An analysis of current practices in undertaking literature reviews in nursing: findings from a focused mapping review and synthesis

Academic-Practice Partnership to Prevent and Manage Pressure Injuries: An Evidence-Based Quality Improvement Initiative

PURPOSE

This evidence-based quality improvement (EBQI) initiative examined the effect of an academic-practice (A-P) partnership on improvement in quality measures in an acute care setting, specifically hospital-acquired pressure injury (HAPI) prevention and management.

DESIGN

A pre-/postdescriptive design was conducted using the practice-informed active learning program to guide the project.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

The EBQI initiative was conducted at a Southern Gulf-Coast university college of nursing and clinical nursing practice leaders at its affiliated 406-bed academic health center/level I trauma center, regional burn center, and comprehensive stroke center. Both institutions are located in the Southeastern United States (Mobile, Alabama).

METHODS

The A-P council used a participatory action research approach and developed a practice-informed active learning program incorporating Melnyk's evidence-based practice (EBP) steps, the Donabedian Model and the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) Stakeholder Engagement in Question Development and Prioritization (SEED).

METHOD

Hospital-acquired pressure injuries were selected as the quality outcome to address. To identify HAPI prevention/management evidenced-based practices, the A-P council conducted an integrative literature review and developed a concept map and the Pressure Injury Prevention Gap Analysis Instrument. The gap analysis identified significant gaps between EBP and current pressure injury prevention practices, with priority ranking of gaps for action by key stakeholders.

OUTCOME

Following the practice-informed active learning program objectives, the A-P council identified 79 HAPI best EBPs organized by Donabedian domains of structure, process, and outcome and prioritized 3 gaps for action. Actions to address the HAPI gaps included: restructuring the hospital HAPI program, incorporating appropriate leadership to guide the HAPI program, modifying the HAPI reporting process, hiring specialized experts (WOC nurses) with emphasis on pressure injury prevention, establishing a standardized HAPI prevalence survey, improving electronic documentation, increasing transparency of HAPI reporting, improving HAPI accountability at the unit level, and exploring technology to enhance skin assessment. While HAPIs increased by 6.3% from 2019 (n = 104) to 2021 (n = 111), HAPI severity (Stages 3 and 4) decreased by 9.9% from 2019 (n = 14, or 13.46%) to 2021 (n = 4, or 3.6%).

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE

Our experience with this quality improvement initiative indicates that an A-P partnership can provide a model to address complex clinical problems, quality indicators, and quality improvement while advancing a culture of inquiry and scholarship and building nursing capacity.

Nursing in a prison context: A focused mapping review and synthesis of international nursing literature

AIM

To provide a snapshot of the extent to which nursing and the prison context features in non-specialist/generic nursing journals.

DESIGN

Focused mapping review and synthesis.

METHODS

Relevant articles were examined for the extent to which they featured nursing and the prison context. A descriptive and contextual analysis of the data was carried out to provide a topography and synthesis of the key trends identified.

DATA SOURCES

Articles meeting criteria for nursing and the prison context in relevant non-specialized, generic nursing journals (n = 7) from January 2018 to December 2022.

RESULTS

Four thousand, nine hundred and twelve (n = 4912) articles were published during the review period of which (n = 14) met inclusion criteria. The key trends identified are presented under three headings: taking an advocacy approach for better health and well-being, examining self-determination and autonomy in prison populations and nursing in the prison context.

CONCLUSION

Nursing and the prison context features in non-specialized and generic nursing journals but sparsely and infrequently. There is a need for greater visibility of nursing and the prison context in nursing journals to help reduce stigma and marginalization of those working and those detained in prison.

IMPLICATION FOR THE PROFESSION AND/OR PATIENT CARE

Nurses working in prison environments often manage extremely complex care needs. It is necessary to feature all nursing care environments in nursing journals so as to increase visibility and to act as a source of education for all. IMPACT (WHAT PROBLEM DID THE STUDY ADDRESS? MAIN FINDINGS? WHERE/WHOM WILL THE RESEARCH HAVE IMPACT ON): The findings of this review will have impact on all nurses engaged in practice and research as it highlights the extent to which nursing in a prison context is featured in non-specialized nursing journals and also speaks to the challenges faced by those working and detained in prison.

PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION

No patient or public contribution. This was a review of existing literature.

Analyzing the trends in intervention studies of rehabilitation nursing: a literature review

The present study reviewed the literature to determine the trends in rehabilitation nursing intervention programs by systematically analyzing previous studies including rehabilitation nursing interventions, seeking insight to reconstruct future rehabilitation programs, and exploring research directions for future rehabilitation nursing intervention studies. About 94 intervention studies published from the inaugural issue of the Journal of the Korean Society of Rehabilitation Nursing to 2022 were analyzed. Among them, 33 studies were published between 2001 and 2005, followed by 25 studies between 2011 and 2015. All studies were authored by nurses. Concerning the types of rehabilitation nursing intervention programs, exercise interventions were more common than educational interventions. The exercise intervention programs improved performance in daily activities and decreased pain. The education intervention programs improved knowledge and increased the implementation of health behaviors. Based on these findings, we intend to ascertain the roles and functions of rehabilitation nurses in the mid-to-long-term and develop a specialized rehabilitation nurse system with expertise and science that meets the current trends of an increasing demand for rehabilitation nursing in various institutions such as rehabilitation hospitals, homes, welfare rehabilitation centers, and long-term care facilities, taking the field of rehabilitation nursing to another level.

Requirements for implementing a 'just culture' within healthcare organisations: an integrative review

PURPOSE

To identify requirements for implementing a 'just culture' within healthcare organisations.

METHODS

Using Whittemore and Knafl's methodology for integrative reviews, we searched PubMed, PsychInfo, Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature, ScienceDirect, Cochrane Library and ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. Publications were considered eligible when reporting requirements for implementing a 'just culture' within healthcare organisations.

RESULTS

After screening for inclusion and exclusion criteria, 16 publications were included in the final review. Four main themes were identified: leadership commitment, education and training, accountability and open communication.

CONCLUSION

The themes identified in this integrative review provide some insight into the requirements for implementing a 'just culture' within healthcare organisations. To date, most of the published literature on 'just culture' is theoretical in nature. Additional efforts are needed to conduct research to explore further what requirements must be addressed in order to successfully implement a 'just culture' which is needed to promote and sustain a culture of safety.

Student-Led Clinics in Aotearoa New Zealand: A Scoping Review with Stakeholder Consultation

Background

Student-led clinics have gained increasing attention as a mechanism for students across various health professions to gain authentic interprofessional clinical placement experience during their educational programme.

Purpose

This scoping review is designed to identify and describe experiences relating to student-led clinics in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Methods

The review involved five key steps: 1) identifying the research question; 2) identifying relevant studies; 3) study selection; 4) charting the data; and 5) collating, summarising and reporting the results.

Discussion

Student-led health clinics present invaluable educational opportunities for authentic collaborative practice and capacity to improve population health and well-being, especially in marginalised and disadvantaged communities. Clinic establishment and operation require consideration of a complex set of factors.

Conclusion

Community consultation (including with Indigenous populations) should precede establishment of clinics. There is scope for more reporting and objective evaluation to ensure best practice is being determined, developed, and achieved.

Conducting integrative reviews: a guide for novice nursing researchers

BACKGROUND

Integrative reviews within healthcare promote a holistic understanding of the research topic. Structure and a comprehensive approach within reviews are important to ensure the reliability in their findings.

AIM

This paper aims to provide a framework for novice nursing researchers undertaking integrative reviews.

DISCUSSION

Established methods to form a research question, search literature, extract data, critically appraise extracted data and analyse review findings are discussed and exemplified using the authors' own review as a comprehensive and reliable approach for the novice nursing researcher undertaking an integrative literature review.

CONCLUSION

Providing a comprehensive audit trail that details how an integrative literature review has been conducted increases and ensures the results are reproducible. The use of established tools to structure the various components of an integrative review increases robustness and readers' confidence in the review findings.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE

Novice nursing researchers may increase the reliability of their results by employing a framework to guide them through the process of conducting an integrative review.

Chemicals, noise and occupational hearing health in South Africa: A mapping study

BACKGROUND

Chemical exposure leading to ototoxicity is a fresh challenge for occupational healthcare in South Africa.

OBJECTIVES

The critical question is: 'what is known about occupational ototoxic chemicals with or without noise exposure in South Africa?'

METHOD

This qualitative, mapping study was completed with published (peer-reviewed) and grey literature from 1979-2019. Data was analysed using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses: extension for Scoping Reviews and the Nursing and Allied Health Resources Section subcommittee on Mapping the Literature of Nursing and Allied Health (adapted). Numerical analysis of article type was completed, but the primary focus was on capturing patterns/trends using thematic analysis and ideology critique.

RESULTS

The African Journal of Disability, African Journal of Primary Health Care and Family Medicine, South African Medical Journal, The South African Journal of Communication Disorders [SAJCD] and Health SA Gesondheid) were included with the SAJCD containing one relevant item and seventeen other items were analysed. Research focusses on the mining sector (gold) in Gauteng, and ototoxic medication (tuberculosis and/or human immunodeficiency virus) take precedence. In KwaZulu-Natal, the focus is on commerce and industry across formal and informal sectors. There are no governmental policies that refer to chemical ototoxicity. Occupational hearing loss is configured exclusively on the meme that noise exposure is the only toxin.

CONCLUSION

Chemical exposures are only just beginning to be recognised as ototoxic in South Africa. Hearing conservation programmes should always serve the workers' interests and never bow down to the econometric interests of employers.

Neonatal weight loss and gain patterns in caesarean section born infants: integrative systematic review

There is evidence that caesarean section delivery can impact on neonatal weight loss and weight gain patterns in the first 5 days of life. We conducted an integrative systematic review to examine the association of mode of delivery on early neonatal weight loss. Pubmed, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Web of Science, Excerpta Medica dataBASE, and Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online were searched for relevant papers published before June 2019. Reference lists from the relevant papers were then backwards and forwards searched. As neonatal weight loss was reported in different formats, a meta‐analysis could not be carried out. Most studies did not distinguish between elective and emergency caesarean sections or instrumental and nonassisted vaginal deliveries. Seven papers were included. All papers except one found that caesarean section was associated with higher weight loss in the early days of life. Two papers presented data from studies on babies followed up to 1 month. One study found that on day 25, babies born by caesarean section had significantly higher weight gain than those born vaginally, while another found that by day 28, babies born vaginally gained more weight per day (11.9 g/kg/day) than those born by caesarean section (10.9 g/kg/day; p = .02). Overall, infants born by caesarean section lost more weight than those born vaginally, but due to the small number of studies included, more are needed to look at this difference and why it may occur. This discrepancy in weight between the two groups may be corrected over time, but future studies will need larger sample sizes and longer follow‐up periods to examine this.