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

Greek mothers' perceptions of their cooperation with the obstetrician and the midwife in the delivery room

Α Ι Μ : The objective of this study was to access the perceptions of mothers of newborns regarding their cooperationwith the midwife and the obstetrician in the delivery room.M A T E R I A L - M E T H O D : The sample consisted of 607 mothers living in Northern Greece. The KuopioInstrument for Mothers (KIM) was used for the data collection.R E S U L T S : All the participants gave birth in a hospital; 403 (66.4%) had vaginal delivery, while 204 (33.6%)gave birth by caesarean section. Women with a vaginal delivery had a better cooperation with the midwife and theobstetrician, in comparison to women who gave birth via caesarean section. The participant mothers had a morepositive experience from their cooperation with the obstetrician than with the midwife.C O N C L U S I O N S : The mothers’ preference for obstetrician’s care than for midwife’s care is probably due tothe commercialisation of gynaecology/obstetrics in Greece, the dramatic increase in the number of obstetriciansover the past decade, and the fact that deliveries carried out solely by midwives have almost disappeared in thecountry. Health policy makers should reinforce the current provision of maternity services and support midwivesto take a more central role during pregnancy, labour, and the postnatal period

In-hospital informal caregivers' needs as perceived by themselves and by the nursing staff in Northern Greece: A descriptive study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Informal care is common in many countries, especially in Greece, where families provide care in hospitals. Health education and informational needs are important factors for family members which are often underestimated by nursing staff. The aim of this study was to compare the perceptions of the nurses and the in-hospital informal caregivers about the in-hospital informal caregivers' knowledge and informational needs, as well as the factors that influence these perceptions.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This was a non-experimental descriptive study conducted in three general hospitals in Greece. The sample consisted of 320 nurses and 370 in-hospital informal caregivers who completed questionnaires. Descriptive statistics were analyzed using t-tests; group comparisons were conducted using ANOVA.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The score of the questionnaire for health education and informational needs was significantly greater for informal caregivers (57.1 ± 6.9 and 26.6 ± 2.8) than for nurses (53.4 ± 5.7 and 22.4 ± 3.1) (p < 0.001). For the nursing staff, the factors that influence the informational needs of patients' caregivers were <it>level of education </it>and <it>working experience</it>, while for the caregivers the <it>level of education </it>was independently associated with the score for the health education needs. Finally, <it>age, marital status</it>, and <it>level of education </it>of informal caregivers' were independently associated with informational needs.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The in-hospital informal caregivers perceived that they have more educational and informational needs than the nurses did. The findings of this study also show that the nursing staff has to identify the needs of in-hospital informal caregivers in order to be able to meet these needs.</p

A nursing perspective of nutrition in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy

Purpose: To present of an appropriate diet consists in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. Materials and methods: A search was made in the Pubmed and Scopus databases for reports on nutrition and chemotherapy in cancer patients. There were used the following key words: nutrition, cancer, chemotherapy and the combination of them. Results: Nutritional problems of patients are caused by the same disease, the antitumor therapy and the patient's response to the diagnosis and treatment. Symptoms such as anorexia, changes in taste, nausea - vomiting, diarrhea, stomatitis and constipation are common side effects of chemotherapy and can lead to inadequate food intake and consequently, malnutrition. There are many appropriate nursing interventions that alleviate the above symptoms. Conclusions: Nurse plays an important role in the care of patients who have been feeding problems receiving chemotherapy. Nutritional interventions are individualized and should be started immediately and incorporated into the care plan in order to be successful. In order this to be achieved; all patients should be assessed for nutritional problems and weight loss before starting treatment and after starting regularly

Primary healthcare services and patients with neoplastic disease

Introduction: The primary health care services holding the central role in the prevention of various diseases. Cancer is the second leading cause of death worldwide. Primary healthcare services, holding a coordinating role in staging, treatment and prognosis of cancer. Purpose: To present the role of primary health care services in primary and secondary prevention of cancer. Materials and methods: A search was made in the PubMed and Scopus databases for reports on primary health care services in cancer patients. Results: Monitoring and early detection are some roles of care. The preventive medicine focuses on health promotion and disease prevention, helping people to enhance their own health. Specifically, majority of researches revealed that mammography ranged 44% to 69%. Also, the screening of cervical cancer by early examination of Pap smear, the percentage ranged 24% to 36%. The screening of prostate specific antigen (PSA) test ranged about 55%. The health professionalsfocused on individual, group and community interventions aimed at health promotion and prevention through programs and counseling. Conclusions: The interest of the fact that the primary care services have multidimensional roles for eliminating the occurrence of cancer. Prevention and health promotion programs, informing the population, campaigns on the part of health professionals for more frequent screening and early diagnosis in general symptoms of cancer, are fundamental principles of these services

Primary healthcare services and patients with neoplastic disease

Introduction: The primary health care services holding the central role in the prevention of various diseases. Cancer is the second leading cause of death worldwide. Primary healthcare services, holding a coordinating role in staging, treatment and prognosis of cancer. Purpose: To present the role of primary health care services in primary and secondary prevention of cancer. Materials and methods: A search was made in the PubMed and Scopus databases for reports on primary health care services in cancer patients. Results: Monitoring and early detection are some roles of care. The preventive medicine focuses on health promotion and disease prevention, helping people to enhance their own health. Specifically, majority of researches revealed that mammography ranged 44% to 69%. Also, the screening of cervical cancer by early examination of Pap smear, the percentage ranged 24% to 36%. The screening of prostate specific antigen (PSA) test ranged about 55%. The health professionalsfocused on individual, group and community interventions aimed at health promotion and prevention through programs and counseling. Conclusions: The interest of the fact that the primary care services have multidimensional roles for eliminating the occurrence of cancer. Prevention and health promotion programs, informing the population, campaigns on the part of health professionals for more frequent screening and early diagnosis in general symptoms of cancer, are fundamental principles of these services

Greek renal nurses&apos; attitudes towards death

This study aims to assess how Greek renal nurses feel about death and examine any relationships between their attitudes and demographic factors. Design: Descriptive quantitative study. The sample comprised of 49 nurses. Methodology: Voluntary and anonymous completion of the Death Attitude Profile-Revised and a demographic questionnaire. Results: 44 respondents were female and 5 were male with a mean age of 25.80 years. The mean nursing experience was 10.9 years. Nursing experience and age were the variables most likely to predict nurses&apos; attitudes towards death. Nurses with specific education on palliative care had less difficulty talking about death and dying and did not have a fear of death. The Hospital-based teams (known as palliative care teams, supportive care teams or symptom assessment teams) had statistically significant different relationships with fear of death and neutral acceptance scores. Conclusions: It is recommended to include education on death and care of the dying in the nursing degree course in order for nurses who are giving terminal phase patient care to be better able deal with issues that death evolves. © 2011 European Dialysis and Transplant Nurses Association/European Renal Care Association

Prospective assessment of fatigue and health status in Greek patients with breast cancer undergoing adjuvant radiotherapy

Purpose/Objectives: To describe fatigue in women with breast cancer undergoing radiotherapy and to explore the impact of fatigue on their health status. Design: Prospective, descriptive, repeated measures. Setting: A major oncology center, Saint Savvas Cancer Hospital, in Athens, Greece. Sample: Consecutive sample of 106 women (mean age = 55 ± 12), with histologically confirmed diagnosis for stage I or II breast cancer who were receiving adjuvant radiotherapy for approximately six weeks. Methods: Data were collected with the Revised Piper Fatigue Scale (PFS) and the Short Form-36 (SF-36) Health Survey Scale in the first two days of radiotherapy (T 0), during the third week (T 1), and during the last week of treatment (T 2). Main Research Variables: Fatigue, health status. Findings: Across-subjects analysis revealed that fatigue increased during radiotherapy in patients with breast cancer regardless of stage, type of surgery, or whether they received chemotherapy (p &amp;lt; 0.05). Between-subject analysis revealed that no differences existed in the PFS between different groups (chemotherapy versus no chemotherapy, breast conservation versus mastectomy, stage I versus stage II) at each measurement point. A negative correlation was found between the subscales of the PFS and all of the subscales of the SF-36. Conclusions: Fatigue intensity increased significantly during the course of radiotherapy, and patients experienced a significant deterioration in their overall health status. Implications for Nursing: Findings contribute to the growing body of evidence regarding fatigue and its impact on health status in Greek patients with breast cancer and provide insights for effective nursing assessment, patient education, and symptom management

Practice and clinical decision-making autonomy among Hellenic critical care nurses

Background: Nursing autonomy has been associated with better patient-outcomes; therefore, it is a priority for critical care nursing management. Low authority has been a persistent complaint of Hellenic intensive care unit nurses; however, issues of nursing autonomy have not been previously addressed empirically in Hellas. Purpose: To investigate: (1) the perceived contribution to clinical decision-making, (2) the degree of autonomy in technical tasks, and (3) factors related to practice autonomy in critical care nurses in Hellas. Additionally, because of the lack of sufficient tools, this study also aimed to construct and to validate a new tool for assessing practice and clinical decision-making autonomy among Hellenic intensive care unit nurses. Materials and methods: A Hellenic intensive care nursing autonomy scale, focused on technical aspects of care, was developed through literature review, a panel of experts and a pilot study in a random sample of 120 respondents. Items were refined by factor analysis, which revealed three major conceptual categories of autonomy: (1) basic technical, (2) advanced technical, and (3) clinical decision. Hellenic intensive care nursing autonomy (Likert 4, range: 38-152), was distributed to all nurses employed in intensive care units in Hellas (n = 807; attrition: 27%). Comparisons, correlation and multivariate regression were employed. Results: The Hellenic intensive care nursing autonomy scale exhibited appropriate reliability (Cronbach&apos;s α = 0.86) and validity properties. Autonomy scores were moderate (mean: 105.24 ± 9.58). Highest autonomy was attributed to basic technical tasks, followed by advanced technical tasks and decision-making. Male gender and higher education were predictors of higher overall, advanced technical and decision-making autonomy (P = 0.01). Bachelor degree graduates scored higher in decisional autonomy (P = 0.03). Intensive care unit experience and type of intensive care unit were also important determinants of decisional autonomy (P = 0.02). Conclusions: The results revealed moderate autonomy in technical tasks and low decisional autonomy among Hellenic intensive care unit nurses. Factors related to the educational preparation of nurses, gender issues and institutional characteristics might hinder intensive care unit nurses&apos; autonomy in Hellas. © 2005 Blackwell Publishing Ltd