assessed using the Fear of COVID‐19 Scale. We examined associations between HADS depression or anxiety scores with individual background factors, scores of Big Five personality traits, and Fear of COVID‐19 Scale. Results The participants with anxiety had significantly higher scores for neuroticism and for the Fear of COVID‐19 Scale. The participants with depression had significantly lower scores for extraversion and higher scores for the Fear of COVID‐19 Scale. No individual background factors were significantly associated with HADS depression or anxiety scores. Conclusion Among family members of staff of a COVID‐19 frontline hospital, lower extraversion, higher neuroticism, and fear of COVID‐19 were associated with anxiety and depression. This questionnaire survey was conducted before wide‐spread rollout of COVID‐19 vaccination, so the findings of this study are expected to be applicable to other future novel infectious outbreaks

Nurses' Experiences of End-of-life Care in Long-term Care Hospitals in Japan: Balancing Improving the Quality of Life and Sustaining the Lives of Patients Dying at Hospitals

Summary: Purpose: In Japan, about 80% of deaths occur in hospitals, especially long-term care beds. The purpose of this study was to clarify the nursing practices used for such older patients at the end-of-life stage in long-termcare wards via the modified grounded theory approach (M-GTA). Methods: Data were obtained through semi-structured interviews of nineteen nurses working in cooperating long-term care wards, acute care wards, or hospice services (to allow for constant comparison between these types of wards) in western Japan in 2014. We analyzed the transcribed data using M-GTA. Results: The core category that emerged from the analysis was “Balancing enhancement of patients' daily life quality and life-sustaining care in the face of uncertainty about the patients' character.” Eleven categories emerged, such as Seeking older patients' character with their family, Supporting families' decision making, Rebuilding patients' daily life in the ward, and Sustaining patients' life span through medical care. Conclusions: Nurses experienced uncertainty about the care needs of older patients, the ethical problems of Enhancing the patients' QOL by using risky care, and the evaluation criteria used to judge their own nursing care after the patients' death. All nurses had the goal of ensuring a natural death for all patients. Nurses' acceptance and evaluation of their own care was critically influenced by the patient's family's responses to their care after patients' death. Further research is necessary to develop evaluation criteria and educational programs for end-of-life nursing care of older adults. Keywords: terminal care, aged, long-term care, qualitative researc