Background: Lack of a complete understanding of the pathophysiology of pruritus directs patients to different treatments. There is little data on the effect of aromatherapy on itching in patients receiving hemodialysis treatment. However, the effect of aromatherapy on pruritus in patients receiving hemodialysis treatment remains unclear.
Aim: The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of aromatherapy on pruritus in hemodialysis patients.
Methods: The protocol of this systematic review study was registered with PROSPERO (CRD42024522699) and PRISMA guidelines were followed in reporting the study. The search was conducted in Pubmed, Web of Science and Scopus databases without year restriction. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were established according to the PICOS criteria. Study selection and quality assessment of the reviewed studies were performed by two independent researchers.
Results: A total of eight studies (461 participants), including two randomized controlled trials and six quasi-experimental studies, were included in the systematic review. All included studies concluded that aromatherapy reduces pruritus. The studies reported no adverse effects of aromatherapy.
Conclusion: The studies included in this systematic review found that aromatherapy has a positive effect on reducing pruritus in hemodialysis patients. It is recommended that studies of high methodological quality be conducted to investigate the efficacy of aromatherapy on pruritus in people undergoing hemodialysis treatment.
Aim: The aim of this study was to determine nursing students' levels of knowledge and attitudes regarding medical device-related pressure injuries (MDRPIs), as well as the factors influencing these.
Materials and methods: This descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted with 581 nursing students between January and May 2024. Data were collected using the Student Information Form, the Medical Device Related Pressure Injury Knowledge Assessment Test (MDRPI-KAT), and the Medical Device Related Pressure Injury Attitude Questionnaire (MDRPI-AQ).
Results: The nursing students had a mean score of 8.76 ± 2.68 on the MDRPI-KAT, indicating an overall correct answer percentage of 54.7 %. The mean total score on the MDRPI-AQ was 44.08 ± 8.12. Furthermore, 75.0 % of the nursing students (n = 436) achieved a positive attitude score (>40 points). According to the results of the structural equation model, the scores on the MDRPI-KAT among nursing students had a statistically significant effect on their scores on the MDRPI-AQ (β = 0.585, p = 0.002).
Conclusion: This study found that the nursing students exhibited insufficient knowledge about MDRPIs.Despite this, the nursing students demonstrated a positive attitude toward MDRPIs.
Aim: From 2015 to 2018, the 'Hospital-Acquired Pressure Injury (HAPI)' project was implemented in one local health district in Australia and utilised an implementation science approach to address rising pressure injury (PI) incidence and prevalence rates. This paper aims to examine whether the project was successful in sustaining low PI incidence and prevalence rates over the five-years following implementation (spanning the 2018/2019 to 2022/2023 financial years and the 2019-2023 calendar years).
Materials and methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted involving a comprehensive analysis of HAPI incidence, prevalence, and hospital-acquired complication (HAC) data spanning 5 years (incidence and HAC: 2018/2019 to 2022/2023 financial years; prevalence: January 2019 to December 2023 calendar years) post-implementation of the HAPI project.
Results: Since 2018/2019, incidence of HAPIs decreased by 32.6 % (30.7 HAPI per 10,000 episodes of care in 2018/2019 vs 20.7 HAPI per 10,000 episodes of care in 2022/2023 financial year), prevalence remained stable from 1.1 % to 1.27 % (2019 vs 2023 calendar year), and HAC pressure injuries (stage III, IV, suspected deep tissue, unspecified or unstageable) declined by 27.3 % (2.2 HAPI per 10,000 episodes of care in 2018/2019 vs 1.6 HAPI per 10,000 episodes of care in 2022/2023 financial year).
Conclusion: The HAPI project has successfully maintained a low incidence and prevalence rate of HAPI, over 5 years following implementation. This achievement highlights the benefits of utilising an implementation science approach to implementing a multi-faceted intervention in a complex healthcare setting to ensure sustainability beyond the project phase.