Barriers and carriers: a multicenter survey of nurses' barriers and facilitators to monitoring of nurse-sensitive outcomes in intensive care units

A single-centre observational study of delayed defaecation in brain-injured patients in an adult intensive care unit

BACKGROUND

The incidence of delayed defaecation is high in enterally fed ventilated patients in intensive care units (ICUs). Those with brain injury may be harmed by increased intracranial pressure if delayed defaecation leads to abdominal distension. There are no studies evaluating a bowel guideline in the treatment of delayed defaecation in ventilated brain-injured ICU patients.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study was to assess the incidence and clinical associations of delayed defaecation and level of compliance to an ICU bowel guideline.

METHODS

Data were collected on ventilated adult patients with brain injury admitted for more than 3 days to one New Zealand ICU over a 2-year period.

RESULTS

Data were analysed for 117 patients; 56 (48%) who defaecated within 3 days of ICU admission (Group one) and 61 (52%) with delayed defaecation after 3 days (Group two). Compliance with the bowel guideline was low. Only 1 of 61 patients who should have had a rectal examination did so, and only 7 of 61 patients who should have had an aperient on day 3 did so. All seven received Movicol®, which was not part of the guideline. Use of aperients and enemas was found to be associated with stool passage (odds ratio: 93; 95% confidence interval: 5.2-1668; p = 0.002). Patients with delayed defaecation had longer ICU stays (mean 7.1 ± 4 SD vs 5.9 ± 3 days, p = 0.07) and more often had high gastric residual volumes after day 4 (27/61 vs 14/56; p = 0.003). No differences were seen between the groups in the incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia, bacterial infections, diarrhoea, vomiting, duration of mechanical ventilation, or mortality.

CONCLUSION

Delayed defaecation was common, and compliance with the guideline was low. Movicol® and phosphate enemas were effective in stool production.

Nursing Sensitive Outcomes evaluation in the Emergency Department: An Umbrella Review

Objective

The aim of this review was to identify reported nursing-sensitive outcomes in the Emergency Department to date.

Methods

An Umbrella review was conducted. Four databases, CINAHL, Pubmed, Web of Science and Scopus, were searched from inception until October 2022. MeSH terms were: "nursing", "sensitivity and specificity", "emergency service, hospital", "nursing care". Two reviewers independently screened studies against the inclusion criteria for eligibility, extracted data and assessed study quality with the SIGN tool. Results of the included studies were summarized and described in themes for narrative analysis. The study was enrolled in the PROSPERO registry (CRD42022376941) and PRISMA guidelines were followed.

Results

The search strategy yielded 2289 records. After duplicate removal, title, abstract and full-text eligibility screening, nine systematic reviews were included in the review. A total of 35 nursing-sensitive outcomes were reported. The most described outcomes were waiting times, patient satisfaction and time to treatment. The less measured were mortality, left without being seen and physical function. Synthesizing nursing-sensitive outcomes in themes for reporting, the most measured outcomes were within the safety domain (n=20), followed by the clinical (n=9), perceptual (n=5) and the least explored functional domain (n=1).

Conclusion

Nursing sensitive outcomes research in emergency nursing practice is a conceptual challenge still in its early stage. Several nursing-sensitive outcomes were identified in this review that can evaluate the contribution of emergency department nursing care to patient outcomes. Further research is required to explore patient outcomes sensitive to emergency nursing care.

A Rapid Realist Review of Quality Care Process Metrics Implementation in Nursing and Midwifery Practice

Quality measurement initiatives promote quality improvement in healthcare but can be challenging to implement effectively. This paper presents a Rapid Realist Review (RRR) of published literature on Quality Care-Process Metrics (QCP-M) implementation in nursing and midwifery practice. An RRR informed by RAMESES II standards was conducted as an efficient means to synthesize evidence using an expert panel. The review involved research question development, quality appraisal, data extraction, and evidence synthesis. Six program theories summarised below identify the key characteristics that promote positive outcomes in QCP-M implementation. Program Theory 1: Focuses on the evidence base and accessibility of the QCP-M and their ease of use by nurses and midwives working in busy and complex care environments. Program Theory 2: Examines the influence of external factors on QCP-M implementation. Program Theory 3: Relates to existing cultures and systems within clinical sites. Program Theory 4: Relates to nurses’ and midwives’ knowledge and beliefs. Program Theory 5: Builds on the staff theme of Programme Theory four, extending the culture of organizational learning, and highlights the meaningful engagement of nurses and midwives in the implementation process as a key characteristic of success. Program Theory 6: Relates to patient needs. The results provide nursing and midwifery policymakers and professionals with evidence-based program theory that can be translated into action-orientated strategies to help guide successful QCP-M implementation.

Compassion fatigue in critical care nurses and its impact on nurse-sensitive indicators in Saudi Arabian hospitals

AIM

To examine the previously untested relationship between the level of compassion fatigue (CF) in critical care nurses and the rates of three nurse-sensitive indicators in four critical care units in hospitals in Saudi Arabia.

BACKGROUND

CF can manifest in nurses who provide direct, intimate care to patients with different levels of illness including nurses working in specialty areas such as critical care where they care for patients experiencing challenging illnesses. Pressure injuries, patient falls, and medication errors are key nurse-sensitive indicators that identify critical care nurses as the primary causal agent. These indicators also correlate with burnout and poor multidisciplinary team communication, both factors that govern CF.

METHODS

A multisite survey was conducted to collate and examine the number of reported pressure injuries, falls, and medication errors over 3 months at four hospitals in two Saudi Arabian cities during 2018 to determine the relationship between the occurrence of these nurse-sensitive indicators and the level of CF in critical care (intensive care unit [ICU]) nurses. A survey of 516 critical care nurses was undertaken; analysis was performed using the Professional Quality of Life Scale, version 5 (ProQol-5), and results were further analysed using Pearson's correlations and three-way analysis of variance.

RESULTS

The results of the regression analysis indicated resilience as a predictor explained 66% of the compassion satisfaction (CS) variance (B = 0.318, R² = 0.436, F_{(2, 12.495)} = 123.013, p < 0.001) and 26% of the burnout (BO) variance (B = 0.152, R² = 0.067, F_{(2, 11.500)} = 3.279, p < 0.001). In addition, the level of resilience as a predictor explained 15.4% of the secondary traumatic stress (STS) variance (B = 0.063, R² = 0.024, F_{(2, 7.758)} = 2.785, p = 0.006). Conversely, coping strategies did not predict CS, BO, or STS (p > 0.05) at a statistically significant level. The concurrent measure of CF, BO, and STS found that almost 20% of the critical care nurse participants reported having very low CS, indicating increased potential for the development of CF. In addition, male nurses reported experiencing higher levels of stress and BO than female nurses. This study also found that neither the number of patients being treated nor the number of beds in the care setting affected the rate of the nominated nurse-sensitive indicators. The results for rates of pressure injuries did vary among the hospitals, with the worst performing hospital reporting pressure injury rates of one in every 40 patients and the better performing hospital reporting no cases of pressure injuries after treating more than 100 patients. Patient falls and medication errors were rare occurrences and did not vary between hospitals.

SIGNIFICANCE

This study indicates that there is a possible issue contributing to the differential level of care between hospitals. The mode and length of time nurses spend on handover may also reflect communication issues that increase both the rate of nurse-sensitive indicators and the level of CF reported by nurses. Therefore, the implications of this study, in terms of improving nursing practice, occurs in handover to ensure that information on aspects of nonpatient critical care are fully covered, such as time of patient turning to avoid pressure injuries.

Final-year student nurses' experiences of caring for patients

BACKGROUND

Shortage of nurses in South African hospitals has affected the nurse-patient ratio, thus prompting nurses to be focussed on completing nursing-related duties with less or no caring for the patient. Caring involves having a therapeutic relationship with the patients, and it can be challenging and demanding for final-year student nurses who are still novices in the nursing profession.

OBJECTIVES

To explore and describe the experiences of caring for patients amongst final-year student nurses in order to develop and provide recommendations to facilitate caring.

METHOD

A qualitative, descriptive and contextual design was used. Data collection was done through eight in-depth individual interviews. Giorgi's five-step method of data analysis was used, along with an independent coder. Measures to ensure trustworthiness and ethical principles were applied throughout the research.

RESULTS

Four themes with 12 subthemes emerged from the data: therapeutic relationship with patients as an integral part of caring, teamwork - team spirit makes caring easy, continuous caring that promotes quality and safe nursing, as well as satisfaction amongst staff and patients, and various barriers that contributed to lack of caring in the unit.

CONCLUSION

The majority of student nurses had positive experiences of caring, which included therapeutic relationships between nurses and the patients, teamwork and team spirit that fostered safe and quality nursing care, rendered effortlessly. Barriers to caring were also highlighted as negative experiences.

Career Impact of the Chief Resident in Quality and Safety Training Program: An Alumni Evaluation

PURPOSE

Most evaluations of quality improvement and patient safety (QI/PS) training programs provide inadequate data on their impact on alumni careers and QI/PS involvement. To address this gap, the authors investigated continued participation in and barriers to QI/PS work, employment, and satisfaction with training among alumni of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Chief Resident in Quality and Safety (CRQS) program.

METHOD

A cross-sectional, web-based survey was administered in January 2018 to all 238 CRQS program alumni (program years 2009-2017, 54 program sites).

RESULTS

A total of 145 alumni (61%) completed the survey, of whom 40% were employed at the VA. Participants reported various professional roles including academic appointments, QI/PS-specific positions, and hospital leadership positions. Most respondents reported involvement in QI/PS activities within the past year, including conducting QI or PS projects and teaching QI or PS. Alumni dedicated a median 15% of their work time to QI/PS. Almost all alumni reported experiencing barriers to QI/PS involvement, most frequently lack of time given clinical responsibilities. Most were satisfied with the training, and almost all reported CRQS participation helped their professional career advancement.

CONCLUSIONS

The continued involvement in QI/PS reported by alumni suggests training programs such as the CRQS program may be successful in building a workforce of leaders equipped to conduct and teach QI/PS. Dedicated time for QI/PS efforts is an important barrier. Future research should address possible career options and assess the larger, overall effect training physicians in QI/PS has on health systems and patient care.

How do nurse managers describe clinical nurses' work arrangements? A qualitative study

Aim

The researcher sought to understand how nurse managers describe nurses in alternative work arrangements.

Design

The researcher conducted this study using grounded theory.

Method

Semi-structured interviews. A theoretical sample of 26 baccalaureate-prepared nurse managers located across the United States participated in the study.

Results

A typology of five work arrangements provides descriptors that contribute toward greater conceptual clarity on nurses' work arrangements. The data reveal that the typology is fluid because nurses can easily switch across work arrangements. Because the rise in alternative work arrangements means that nurses can leave permanent positions-or explore different work arrangements-when circumstances permit or necessitate, nurses who do not receive continued mentoring will likely bring their deficiencies in skill and/or knowledge to facilities where they find future employment. Hence, inadequate mentoring at the unit level has practical consequences for the quality of patient care at the institutional level.

What nursing sensitive outcomes have been studied to-date among patients cared for in intensive care units? Findings from a scoping review

BACKGROUND

Although many studies have considered mortality and adverse effects as outcomes sensitive to nursing practice, it seems that other outcomes of nursing care in intensive care units have been explored less commonly.

OBJECTIVES

To describe the state-of-science in research in the field of nursing sensitive outcomes in intensive care units and to synthesize outcomes that have been documented to date as being influenced by nursing care.

DESIGN

A scoping review study based on the framework proposed by Arksey and O'Malley, further refined by the Levac and Joanna Briggs Institute was performed in 2019.

DATA SOURCES

The Medline, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar electronic databases were searched. In addition, the reference list of included articles was screened.

REVIEW METHODS

Two researchers independently identified publications on the basis of the following criteria: (a) articles that reported nursing sensitive outcomes on critically-ill adult patients admitted to the intensive care unit, (b) as primary and secondary studies, (c) written in English, and (d) without any time frame limitation.

RESULTS

Of the 4,231 records, 112 fully met the inclusion criteria and were included. Publications were mainly authored in the US and Canada (n = 44, 39.2%), and the majority (n = 62, 55.3%) had an observational design. A total of 233 nursing sensitive outcomes emerged, categorized in 35 outcomes, with, on average, two per study included. The most often measured outcomes were pressure ulcers (20 studies) and ventilator-associated pneumonias (19 studies); the less studied outcomes were quality of life, secretion clearance, patient-ventilator dysynchrony, and post-extubation dysphagia. When categorizing outcomes, the ones concerning safety (n = 77, 33.1%) were represented the most, followed by those concerning the clinical (n = 72, 30.9%), functional (n = 70, 30.0%), and perceptual (n = 14, 6.0%) domains. The interdependent outcomes linked to multi-professional interventions (e.g., ventilator-associated pneumonias) were the most frequently studied nursing sensitive outcomes (n = 20, 57.1%), while independent outcomes resulting from autonomous interventions performed by nurses were less often studied (n = 8, 22.9%).

CONCLUSIONS

From a clinical point of view, a large heterogeneity of outcomes influenced by nursing care emerged. However, identified outcomes have been studied with different approaches and metrics, so that future efforts will need to establish homogeneous conceptual and operative definitions. Moreover, increasing efforts in establishing perceptual outcomes, or those close to the fundamentals of nursing care, are suggested in order to better depict the contribution of critical care nurses in the field.

Unplanned extubations in an intensive care unit: Findings from a critical incident technique

BACKGROUND

Patients on mechanical ventilation are at risk of experiencing a potentially life-threatening unplanned extubation in the intensive care unit, which can lead to arrhythmias, bronchial aspiration, difficulty in reintubation or even sudden cardiac arrest. Although incidence and outcomes of the phenomenon have been documented in several quantitative studies, no studies have investigated the antecedents as experienced by critical care nurses.

OBJECTIVES

To gain a greater understanding of the antecedents of unplanned extubations.

METHODS

A qualitative study design involving the critical-incident technique. A total of 10 registered nurses who reported one or more episodes of unplanned extubations were involved in an in-depth interview.

FINDINGS

According to the nurses' experience, episodes of unplanned extubations are determined by predisposing, precipitating and mediating factors. The predisposing factors have been recognised in the (a) weaning programme (expected/unexpected decreased sedation) and in the (b) patient factors (increased needs due to discomfort, restlessness and desire to communicate). The precipitating factors have been divided into (a) organisational (failures in multi-professional communication), (b) environmental (excessive environmental chaos and barriers preventing direct surveillance) and (c) nursing care factors (ensuring privacy by creating barriers, avoiding disturbing other patients and poor nurse-to-patient ratio). Among the mediating factors, which are affected by the precipitating factors, decreased surveillance and mechanical restraints' use have been identified.

CONCLUSION

Identifying risk factors of unplanned extubation, specifically those that are modifiable, such as increasing interprofessional communication, reducing excessive environment chaos, implementing strategies aimed at overcoming barriers threatening direct surveillance and ensuring appropriate nurse-to-patient ratio, can prevent the occurrence of these events.

Unplanned extubations in general intensive care unit: A nine-year retrospective analysis

Background and aim: Unplanned extubation (UE) in Intensive Care Units (ICU) is an indicator of quality and safety of care. UEs are classified in: accidental extubations, if involuntarily caused during nursing care or medical procedures; self-extubation, if determined by the patient him/herself. In scientific literature, the cumulative incidence of UEs varies from 0.3% to 35.8%. The aim of this study is to explore the incidence of UEs in an Italian university general ICU adopting a well-established protocol of tracheal tube nursing management and fixation. Methods: retrospective observational study. We enrolled all patients undergone to invasive mechanical ventilation from 1^st January 2008 to 31^st December 2016. Results: in the studied period 3422 patients underwent to endotracheal intubation. The UEs were 35: 33 self extubations (94%) and 2 accidental extubations (6%). The incidence of UEs calculated on 1497 patients intubated for more than 24 hours was 2.34%. Instead, it was 1.02%, if we consider the whole number of intubated patients. Only in 9 (26%) cases out of 35 UEs the patient was re-intubated. No deaths consequent to UE were recorded. Conclusions: The incidence of UEs in this study showed rates according to the minimal values reported in scientific literature. A standardized program of endotracheal tube management (based on an effective and comfortable fixing system) seems to be a safe and a valid foundation in order to maintain the UE episodes at minimum rates.

Prevention of pressure ulcers in patients undergoing subacute rehabilitation after severe brain injury: An observational study

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

To uncover efforts made by healthcare professionals to prevent pressure ulcers in patients with severe brain injury undergoing treatment at a subacute rehabilitation department.

BACKGROUND

Pressure ulcers are a major burden for patients and also generate considerable healthcare costs. Pressure ulcers are, nevertheless, prevalent in both secondary care and primary care.

DESIGN

In this qualitative study, we performed 24-hour observation on four patients undergoing rehabilitation for severe brain injury. An observation guide was developed inspired by the Braden Scale and Spradley's theory and methods. Observations were analysed using content analysis. Patricia Benner's aspects of clinical grasp were employed in the interpretation of the observations.

FINDINGS

One overarching theme was identified: "Professionalism expressed by preventing intervention, involving the patient, employing clinical grasp and professional pride." Seven subcategories were summed up into the following three categories: organisation of clinical practice, professional assessment and interactions with the patient.

CONCLUSION

The healthcare professionals' actions to prevent pressure ulcers consisted of attaining the necessary knowledge about pressure ulcer care and performing the activities. However, our observations revealed one important additional aspect: a very distinct impression that the healthcare professionals were committed to learning about the patients' former life and actively used this knowledge in their planning and provision of daily patient care. We believe this commitment has a very positive effect on prevention of pressure ulcers.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE

Professional knowledge about prevention of pressure ulcer is a necessary requisite, but is not sufficient to ensure effective treatment. To transfer knowledge into practice, we recommend that patients' rehabilitation days be planned in such a manner that activities, mobilisation and training are conducted throughout the day and evening. We also recommend that professional staff are encouraged to seek information about the former life of patients with severe brain injury.

Barriers and carriers: a multicenter survey of nurses' barriers and facilitators to monitoring of nurse-sensitive outcomes in intensive care units

Aim

To identify nurses’ barriers and facilitators to monitoring of nurse‐sensitive outcomes in intensive care units (ICUs), and to explore influential nurse characteristics and work environment factors.

Design

A cross‐sectional survey in three Dutch ICUs between October 2013 ‐ June 2014.

Methods

A questionnaire with questions regarding facilitators and three types of barriers: knowledge, attitude and behaviour. The Dutch Essentials of Magnetism II was used to examine work environments.

Results

All 126 responding nurses identified pressure ulcers and patient satisfaction as outcomes that are nurse‐sensitive and nurses’ full responsibility. Lack of time (behaviour) was perceived as the most prominent barrier, followed by unfamiliarity with mandatory indicators (knowledge), and unreliability of indicators as benchmark data (attitude). Education and clear policies were relevant facilitators. Of nurse characteristics, only regularity of shifts was related to perceived attitude related barriers. The work environment factor “clinical autonomy” was potentially associated with behaviour related barriers.