Nurse Leaders Advocate for Nurses Across a Health Care System: COVID-19

Does COVID-19 Revamp Nurses’ Compassion? Post-Pandemic Approach in Qatar

Aim: This study aimed to identify self-compassion among staff nurses after the COVID-19 pandemic in Qatar. Design: Descriptive cross-sectional survey design. Methods: Anonymous data were collected through an online survey using Microsoft Forms from 300 nurses in 14 health facilities in Qatar. The organization had almost 10,000 nursing staff working in different facilities. Data were gathered using a structured online questionnaire and included socio-demographic information, and the Self-Compassion Scale—Short Form was used to collect the remaining data. Correlation, t-test, and ANOVA analyses were conducted. Results: Nurses in the study showed high self-compassion. Among the sub-domain ‘mindfulness’, they showed comparatively high scores (7.96 ± 1.55), and the lowest score was for ‘isolation’ (6.15 ± 1.99). The score for ‘self-kindness’ was 7.29 ± 1.55, that for ‘self-judgement’ was 6.79 ± 2.01, that for ‘common humility’ was 6.62 ± 1.47, and that for the sub-domain ‘over-identified’ was 6.47 ± 1.91. Mindfulness scores were high among the nurse leaders. Moreover, over-identified scores were high among the nurses who were currently working under COVID-19 at the time of data collection. Conclusions: Nurses faced many difficulties while working during the COVID-19 pandemic, including a heavy workload and tension. The current study’s findings add to our understanding of how COVID-19 affected the development of self-compassion. A rise in mindfulness, which aids nurses in managing stress at work and building resilience, further underscores an increase in nurses’ acceptance of the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings also highlight how crucial it is to encourage self-compassion in individuals and offer them emotional support at such times, especially when there is a significant risk factor for mental health, such as COVID-19.

Prophylactic Negative Pressure Wound Therapy in Reducing Surgical Site Infections: An Evidence-Based Literature Review

Background

Surgical site infections (SSIs) are a frequent postoperative complication that nurses commonly need to provide asepsis-specific meticulous care for. The application of a closed-incisional negative pressure wound therapy (iNPWT) device is regarded as a novel technique that aims to lower the risk of external wound contamination.

Aim

The purpose of this review was to evaluate the effectiveness of iNPWT on high-risk closed laparotomy incisions with the aim to inform nursing practitioners and physicians engaged in multieffort wound care practices. Nursing professionals play a crucial role in mitigating the incidence of SSIs, from the time of application, through ongoing assessment tissue condition, and ensuring asepsis, thereby enhancing patient care and safety.

The Research Question

Is prophylactic negative pressure wound therapy effective in reducing the incidence of (closed) surgical site wound infections postlaparotomy?

PICO Elements

The population studied included patients undergoing laparotomy surgery. The intervention under review included the application of iNPWT, compared to the use of standard gauze dressing. The expected outcome was SSI reduction.

Methods and Results

A systematized literature search was conducted using various databases to identify published studies that address the PICO question. The PRISMA checklist and Critical Appraisal Skills Programme tools allowed to exclude irrelevant articles and to critically appraise the evidence, respectively. Eleven key articles were retrieved including four RCTs and seven systematic reviews and meta-analysis. The results indicated an overall positive association between iNPWT and a reduction in SSI in laparotomy surgeries when compared to standard dressings.

Linking Evidence to Action

Data across most studies reviewed support the benefits with the use of iNPWT as a preventive strategy to lower the rates of SSI, with some claiming no difference. Although heterogeneity in the studies precludes a definite conclusion, nurses may make a more informed decision when navigating the demands of SSI prevention targeted nursing care.

Development and psychometric validation of the Sickness Presenteeism Scale-Nurse

AIM

This study's aim is to develop and psychometrically assess the Sickness Presenteeism Scale-Nurse.

BACKGROUND

Evaluation of the effects of sickness presenteeism on nurses' performance and productivity is important for healthcare quality.

DESIGN

This was an instrument development and validation study.

METHODS

Scale items were created based on literature review and qualitative research. Data were collected from 619 nurses between October and December 2021. The factor structure of the scale was determined by explanatory and confirmatory factor analysis performed with different sample groups. Convergent and discriminant validity were investigated, and reliability was evaluated with Cronbach's α values, adjusted item-total correlation, composite-reliability and split-half reliability.

RESULTS

Explanatory factor analysis showed that Sickness Presenteeism Scale-Nurse consisted of four sub-dimensions and 21 items and explained 57.9% of the total variance. This factor structure was confirmed by confirmatory factor analysis. The convergent and discriminant validity was confirmed. The total Cronbach's α value of the scale was calculated as 0.928, with Cronbach's α values of the sub-dimensions calculated as 0.815-0.903; composite reliability values were calculated as 0.804-0.903.

CONCLUSIONS

The Sickness Presenteeism Scale-Nurse is a valid and reliable measurement instrument that can be used to evaluate the effect of nurses' sickness presenteeism behaviour on job performance.

Improving the knowledge of and compliance with infection control for emerging respiratory infectious diseases among nursing students using importance-performance analysis: A descriptive survey study

BACKGROUND

Due to a lack of prior training on emerging respiratory infectious diseases (ERIDs), systematic nursing guidelines, supplies, and manpower, nurses experienced extreme physical and psychological stress while providing care to patients with infectious diseases during the pandemic.

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to investigate the knowledge of and compliance with infection control for ERIDs among nursing students, as well as identify the priorities in infection control knowledge and compliance using importance-performance analysis (IPA), to prepare supporting data for developing infection control training programs for ERIDs.

DESIGN

This descriptive survey used IPA to examine nursing students' knowledge of infection control priorities and ERID compliance.

SETTING

The participants were recruited from a convenience sample of first- to fourth-year nursing majors from one region of South Korea.

PARTICIPANTS

Data were collected from 481 nursing students through a questionnaire survey conducted between May 3 and June 30, 2022.

METHODS

Data were examined using descriptive statistics, an independent t-test, a one-way analysis of variance, and IPA.

RESULTS

The IPA results showed that among 12 items related to nursing students' knowledge of infection control for ERIDs, item #1 (definition of ERID) belonged to quadrant C (low priority), whereas all other items (items #2-12) belonged to quadrant A (concentrate here). Among 12 items related to compliance with infection control for ERIDs, items #2 (hand hygiene) and #3 (mask wearing) belonged to quadrant B (keep up the good work), whereas the remaining 10 items belonged to quadrant A (concentrate here).

CONCLUSION

In order to improve nursing students' knowledge of and compliance with infection control for ERIDs, infection control training with more specific material should replace the present curriculum in South Korea.

An Evaluation of a Web-Based Crisis Management Training Program for Nurse Managers: The Case of the COVID-19 Crisis

OBJECTIVE

The effective management of nursing services, the main power in patients' care and treatment in the front line of the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, and nurse managers' effective leadership behaviors in the fight against the pandemic have been important key factors. It is thus critical to support nurse managers, strengthen them through training, and increase their competency so that they can successfully manage crises, disasters, or pandemics. This study aims to assess the effect of a web-based training program on the knowledge levels of nurse managers who worked during the COVID-19 pandemic.

METHODS

This is a randomized controlled experimental study. The study population consisted of the members of the Nurse Managers Association. The intervention group had 30 participants, and the control group had 31 participants in the final.

RESULTS

There was no statistically significant difference between the intervention and control groups' mean number of correct pre-test responses (P = 0.843). However, the intervention group's mean number of correct post-test responses was statistically significantly higher than the control group's after the web-based training program (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Web-based training programs can effectively increase nurse managers' knowledge levels. Therefore, web-based training programs should be developed in ordinary times for the management of crisis situations.

Measuring Occupational Fatigue among Higher and Middle Management at a Specialized Cancer Center during the COVID-19 Pandemic

PURPOSE

This study aims to measure the occupational fatigue level and describe the sources and consequences of occupational fatigue among middle and higher management at an international specialized cancer center during the COVID-19 pandemic.

METHODS

A mixed-method design was used in this study. A convenience sampling technique was utilized to select the participants from King Hussein Cancer Center, Amman, Jordan. The data was collected through a self-administered questionnaire. This questionnaire included both quantitative and qualitative sections. We utilized Fatigue Risk Assessment and Management in High-Risk Environments (FRAME)-26 items scale for the quantitative section. Two main questions were included in the survey to identify the sources and consequences of occupational fatigue.

RESULTS

The results show that the average mean of occupational fatigue was 2.95/5 (SD=0.70). The level of changes in fatigue levels after the COVID-19 pandemic increased by 0.87/3 (SD=1.45). The sources of occupational fatigue could be categorized into five themes: workload, work environment, staffing, psychological, and physical sources. There are four themes categorizing occupational fatigue: social, economic, health, and daily activity and lifestyle.

CONCLUSION

This study affords valuable insight into the level, source, and consequences of occupational fatigue among middle and higher management at an international specialized cancer hospital in developing countries. The results indicate that the occupational fatigue level was moderate, and the fatigue level was negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nurses as Clinical Advisors in an Interprofessional COVID-19 Crisis Command Center

The use of nurses as clinical advisors in an interprofessional COVID-19 crisis command center proved successful. By engaging nurses as clinical advisors in the command center structure, one organization was able to facilitate optimal decisions around nursing leadership and advocacy, capacity and staffing, the development and implementation of innovative novel care models, clinical training and upskilling, and maintaining the safest possible environment for the patients and team members. Including a nurse-led clinical advisor role within future command center structures is an important strategy to reshaping how organizations effectively respond in times of crisis.

Leadership During a Pandemic: A Lexical Analysis

To manage pandemics, like COVID-19, leadership can enable health services to weather the storm. Yet there is limited clarity on how leadership manifested and was discussed in the literature during COVID-19. This can have considerable public health implications given the importance of leadership in the health sector. This article addresses this missed opportunity by examining the literature on leadership during a pandemic. Following a systematic search of nine academic databases in May 2021, 1,747 publications were screened. Following this, a lexical analysis of the results section was conducted, sourced from a corpus of publications across myriad journals. The results found a prevalence of references to “leader” as a sole actor, risking the perpetuation of a view that critical decisions emanate from a singular source. Moreover, “leadership” was a concept disconnected from the fray of frontline workers, patients, and teams. This suggests a strong need for more diverse vocabularies and conceptions that reflect the “messiness” of leadership as it takes shape in relation to the challenges and uncertainties of COVID-19. There is a considerable opportunity to advance scholarship on leadership via further empirical studies that help to clarify different approaches to lead teams and organizations during a pandemic.

[Collaborative Disaster Governance Recognized by Nurses during a Pandemic]

PURPOSE

We aimed to identify collaborative disaster governance through the demand and supply analysis of resources recognized by nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

METHODS

We used a descriptive study design with an online survey technique for data collection. The survey questions were developed based on focus group interviews with nurses responding to COVID-19 and expert validity testing. A 42-question online survey focusing on disaster governance was sent to nurses working in COVID-19 designated hospitals, public health offices, and schools. A total of 630 nurses participated in the survey. Demand and supply analysis was used to identify the specific components of disaster governance during a pandemic situation and analyze priority areas in disaster governance, as reported by nurses.

RESULTS

Demand and supply analysis showed that supplies procurement, cooperation, education, and environment factors clustered in the high demand and supply quadrant while labor condition, advocacy, emotional support, and workload adjustment factors clustered in the high demand but low supply quadrant, indicating a strong need in those areas of disaster governance among nurses. The nurses practicing at the public health offices and schools showed major components of disaster governance plotted in the second quadrant, indicating weak collaborative disaster governance.

CONCLUSION

These findings show that there is an unbalanced distribution among nurses, resulting in major challenges in collaborative disaster governance during COVID-19. In the future and current pandemic, collaborative disaster governance, through improved distribution, will be useful for helping nurses to access more required resources and achieve effective pandemic response.

Relationship Between Self-Acceptance and Intention to Stay at Work Among Clinical Nurses in China: A Cross-Sectional Online Survey

BACKGROUND

During the pandemic and with the growing shortage of nurses, the problem of how to retain existing nurses was of paramount importance. However, there is limited evidence on the relationship between nurses' self-acceptance and intention to stay.

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to investigate the factors influencing nurses' intention to stay at work, and explore the relationship between self-acceptance and their intention to stay.

METHODS

Convenience sampling was conducted to select nurses who worked in a clinical environment during June 2020, in hospitals in Shandong Province, China. Self-designed basic information and two questionnaires, namely, the "self-acceptance questionnaire" and "intention to stay" were adopted. Mean, median, related analysis, and regression analysis were adopted to describe the relationship of self-acceptance and intention to stay on part of Chinese nurses.

RESULTS

A total of 1,015 clinical nurses participated in the survey. The mean score of intention to stay among participants was 22.00. The multiple regression analysis revealed various factors, such as age, family support the work, interest in work, job suitability, type of employment, professional level, weekly working hours, working department and self-acceptance influenced the nurse's intention to stay (β range from -1.506 to 2.249).

CONCLUSION

Our findings identified several factors that are significantly related to and impact the level of intention to stay among clinical nurses.

Filling the Knowledge Gap for Nurse Leaders: Next Steps Following COVID-19

The purpose of this article is to share gaps in knowledge and research related to pandemic management identified by nurse leaders during the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of a larger Delphi study, nurse leaders responded to an open-ended question about gaps in research they saw as important following the pandemic. Responses were analyzed using directed content analysis. Results are presented as 4 supercategories: Organizational leadership preparedness, adaptive leadership in crisis, innovations in care delivery, and health, well-being, and resilience.

Nurses' perception of ethical challenges in caring for patients with COVID-19: a qualitative analysis

Nurses face several challenges in providing care for patients with coronavirus disease in 2019 (COVID-19). The study aimed to explain the nurses' perception of ethical challenges in this regard. The qualitative study was carried out using a content analysis method. Individual and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 24 nurses. Inductive content analysis was used to categorize the data. Nurses' narratives indicated that ethical challenges in caring for patients with COVID-19 included threats to professional values ​​and the absence of a holistic COVID-19 care approach. The first category was subcategorized into the risk of declining quality of patient care and a stigmatized public image about COVID-19 care. The second category was divided into poor spiritual care, poor compassionate care, and lack of family-centered care. Health care managers must develop protocols for nurses that address these issues to alleviate the ethical challenges of COVID-19 care.