Community nurses' participation in palliative care research: the Dignity Care Pathway

Living in the moment for people approaching the end of life: A concept analysis

BACKGROUND

'Living in the moment' is an essential part of dignity-conserving practice in end-of-life care settings. Although living in the moment is important for care at the end of life, from the perspective of both the person and their family, there is no clear conceptual understanding of what it represents.

OBJECTIVE

To explore the concept of 'living in the moment' in the context of dignity-conserving care at the end of life.

DESIGN

A concept analysis.

DATA SOURCES

The databases of Medline, CinAHL, PubMed, Web of Science, PsycINFO, SocINDEX and Cochrane were searched for studies published between 1941 and 2019, and searches of dictionaries and grey literature, as well as hand-searching were conducted, to yield qualitative, mixed methods and systematic reviews published in English, related to the term 'living in the moment'.

METHOD

The methods of Walker and Avant were used to identify antecedents, attributes and consequences of the concept of 'living in the moment'.

RESULTS

The literature review generated a total of 37 papers for this concept analysis. The attributes identified were (1) simple pleasure, (2) prioritising relationships, (3) living each day to the fullest, (4) maintaining normality, and (5) not worrying about the future. The antecedents were (1) awareness of dying, (2) living with life-threatening illness, (3) positive individual growth, and (4) living with an uncertain future. The consequences were (1) a good quality of life, (2) preserving dignity, and (3) coping with the uncertainty of life.

CONCLUSIONS

A universal definition and conceptual model of the main concept, including theoretical relationships between its antecedents, attributes and consequences, was developed. The definition and proposed conceptual model can allow instruments to be developed that measure the effects, existence or attributes of the concept, and identify a theoretical model, and can also lead to new perspectives and strategies for implementation by nurses to improve dignified person-centred care at the end of life.

Strategies, facilitators and barriers to implementation of evidence-based practice in community nursing: a systematic mixed-studies review and qualitative synthesis

Aim

To appraise and synthesize empirical literature on implementation of evidence within community nursing. To explore the use of implementation theory and identify the strategies required for, and the barriers and facilitators to, successful implementation within this context.

Background

There is an international consensus that evidence-based practice can improve outcomes for people using health and social care services. However, these practices are not always translated into care delivery. Community nursing is a relatively understudied area; little is known about how innovations in practice are implemented within this setting.

Methods

Systematic mixed-studies review, synthesizing quantitative and qualitative research. The electronic databases AMED, PsycINFO, Ovid Medline, CINAHL Plus, ASSIA, British Nursing Index and EMBASE were used. Two grey literature databases were also searched: OpenGrey and EThOS. English language, peer-reviewed papers published between January 2010 and July 2017 were considered. Criteria included implementation of an innovation and change to practice within adult community nursing. An approach called Critical Interpretive Synthesis was used to integrate the evidence from across the studies into a comprehensible theoretical framework.

Results

In total, 22 papers were reviewed. Few studies discussed the use of theory when planning, guiding and evaluating the implementation of the innovation (n=6). A number of implementation strategies, facilitators and barriers were identified across the included studies, highlighting the interplay of both service context and individual factors in successful implementation.

Conclusion

Implementation is an expanding area of research; yet is challenged by a lack of consistency in terminology and limited use of theory. Implementation within community nursing is a complex process, requiring both individual and organizational adoption, and managerial support. Successful adoption of evidence-based practice however, is only possible if community nurses themselves deem it useful and there is evidence that it could have a positive impact on the patient and/or their primary carer.