The Relationship between Emotional Intelligence and Pain Management Awareness among Nurses

Predictors of emotional intelligence among family caregivers of cancer patients: A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Family caregivers of cancer patients must have strong emotional intelligence skills essential for understanding one's and others' feelings and learning how to cope.

OBJECTIVES

The present study aims to determine the predictive factors of emotional intelligence and its relationship with spiritual intelligence, coping, and knowledge and experience about pain among family caregivers of cancer patients in Iran.

METHODS

A cross-sectional, descriptive study was conducted in 2020-2021. Two hundred twenty-six family caregivers of cancer patients participated in this study. The data collection tools were Wong and Law's emotional intelligence, King's spiritual intelligence, Brief Cope, and the family pain questionnaire. Following determining the variables' correlation, linear regression was carried out.

RESULTS

Emotional intelligence had a significant correlation with age (r = 0.20, p = .003), academic degree (r = 0.15, p = .032), duration of care (r = 0.15, p = .032), and spiritual intelligence (r = 0.30, p < .001). The regression model accounted for 12.4% of the variance in emotional intelligence; age (β = 0.16, p < .021) and spiritual intelligence (β = 0.26, p < .001) were significant explanatory variables.

CONCLUSIONS

Emotional intelligence is correlated with age, academic degree, duration of care, and spiritual intelligence, but only age and spiritual intelligence were found to be predictive factors for emotional intelligence in the family caregivers of cancer patients.

Attitudes towards Communication in Nursing Students and Nurses: Are Social Skills and Emotional Intelligence Important?

The communication attitude (ACO) of nurses can significantly influence patient health outcomes. This work aims to evaluate predictor variables of communication attitude (emotional intelligence and social skills) in nurses and nursing students separately by comparing linear and non-linear methodologies. Two samples participated in this study: 312 nursing professionals and 1369 nursing students. In total, 75.60% of the professionals and 83.80% of the students were women. After signing the informed consent form, their emotional intelligence (TMMS-24), social skills (IHS) and ACO (ACO) were assessed. It was found that ACO through linear regression models in professionals was predicted by emotional repair and, in students, by attention and emotional repair, as well as by low exposure to new situations, low social skills in the academic or work area and high empathy. Overall, the comparative qualitative models show how the combination of different skills related to emotional intelligence and social skills lead to high levels of ACO. Conversely, their low levels result in an absence of ACO. Our results highlight the importance of emotional intelligence, especially emotional repair and empathy, as well as the need to consider ways to encourage the learning of these skills in a formal way.

Profiling health professionals' personality traits, behaviour styles and emotional intelligence: a systematic review

BACKGROUND

Non-cognitive traits have been theorised to predict characteristics, career choice and outcomes of health professionals and could represent a homogenous group. This study aims to profile and compare personality traits, behaviour styles and emotional intelligence of health practitioners across a variety of professions.

METHODS

Empirical literature was systematically reviewed. A two-concept search strategy was applied to four databases (CINAHL, PubMed, Embase, ProQuest). Title/abstract and full text articles were screened against inclusion and exclusion criteria. Methodological quality was assessed using Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. Data was synthesised narratively and meta-aggregated where feasible.

RESULTS

Three hundred twenty-one studies representing 153 assessment tools of personality (n = 83 studies), behaviour (n = 8), and emotional intelligence (n = 62) were included. Most studies (n = 171) explored personality (medicine, nursing, nursing assistants, dentistry, allied health, paramedics), revealing variation in traits across professions. Behaviour styles were least measured with only ten studies exploring these across four health professions (nursing, medicine, occupational therapy, psychology). Emotional intelligence (n = 146 studies) varied amongst professions (medicine, nursing, dentistry, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, radiology) with all exhibiting average to above-average scores.

CONCLUSION

Personality traits, behaviour styles and emotional intelligence are all key characteristics of health professionals reported in the literature. There is both heterogeneity and homogeneity within and between professional groups. The characterisation and understanding of these non-cognitive traits will aid health professionals to understand their own non-cognitive features and how these might be useful in predicting performance with potential to adapt these to enhance success within their chosen profession.

Knowledge, Practice, Compliance, and Barriers toward Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia among Critical Care Nurses in Eastern Mediterranean Region: A Systematic Review

BACKGROUND

Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) has been identified as a serious complication among hospitalized patients and is associated with prolonged hospitalizations and increased costs. The purpose of this study was to examine the knowledge, practices, compliance, and barriers related to ventilator-associated pneumonia among critical care nurses in the eastern Mediterranean region.

METHODS

The PRISMA guidelines guided this systematic review. Four electronic databases (EMBASE, MEDLINE (via PubMed), SCOPUS, and Web of Science) were used to find studies that were published from 2000 to October 2021.

RESULTS

Knowledge of ventilator-associated pneumonia was the highest outcome measure used in 14 of the 23 studies. The review results confirmed that nurses demonstrated low levels of knowledge of ventilator-associated pneumonia, with 11 studies assessing critical care nurses' compliance with and practice with respect to ventilator-associated pneumonia. Overall, the results showed that most sampled nurses had insufficient levels of compliance with and practices related to ventilator-associated pneumonia. The main barriers reported across the reviewed studies were a lack of education (N = 6), shortage of nursing staff (N = 5), lack of policies and protocols (N = 4), and lack of time (N = 4).

CONCLUSIONS

The review confirmed the need for comprehensive interventions to improve critical care nurses' knowledge, compliance, and practice toward ventilator-associated pneumonia. Nurse managers must address barriers that impact nurses' levels of knowledge, compliance with, and practices related to ventilator-associated pneumonia.