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

Le competenze del tutor di tirocinio nel Corso di Laurea in Scienze dell’educazione e della formazione

Il ripensamento della formazione dei professionisti al centro del dibattito internazionale coinvolge anche il mondo dell’educazione e degli interventi socioeducativi. È sempre più importante che la formazione degli educatori faccia emergere professionisti riflessivi, che sappiano agire come ricercatori nel proprio lavoro educativo, riflettendo sulle proprie pratiche, sperimentando quotidianamente e in questo modo imparando a rendere evidenti le proprie competenze. Fin dalla sua istituzione, il corso di laurea in Scienze dell’educazione si è caratterizzato per la forte carica innovativa e per la dimensione professionalizzante della formazione universitaria. Accanto alle discipline teoriche, il corso di laurea prevede attività di tirocinio per gli studenti al fine di integrare lo sviluppo delle abilità pratiche nell'educazione dei futuri professionisti. Se il tirocinio diventa un ponte tra quadri teorici ed esperienze pratiche, il tutor di tirocinio è quindi un professionista che sa fare sintesi e unità tra pratiche e teorie

Event reconstruction for KM3NeT/ORCA using convolutional neural networks

The KM3NeT research infrastructure is currently under construction at two locations in the Mediterranean Sea. The KM3NeT/ORCA water-Cherenkov neutrino detector off the French coast will instrument several megatons of seawater with photosensors. Its main objective is the determination of the neutrino mass ordering. This work aims at demonstrating the general applicability of deep convolutional neural networks to neutrino telescopes, using simulated datasets for the KM3NeT/ORCA detector as an example. To this end, the networks are employed to achieve reconstruction and classification tasks that constitute an alternative to the analysis pipeline presented for KM3NeT/ORCA in the KM3NeT Letter of Intent. They are used to infer event reconstruction estimates for the energy, the direction, and the interaction point of incident neutrinos. The spatial distribution of Cherenkov light generated by charged particles induced in neutrino interactions is classified as shower- or track-like, and the main background processes associated with the detection of atmospheric neutrinos are recognized. Performance comparisons to machine-learning classification and maximum-likelihood reconstruction algorithms previously developed for KM3NeT/ORCA are provided. It is shown that this application of deep convolutional neural networks to simulated datasets for a large-volume neutrino telescope yields competitive reconstruction results and performance improvements with respect to classical approaches

Event reconstruction for KM3NeT/ORCA using convolutional neural networks

The KM3NeT research infrastructure is currently under construction at two locations in the Mediterranean Sea. The KM3NeT/ORCA water-Cherenkov neutrino de tector off the French coast will instrument several megatons of seawater with photosensors. Its main objective is the determination of the neutrino mass ordering. This work aims at demonstrating the general applicability of deep convolutional neural networks to neutrino telescopes, using simulated datasets for the KM3NeT/ORCA detector as an example. To this end, the networks are employed to achieve reconstruction and classification tasks that constitute an alternative to the analysis pipeline presented for KM3NeT/ORCA in the KM3NeT Letter of Intent. They are used to infer event reconstruction estimates for the energy, the direction, and the interaction point of incident neutrinos. The spatial distribution of Cherenkov light generated by charged particles induced in neutrino interactions is classified as shower-or track-like, and the main background processes associated with the detection of atmospheric neutrinos are recognized. Performance comparisons to machine-learning classification and maximum-likelihood reconstruction algorithms previously developed for KM3NeT/ORCA are provided. It is shown that this application of deep convolutional neural networks to simulated datasets for a large-volume neutrino telescope yields competitive reconstruction results and performance improvements with respect to classical approaches

The lived experience of patients and caregivers after a stroke

Background. Stroke is the leading cause of disability in adults, and has a significant impact on the patient–caregiver dyad. Returning home after a stroke represents a challenging experience for patients and caregivers who struggle to adapt to their new life conditions. This might influence their life experience that might change overtime. The international literature reports that during the first month after a stroke, stroke survivors direct their attention only to the recovery of physical function; so a comprehensive first experience after a stroke can be described after three months that the stroke occurs. So far, few studies have been guided by a specific conceptual framework which considers the interactions among pre-existing situations prior to stroke, the new situation caused by the stroke and the moderating effects of environmental and caregiver related variables. Although many studies have been conducted on stroke survivors, few studies have focused on the lived experience of patients at three months after they came home after rehabilitation. Also, few studies have described the experience of stroke caregivers three months after discharge of patients from rehabilitation hospitals. Objective. The objective of this doctoral program was: (1) to design a quantitative and qualitative study to describe stroke survivor-caregiver dyads quality of life after discharge from rehabilitation hospital; (2) to describe the experience of stroke survivors three months after being discharged home from rehabilitation hospitals; (3) to describe the lived experience of stroke caregivers three months after patients are discharged home from a rehabilitation hospital. Methods. In a multi-site longitudinal study aimed at studying quality of life in patients after stroke, a sample of stroke survivor–caregiver dyads has been enrolled at patient discharge from rehabilitation hospitals; then we conducted three separate studies corresponding to each doctoral objective. A Longitudinal study was designed to study stroke trajectory in stroke patient-caregiver dyads and two phenomenological studies were conducted for the aim two and three. Results. The first study has shown a new conceptual framework to guide the entire project where a model including how pre-existing situation prior to the stroke, the new situation mediation post stroke and situation moderators will predict patient-caregiver dyad outcomes. In the second phenomenological study five themes emerged from the phenomenological analysis of the interviews and the field notes: deeply changed life, vivid memory of the acute phase of the stroke, slowed lives, relief after recovering from stroke, being a burden for family members. Seven themes emerged from the phenomenological analysis of the third study: deeply-changed life; re-appreciation of the relationship with patient and family members; increased workload; difficulties in getting support from the national health-care system; lack of preparation for caregiving; difficulties in coordinating caregiving, family and personal life; relief after patient’s recovery. Conclusion. This doctoral program has provided a new conceptual framework to study the stroke trajectory in stroke patient-caregiver dyads. The two phenomenological studies have shown the early and comprehensive experience of stroke survivor-caregiver dyads. Findings of this doctoral program could inform educational interventions that could be implemented by healthcare professionals to help stroke survivor-caregiver dyads, to better cope with life changes and encourage them to adapt to daily life limitations caused by stroke. For stroke caregivers, future interventions should improve caregiver preparation for caring for patients and should educate caregivers about how to use the resources of the national health system

Fattori predittivi delle aggressioni nel personale sanitario: uno studio multicentrico

INTRODUCTION: Nurses are at greater risk of violence during their working hours. About 31% of all aggressions towards nurses occur in hospital or in care settings. The problem of aggressions on healthcare workers is difficult to classify, as the number of aggressions is often underestimated. For this reason, the aim of this study is to analyze physical, verbal and sexual aggressions on nursing staff and identify their predictors. METHODS: A cross sectional study was performed. A sample of convenience was recruited consisting of nurses practicing in the Italian territory. The research team recruited subjects from various hospital, outpatient or territorial settings. The criteria for participation in the study were: (1) being registered nurses; (2) not being in an idle state (e.g. retirement). Multiple linear regression was used to identify the predictive variables of physical, verbal and sexual aggression. RESULTS: The sample consisting of 518 nurses had an average age of 37.5 years.The sample consisted prevalently of female subjects, with medium-high educational attendance. About 90% of the sample claims to have suffered physical, verbal and / or sexual aggressions during their working hours. People with a lower educational level, belonging to the southern regions are more at risk of physical and verbal aggression, while the female gender is a predictor of sexual assaults. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study highlight how physical, verbal and sexual violence in nursing staff are non-isolated but highly frequent issues, being part of the daily working life of many health professionals.INTRODUZIONE: il personale sanitario risulta essere maggiormente a rischio di violenza durante l’orario lavorativo. Tuttavia, il problema è difficilmente inquadrabile, in quanto il numero di aggressioni viene spesso sottostimato. Per tale motivo l’obiettivo di questo studio è stato quello di analizzare le aggressioni fisiche, verbali e sessuali nel personale infermieristico ed identificarne i predittori. METODI: Il disegno dello studio è stato di tipo cross sectional, cui campione era costituito da infermieri che esercitano nel territorio nazionale. Il gruppo di ricerca ha reclutato soggetti provenienti da vari setting ospedalieri, ambulatoriali o territoriali. I criteri per la partecipazione allo studio erano: (1) essere infermieri abilitati; (2) non essere in uno stato di inattività (es. pensionamento). La regressione lineare multipla è stata utilizzata per identificare le variabili predittive dell’aggressione fisica, verbale e sessuale. RISULTATI: Il campione composto da 518 infermieri aveva un’età media di 37.5 anni. Prevalentemente il campione era costituito da soggetti di sesso femminile, con una scolarità media-alta. Circa il 90% del campione afferma di aver subito durante il proprio orario di servizio un’aggressione fisica, verbale e/o sessuale. Le persone con un livello di istruzione più basso, appartenenti alle regioni del sud sono soggetti più a rischio di un’aggressione fisica e verbale, mentre il sesso femminile è un predittore delle aggressioni a carattere sessuale. CONCLUSIONI: I risultati di questo studio evidenziano come la violenza fisica, verbale e sessuale nel personale infermieristico sia una problematica non isolata ma altamente frequente, facendo parte della vita lavorativa quotidiana di molti operatori sanitari