Developing a nurse-led education program to enhance self-care agency in leg ulcer patients

Aplicação da teoria de Orem no âmbito das feridas: uma revisão integrativa

Objetivos: Caracterizar a produção científica sobre a aplicação da teoria do autocuidado no âmbito das feridas. Método: Revisão integrativa da literatura com os artigos disponíveis na íntegra que evidenciem a temática. Foram utilizados os seguintes recursos informacionais: BVS, CINAHL, Scopus, Cochrane, PubMed e SciELO. Foram elencados os seguintes descritores: Autocuidado, Teoria de enfermagem, Ferida e Úlcera, em suas versões em inglês e português. A amostra final constou de 10 publicações. Os dados foram coletados utilizando um instrumento validado. A avaliação e a síntese dos dados foram produzidas através de descrição e avaliações estatísticas simples. Resultados: Os estudos analisados foram desenvolvidos em quatro países, o idioma inglês predominou e as publicações tiveram início em 2004. A teoria foi aplicada na sistematização da assistência de enfermagem como estratégia de ensino para o autocuidado e como referencial teórico. Os artigos relacionaram a teoria com pé diabético, úlcera venosa, úlceras de perna/ membros inferiores (sem especificar o tipo), queimaduras e lesão por pressão. Conclusão: A teoria de Orem foi aplicada a uma diversidade de sujeitos e contextos, sua aplicabilidade no âmbito das feridas é algo concreto, independentemente do tipo de lesão.

Application of Orem’s theory on wounds: an integrative review

Objective: To characterize the scientific production on the application of Orem’s self-care theory in the scope of wounds. Method: Integrative literature review with the available articles that highlight the theme. The following informational resources were used: VHL, CINAHL, Scopus, Cochrane, PubMed and SciELO. The following descriptors were listed: Self Care, Nursing Theory, Wound and Ulcer, in their English and Portuguese versions. The final sample consisted of 10 publications. Data were collected using a validated tool. Evaluation and data synthesis were produced through description and simple statistical evaluations. Results: The analyzed researches were developed in four countries; English language was predominant; publications began in 2004. The theory was applied in nursing care systematization, as a teaching strategy for self-care and as a theoretical framework. The articles linked the theory to diabetic foot, venous ulcer, leg/lower limb ulcers (no specification of type), burns and pressure injury. Conclusion: Orem’s theory was applied to a variety of individuals and contexts, its applicability within the scope of wounds is something concrete, regardless of the type of injury.

Effect of nurse-led care on quality of care and level of HbA1C in patients with diabetic foot ulcer: A randomized clinical trial

Diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) is a serious and costly complication in diabetes which affects different aspects of life and can reduce patient's quality of life. Various views to manage DFU have been introduced. The nurse-led team, as a multidisciplinary team, can be effective due to a holistic approach to some disease management; but in patients with DFU it has not been assessed. Therefore, this study was designed to determine the effect of nurse-led care on quality of care (QOC) and improvement of HbA1C in Patients with DFU. This was a randomized clinical trial study performed on 52 patients with DFU. Patients were randomly assigned into two groups: nurse-led care intervention and standard care. The study was conducted in one of the hospitals affiliated to Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Data were collected using two questionnaires: Demographic characteristics and Quality Patient Care Scale (QUALPACS) and taking a blood sample for HbA1C. The nurse-led Care interventions were conducted in three stages: Integrated, Interdisciplinary, and Comprehensive. Descriptive and analytic statistical methods were used to analyze the data. P < .05 was considered significant. The results demonstrated that according to repeated measures test, (before, 4 and 12 weeks after the intervention), the level of QOC dimensions (Psychosocial, communication and physical aspect) in the nurse-led group had a significant difference with control group (P < .0001). Also, according to the results of Independent t test, there was a significant difference in total QOC scoring and HbA1c between intervention and control groups after the intervention and follow up (P < .0001). Considering the burden of diabetes and DFUs, it seems that the establishment of a nurse-led care approach can be an effective strategy to manage and treat these patients, and eliminate the disruption of care and achieve optimal care quality.

The Development of a Nurse-Led Internet-Based Learning and Self-care Program for Cancer Patients With Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression-A Part of U-CARE

BACKGROUND

Having access to information about the disease and being encouraged to participate in self-care activities may reduce anxiety and depression symptoms in cancer patients. Internet-based interventions may be one way to support effective self-care strategies to improve emotional well-being and health-related quality of life.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to describe the development and acceptance of an Internet-based program intended to support cancer patients with anxiety and depression symptoms.

METHODS

A structured collaboration between patients, clinicians, and researchers was used to develop a theory- and evidence-based interactive health communication application (IHCA) based on Orem's self-care deficit nursing theory with influences from Bandura's social learning theory and psychoeducation.

RESULTS

The result is an IHCA described as a Nurse-led, Internet-based Learning and Self-care program that helps patients to perform self-care using different types of material in interaction with patients and healthcare staff. The acceptance of the program is consistent with the results of similar studies.

CONCLUSIONS

Collaboration between patients, clinicians, and researchers seems to be a fruitful approach in the development of an IHCA aiming to support cancer patients' self-care strategies. Well-designed intervention studies are needed to evaluate the effects of the IHCA.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE

This article suggests a theoretical foundation for an IHCA and allows researchers and healthcare providers to take part in the discussion regarding format and content of IHCAs.

The Diabetic Health of African American Grandmothers Raising their Grandchildren

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study is to compare the health of primary caregiving African American grandmothers with diabetes with African American women with diabetes who were not primary caregivers.

DESIGN

Using a comparative, descriptive, cross-sectional design, 34 African American primary caregiving grandmothers were compared with 34 non-caregiving women with diabetes mellitus; women aged 55-75 years were recruited for this study throughout the central Arkansas.

METHODS

To measure the overall health, data on blood pressure, body mass index measurements, HbA1c levels, total cholesterol, and urine protein and creatinine levels were collected from all the participants.

RESULTS

Statistically significant differences between the caregivers and non-caregivers groups in systolic pressure (t = -3.42, P = 0.001) and diastolic pressure (t = -3.790, P = 0.000) and urine protein (W = 294.00, P = 0.000) were noted. Additionally, a clinically significant difference in HbA1c was noted between groups.

CONCLUSION

Differences in systolic and diastolic pressures, urine protein, and clinically significant differences in HbA1c suggest that African American primary caregiving grandmothers with diabetes mellitus may have more difficulty in maintaining their diabetic health than non-caregiving African American women.

Goal setting and lifestyle changes in a nurse-led counselling programme for leg ulcer patients: an explorative analysis of nursing records

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

To describe goals set in individual nurse-led lifestyle counselling sessions in leg ulcer patients, and to explore patient and goal characteristics in relation to health behaviour change.

BACKGROUND

Goal setting is increasingly used in nurse-led counselling programmes, but the delivery is often unknown, especially in patient groups for which only recently programmes have been developed, such as patients with venous leg ulcers.

DESIGN

A secondary analysis of data collected in the intervention arm of a randomised clinical trial of counselling sessions in venous leg ulcer patients.

METHODS

Nursing records (n = 71) were explored for the number of goals set, topic, quality and course of goals during the trajectory. Furthermore, goals and patient characteristics were compared in relation to health behaviour change.

RESULTS

Forty-one patients (58%) succeeded in changing their behaviour after setting a goal. Setting goals for conducting leg exercises was chosen by most patients in this study, goals for adherence with compression therapy were chosen the least. Sixty-eight per cent of the goals met criteria for being Specific, Measurable and Time-bound. Patients who achieved behaviour change were significantly younger compared to the patients who did not. Except for age, there were no differences in characteristics between the group that did and did not achieve behaviour change.

CONCLUSIONS

Goal setting could be improved by setting goals more Specific, Measurable and Time-bound, and by setting goals on an essential topic for behaviour change. This explorative study did not show that goal characteristics, including the quality of goals, were related to patients' behaviour change.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE

The delivery of goal setting in this programme, and most likely in similar programmes, could be improved. Regular quality checks in daily goal setting practice should be considered. More research is needed into how to best provide health promotion to frail and elderly people.

Development and validation of the dietary sodium reduction self-care agency scale

A scale did not exist for measuring the capability or self-care agency of lowering salt consumption in older adults with hypertension. Therefore, our objectives were to develop and validate the Dietary Sodium Reduction Self-Care Agency Scale (DSR-SCA Scale). A 24-item scale was developed and tested in 242 older adults with hypertension. Exploratory factor analysis using principal components extraction, Rasch analysis, and internal consistency reliability were used to evaluate the DSR-SCA Scale. Principal components extraction with Promax rotation was used. An 11-item DSR-SCA Scale with three factor loadings, which measure proficiency, persuasiveness, and resourcefulness, was finalized after it was found to meet the criteria of a minimal factor loading of 0.40, with eigenvalues of 2.20, 1.73, and 1.64, respectively. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin was 0.80, and Bartlett's test was significant, χ(2) (df = 55) 403.71, p < 0.0001. The measures accounted for 51% of the total variance. Item infit and outfit mean square ranged from 0.88 to 1.18 and the infit and outfit standardized mean square was -1.8 to 1.7. The 11-item scale demonstrated internal consistency with a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.73 for the total scale. The results showed that the DSR-SCA Scale consisted of three factors that have adequate construct validity and reliability to measure power components and enabling capability related to Orem's self-care theory. This scale is brief, easy-to-complete, and useful for measuring salt reduction self-care agency in older adults with hypertension

Factors influencing the implementation of a lifestyle counseling program in patients with venous leg ulcers: a multiple case study

Background

Implementation of lifestyle interventions in patient care is a major challenge. Understanding factors that influence implementation is a first step in programs to enhance uptake of these interventions. A lifestyle-counseling intervention, Lively Legs, delivered by trained nurses, can effectively improve the lifestyle in patients with venous leg ulcers. The aim of this study was to identify factors that hindered or facilitated implementation of this intervention in outpatient dermatology clinics and in home care.

Methods

A mixed-methods multiple case study in five purposefully selected healthcare settings in the Netherlands was conducted. Measurements to identify influencing factors before and after implementation of Lively Legs included interviews, focus groups, questionnaires, and nurses’ registration. Analyses focused on qualitative data as the main data source. All data were compared across multiple cases to draw conclusions from the study as a whole.

Results

A total of 53 patients enrolled in the Lively Legs program, which was delivered by 12 trained nurses. Barriers for implementation were mainly organizational. It was difficult to effectively organize reaching and recruiting patients for the program, especially in home care. Main barriers were a lack of a standardized healthcare delivery process, insufficient nursing time, and a lack of motivated nurses to deliver the program. Facilitating factors were nurse-driven coordination of care and a standardized care process to tie Lively Legs into, as this resulted in better patient recruitment and better program implementation.

Conclusions

This study identified a range of factors influencing the implementation of a lifestyle-counseling program, mainly related to the organization of healthcare. Using a case study method proved valuable in obtaining insight into influencing factors for implementation. This study also shed light on a more general issue, which is that leg ulcer care is often fragmented, indicating that quality improvement is needed.

Examining factors that influence the adoption of health-promoting behaviours among people with venous disease

People living with venous disease are encouraged to make a number of behaviour modifications to facilitate healing and to prevent a recurrence of a venous leg ulcer. This investigation sought to examine factors described in the literature that shape the effectiveness of multi-component education programs and conduct a secondary analysis of data to examine relationships between various health behaviours for people with a venous leg ulcer who participated in a standardised e-learning education program. This study found few statistically significant and typically minor relationships between health behaviours after participants had completed the education program. No significant differences were identified by participant gender, age or need for a carer, for either the number of health behaviours performed after the education or the number of behaviour changes made during the education. Participants performing few of the recommended health-promoting behaviours prior to the education achieved more behaviour change than those already engaged in the sought after activities [F(2,154) = 16·038, P = 0·000]. The notable lack of associations between the performance of the health-promoting behaviours places emphasis on the need for comprehensive investigation of the moderators and mediators of multi-faceted behaviour change to promote wound healing and chronic disease management.

Chronic leg ulceration in the community: changing the focus

Compression therapy is considered the gold standard for healing chronic venous leg ulceration, and impressive healing rates are achievable for many patients. Unfortunately, this condition is chronic, characterized by frequent recurrences and, for some patients, ulcer healing may never occur. Within community services, commissioners of nursing services tend to focus on complete ulcer healing within a defined timescale as quality indicators. The challenge, therefore, will be for community nurses to demonstrate alternative but equally effective patient-centred outcome measures for nursing interventions when healing is delayed or does not occur. The current government health policy encourages active patient involvement in treatment, with an emphasis on self-care/management for patients with chronic conditions. Self-management interventions, such as the Expert Patient Programme (Department of Health, 2001) for chronic conditions, have been positively evaluated and have demonstrated considerable benefits for patients in terms of pain reduction and improved psychosocial wellbeing. This article briefly discusses the outcomes of such interventions and suggests that nurse-led self-care programmes could be adapted for leg ulcer patients in order to provide alternative outcome measures for nursing interventions when ulcer healing may not be achievable. This article also gives an overview of current innovations developed to encourage patient involvement and self-care in this client group.

Systematic development and validation of a nursing intervention: the case of lifestyle adherence promotion in patients with leg ulcers

AIMS

To describe and discuss of the added value of systematic development and validation of nursing interventions in nursing care.

BACKGROUND

An adherence-promoting intervention for leg ulcer patients was developed in 2008, based on the model of van Meijel. This model requires a systematic development using an analysis of patients' (lived) experiences and professionals' views on (good) care. It employs a cyclical process of trying out, evaluating, revising and reassessing the adapted intervention in patients. The intervention consists of information and counselling sessions carried out by tissue viability nurses and focuses on wearing compression hosiery, practising leg elevation, physical activity and performing leg exercises.

DISCUSSION

Exploring patients' and nurses' perspectives during the development of intervention increases the likelihood that the resultant intervention is both feasible and attuned to patients' needs. Various implementation issues were identified during the developmental process. Validation of the intervention through its use in nursing care aids in refining the intervention and in linking the techniques most successful in effecting behavioural change to theoretical constructs. It contributes to the refinement of concepts of behavioural theories by clarifying the processes underlying the intervention's effectiveness. Direct involvement of the researcher in the validation phase has great added value.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING

Patient involvement in intervention development is essential, as is the researcher's direct involvement in practical situations in which the intervention is tested. Qualitative (evaluation) approaches are recommended.

CONCLUSION

Although the systematic development of nursing interventions is time-consuming, the contribution to the development of nursing practice and nursing science makes it worthwhile.

Recruitment rates and reasons for community physicians' non-participation in an interdisciplinary intervention study on leg ulceration

Background

This article describes the challenges a research team experienced recruiting physicians within a randomised controlled trial about leg ulcer care that seeks to foster the cooperation between the medical and nursing professions. Community-based physicians in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, were recruited for an interdisciplinary intervention designed to enhance leg ulcer patients' self-care agency. The aim of this article is to investigate the success of different recruitment strategies employed and reasons for physicians' non-participation.

Methods

The first recruitment phase stressed the recruitment of GPs, the second the recruitment of specialists. Throughout the recruitment process data were collected through phone conversations with GP practices who indicated reasons for non-participation.

Results

Despite great efforts to recruit physicians, the recruitment rate reached only 26 out of 1549 contacted practices (1.7%) and 12 out of 273 (4.4%) practices during the first and second recruitment phase respectively. The overall recruitment rate over the 16-month recruitment period was 2%. With a target recruitment rate of n = 300, only 45 patients were enrolled in the study, not meeting study projections. Various reasons for community physicians' non-participation are presented as stated spontaneously during phone conversations that might explain low recruitment rates. The recruitment strategy utilised is discussed against the background of factors associated with high participation rates from the international literature.

Conclusion

Time, money, and effort needed during the planning and recruitment phase of a study must not be underestimated to avoid higher than usual rates of refusal and lack of initial contact. Pilot studies prior to a study start-up may provide some evidence on whether the target recruitment rate is feasible.

Trial registration

Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN42122226.