Nurses’ COVID-19 fears and patient safety attitudes in the pandemic

Introduction and aim. The fear experienced by nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic may threaten patient safety. This study was conducted with the aim of examining nurses’ COVID-19 fears and attitudes to patient safety in the pandemic. Material and methods. The research had a descriptive and cross-sectional design. The research sample consisted of 245 nurses working at a teaching and research hospital in Istanbul, Turkey’s most populous province. Research data were collected in June–July 2021. A Nurse Characteristics Form, the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) and the Patient Safety Attitude Questionnaire were used to collect data. The data evaluation was performed using descriptive statistics, Student t test, one-way variance (ANOVA), and Pearson correlation analysis. Results. The nurses’ mean score for fear of COVID-19 was 16.67±6.88, and their mean score for patient safety attitude was 141.70±27.78. Their COVID-19 fear levels and mean patient safety attitude scores were found to differ according to their intention to leave the job, their education on COVID-19 and their age. Conclusion. Nurses’ experiencing of physical, social and psychological problems relating to the COVID-19 pandemic should be followed up in the long term

Stigma and its relationship with life satisfaction in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Introduction and aim. This study aims to determine the level of stigma in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and evaluate its relationship with their life satisfaction. Material and methods. This is a descriptive and cross-sectional study conducted in a single tertiary care center. Two hundred and ten patients ≥18 years old diagnosed with T2DM were included in this study. The relationship between the “Type 2 diabetes stigma assessment scale” and the “Satisfaction with life scale” was assessed using Pearson correlation analysis. Results. The average age of the participants was 54.85±15.81 years. The majority of patients reported adherence to diabetes treatment and having comorbidities. Stigma levels were higher in patients ≤65 years, those with less than a high school education, and those receiving insulin or oral anti-diabetic treatment, but lower with a T2DM diagnosis duration of ≤ 5 years (p<0.05). Life satisfaction was influenced by age, education status, economic status, adherence to treatment, dietary compliance, and the presence of comorbidities. A moderately negative relationship between stigma level and life satisfaction was identified. Conclusion. The study’s results indicate that an increase in stigma level is associated with a decrease in life satisfaction in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

A comparison of Gordon's functional health patterns model and standard nursing care in symptomatic heart failure patients: A randomized controlled trial

Background: Heart failure (HF) is associated with poor quality of life and increased morbidity and mortality

The tumor microenvironment of pancreatic adenocarcinoma and immune checkpoint inhibitor resistance: a perplex relationship

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most aggressive cancers with a high mortality rate even among patients with early-stage disease. Although recent studies with novel therapeutic approaches have led to modest improvement in survival outcomes, limited progress is achieved for the use of immunotherapeutics in this challenging cancer. Immune checkpoint inhibitors, thus far, single-agent or in combination, have not yielded significant improvement in survival outcomes except in mismatch repair-deficient pancreatic cancer. The tumor microenvironment of pancreatic cancer has been considered as an attractive target for over a decade based on preclinical studies that suggested it may adversely affect drug delivery and antitumor immunity. In this review article, we elaborate on the biology of pancreatic cancer microenvironment, its highly complicated interaction with cancer cells, and the immune system. We also discuss plausible explanations that led to the failure of immune checkpoint inhibitors as therapeutic agents and the potential impacts of pancreatic cancer stroma on these negative studies