The relationship between job involvement and demographic characteristics in nurses in hospitals of Tehran and Kerman in 2013

Background and aim: Nowadays, job involvement is introduced as an important factor in the effectiveness of the organization, so that the high job involvement will increase the effectiveness of the organization. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between job involvement and demographic characteristics of the nurses. Methods: In this cross - sectional descriptive-analytic study, 436 nurses from hospitals in Tehran and Kerman in 2013 were recruited by convenience sampling. The Job Involvement Questionnaire was used for data collection. The cutoff point for job involvement score was 40 and the relationship between job involvement and demographic characteristics of the nurses was evaluated. Results: Most the average age of participating nurses in the study 31-40 years. The mean score of job involvement was 36.07± 10.02. Among the demographic characteristics, in terms of gender, men had higher job involvement than women (P=0.01). Also, the job involvement of nurses in military hospitals was higher than civilian hospitals (P0.05). Conclusion: According to the low scores of job involvement, attention to the effective factors and motivation factors in environment variables to improve nurses' job involvement is recommended

The Effect of Liaison Nurse Service on Patient Outcomes after Discharging From ICU: a Randomized Controlled Trial

Introduction: Recent studies suggest that liaison nurse intervention might be effective to solve the gap between intensive care unit and wards, but little studies are known about the effect of this intervention. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of liaison nurse service on patient outcomes after discharging from intensive care unit. Methods: In this single blinded randomized controlled trial, a total of 80 patients were selected by convenience sampling method from two teaching hospitals located in Tehran, Iran. Patients were randomly allocated to either the experimental or the control groups. Patients in the experimental group received post-ICU care from a liaison nurse and patients in the control group received the routine care. After the intervention, patients’ vital signs, level of consciousness, length of hospital stay, need for re-hospitalization in ICU, and satisfaction with care were measure. Data were analyzed by SPSS Ver.13 software. Results: None of the participants experienced ICU re-hospitalization. According to the result and there were no significant differences between the study groups regarding heart rate, respiratory rate, systolic blood pressure, post-ICU level of consciousness, satisfaction with care, and length of hospitalization in medical-surgical wards. However, the study groups differed significantly in terms of body temperature. Conclusion: Care services provided by an ICU liaison nurse has limited effects on patient outcomes. However, considering the contradictions among the studies, further studies are needed for providing clear evidence about the effectiveness of the liaison nurse strategy

Development and psychometric evaluation of the police quality of work-Life questionnaire

Background: Police staff have difficult work conditions, are prone to physical damages, and experience high levels of occupational stress. Their work-related problems may affect their quality of work life (QWL). Meanwhile, there is no appropriate instrument for assessing their WLQ. Objectives: This study was conducted to develop the police quality of work-life questionnaire (PQWLQ) and evaluate its psychometric properties. Methods: This methodological study was conducted in 2018-2019 in two phases. In the first phase, literature review and semi-structured interviews with 13 police staff were conducted and the results were used for item generation. In the second phase, the face, content, and construct validity and reliability of the questionnaire were assessed. For construct validity assessment through exploratory factor analysis, 234 police staff were purposefully recruited to fill out PQWLQ. Results: In the first phase, 57 items were produced. In the second phase, item number reduced to 38 after face and content validity assessment. In exploratory factor analysis for construct validity assessment, 14 more items were deleted and the remaining 24 items were loaded on two factors. The Cronbach's alpha and the test-retest intraclass correlation coefficient of PQWLQ were 0.947 and 0.931, respectively. Conclusion: The 24-item PQWLQ has acceptable validity and reliability and can be used for QWL assessment among police staff. The use of this scale can help police and health managers develop their understanding about police staff's QWL and develop strategies for its improvement

Clinical Competence among MSc Students of Critical Care Nursing

Introduction: Assessment of clinical competence is of great importance in nursing which identifies the scientific gap between university education and clinical needs among graduate nurses. Hence, the aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical competence among MSc students of critical care nursing. Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, 250 MSc students of critical care nursing were selected by convenience sampling from 17 state nursing schools of Iran in 2013-2014. A researcher-made questionnaire was used to collect data in five areas of care management, technical competence, individual management, patient-oriented care and scholarship. The content and face validity of the questionnaire were assessed and its reliability was calculated by Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for internal consistency (α = 0.86).A five-point Likert scale was used to measure the items. The collected data were analyzed using independent t-tests and one-way ANOVA. Results: Ultimately, 217 questionnaires were analyzed. The total mean score of clinical competence was 4.30±0.41. The mean scores were 4.38±0.43 for care management, 4.40±0.56 for technical competence, 4.36±0.45 for individual management, 4.29±0.60 for patient-oriented care, and 3.66±0.79 for scholarship. Clinical competence was 4.23±0.43 in males and 4.36±0.39 in females (p=0.001, T=-2.15). There was a significant difference between years of education in scholarship area (p =0.01, T=30.15). Conclusion: The results showed that the clinical competence of female students was higher than male students. Also the level of clinical competence was high in most areas however, it was different in terms of years of education in the scholarship area. Accordingly, a revised curriculum is recommended to enhance the efficiency of this course. It is recommended that more field studies be conducted on this area

Determining Vitamin D Levels in Police Staff Referred to Behdad Medical Centers in Tehran, Iran during 2020

Aims: Vitamin D is a fat-soluble steroid hormone that helps maintain healthy bones by absorbing calcium and phosphorus. This study aimed to determine the serum level of vitamin D among police staff and use the evaluated results to decide on the staff health and the effectiveness of organizational control and prevention programs. Materials & Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was performed for 12 months from the start of the year 1399 in Tehran in the population of police staff referred to Medical Centers of police. With ethical and scientific issues being considered, blood samples were taken, and serum levels of vitamin D were measured using immunological kits by the ELISA method. Vitamin values less than 10 ng/ml were considered a severe deficiency, 11-30 were insufficient, and more than 30 were sufficient. Data were analyzed by the SPSS software. Findings: From a total of 442 participants, 80% had severe deficiency or insufficient vitamin D levels (18.9% and 61.1%, respectively), and only 20% had adequate vitamin D levels. The largest deficit was observed among the 21- to 30-year-old age group. A significant difference was seen between age groups (P=0.001). In comparing different job types, administrative job positions had the highest frequency of severe deficiency and insufficient amounts of vitamin D, and the operational job positions had the lowest frequency. This difference was statistically significant (P =0.02). Conclusion: The results show that the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency is high among police officers in Tehran (80%), which requires better planning, and appropriate and effective decision-making by the organization's health managers to improve employees’ health