Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences最新文献

Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the levels of altruism and compassionate communication among nursing students and to identify the relationship between these concepts.

Background: Altruism and compassionate communication are critical components in the nursing profession.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional, descriptive study, carried out in a nursing school (326 nursing students) between January and March 2023. The STROBE checklist was utilised for reporting.

Results: In this study, the average score on the Altruism Scale was 63.22 ± 8.46, and the average score on the Compassionate Communication Scale was 90.66 ± 14.98. Additionally, a statistically significant positive correlation was found between the scores of the Altruism Scale and the Compassionate Communication Scale (p < 0.05).

Conclusion: Based on these findings, it is recommended that altruism and compassion, given their positive relationship, be emphasised in the education process and that the practice of these values be reinforced among students.

Background: Qualitative methods are often described in steps or techniques for data collection and analysis where the researcher should strive for objectivity. Vulnerability, how to safeguard the rights and welfare of vulnerable participants, and how to prevent the potential to exacerbate existing harm caused by the power and role asymmetries between researchers and participants and the emotional risk for respondents, have been well established. The idea of this study is to challenge the pursuit of objectivity in qualitative research and conversely examine the significance and strength of the researcher's vulnerability in qualitative research.

Aim: The aim is to broaden the understanding of research vulnerability and its significance and strength in qualitative research by creating a conceptual framework.

Methodology and method: The study is grounded in a hermeneutical methodology, and guided introspection is used as the research method. In guided introspection, multiple voices are allowed to speak through reflexive reading between the researcher's understanding and other researchers' understandings. New understanding emerged by lingering reading, wondering, and reflecting on scientific articles covering a multidisciplinary perspective.

Results: Researcher vulnerability appears as a movement where the researcher moves between theory development, separateness, understanding of self and betweenness, alleviation of suffering, appropriation of the other's otherness, and togetherness. The movement is maintained by compassion, empathy, good will, afflexivity, closeness and reflexivity.

Conclusion: The conceptual framework is useful for understanding the possibilities and involvement of vulnerability in qualitative studies. The conceptual framework can be used when planning the methodological design and in building trusting ethical encounters with research participants, but also to provide higher quality and trustworthiness to the research results.

Aims and objectives: To identify and synthesise empirical evidence on the perspectives of nurses regarding factors that enable and/or obstruct the delivery of compassionate care.

Methodological design and justification: A scoping review was chosen for its capacity to perform a broad exploration of the available literature.

Ethical issues: This scoping review raises no ethical issues.

Research methods: This review includes studies that report enablers and barriers of compassionate care. Both qualitative and quantitative designs were included. The quality of each study was assessed using the Mixed Method Appraisal Tool (MMAT). A narrative synthesis was employed to summarise the results.

Instruments: A search was conducted in the electronic databases of MEDLINE and CINAHL (1975-2021).

Outcome measures: Barriers and enablers to compassionate care from nurses' perspectives.

Results: Fifteen empirical studies were included in this review. Four themes of enablers and barriers to compassionate care emerged: (1) personal characteristics, (2) professional characteristics, (3) patient-related factors, and (4) workplace-related factors. Main facilitators were a strong motivation to deliver compassionate care, the managements' support of compassion as a nursing value and operating in a healthy team culture. Main barriers were the absence of education and/or role models for compassionate care, heavy workloads, and the managements' prioritisation of task-centred care.

Study limitations: This study is limited by the inclusion of qualitative studies with small samples and the absence of data from Northern Europe and North America.

Conclusions: The findings indicate that policymakers, healthcare leaders, and nursing management play an important role in nurses' ability to provide compassionate care. Through leadership that centralises compassion as a core nursing value, nurses receive greater support in prioritising compassion in patient care. This support is further enhanced by ensuring adequate staffing and manageable schedules, offering comprehensive training in compassionate care skills, and providing resources to support nurses' wellbeing.

Trial registration: PROSPERO: CRD42022324955 https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/display_record.php?RecordID=324955.

Aim: This study aimed to describe self-assessed clinical gerontological nursing competence and its associated factors among licensed practical nurses.

Design: A descriptive cross-sectional design was adopted for the study.

Methods: Data were collected in Autumn 2023 from 394 licensed practical nurses working in healthcare services for older people in one well-being services county in Finland. The nurses, recruited through convenience sampling, were surveyed using a 40-item self-assessment clinical gerontological nursing competence instrument (on a Likert scale from 1 = poor to 5 = excellent). Descriptive statistical methods were used to analyse the results.

Results: Participants mainly assessed their clinical gerontological competence as good. Competence in using assistive devices to support functional ability was assessed as very good, while competence in postoperative wound care was assessed as the weakest. Participants working in 24-h services assessed their competence as the weakest among the three clinical gerontological nursing areas. Participants under 40 years of age with 5-10 years of work experience self-assessed statistically significantly stronger competence in disease-specific nursing than those over 40 with less work experience.

Conclusion: The self-assessed competence of licensed practical nurses varies across different service and care units. Competence in wound care requires more focus and education in the future. Attention should also be paid to competence development in different educational areas, for example, through continuous education and competence development models. The results could facilitate licensed practical nurses' competence development and management in clinical gerontological nursing. The study's insights can also guide allocating resources and education to ensure high-quality care in different service areas.

Background: Currently, people generally live longer, and consequently, the number of older people experiencing periods of multimorbidity and the need for medication will increase. Managing multiple medications can be a complex and challenging task, especially for older people who may experience a decline in their cognitive and physical abilities. The aim of this study was to gather knowledge on how home-dwelling people who are 90 years or older manage their daily medication, what strategies they use, and what challenges they experience regarding medication. This knowledge is necessary for providing support and care for the oldest old regarding their medication management in daily living.

Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 men and women aged 91-97 years who were part of the Faroese Nonagenarian Study conducted in 2021. The analysis was conducted by using thematic analysis as suggested by Braun and Clarke.

Results: We identified three important themes for understanding how the oldest-old citizens manage medication and the challenges and worries that they sometimes experience. These themes were managing medication in daily living, challenges regarding medication management, and worries among the participating older people and their relatives. The majority of the participants received automated dose dispensing (ADD) services, which they considered a great help. In addition, they developed personal strategies to manage their medication. However, the changing colour and shape of tablets caused concern among the participants, and concern about side effects were not always taken seriously by their general practitioners.

Conclusion: In addition to personal strategies, ADD services helped the participants manage medications in daily living. However, user involvement and regular counselling with their doctors appeared to be insufficient and, in some cases, absent. This study points to the necessity of strengthening user involvement by providing sufficient and regular counselling about medication between healthcare providers and people of very old age.

Aims and objectives: Information technologies used in accessing online information also bring ethical problems. Informatics ethics are affected by students' socio-demographic characteristics. This study was conducted to examine nursing students' online information searching strategies and attitudes towards informatics ethical values.

Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional study design was employed. A non-probability sampling method was used to determine the research sample. Data for the study were collected from students aged ≥ 18 years who were studying at the faculty of nursing of a university located in the west of the country between 15 September 2021 and 15 June 2022 and who agreed to participate in the research voluntarily. Data were collected using a 'Descriptive Information Form', the 'Online Information Searching Strategy Inventory' and the 'Attitude Scale towards Informatics Ethical Values'.

Results: Data were collected from a total of 710 first-, second-, third- and fourth-year nursing students. Of the nursing students participating in the study, 40.1% were between the ages of 20 and 21, and 61.5% were female. A statistically significant difference was determined between their mean scores on the total information searching strategy scale and gender, class, the status of having a personal computer, level of computer use, the status of having an internet connection and the frequency of searching for information on the Internet (p < 0.05). In addition, there was a statistically significant difference between their mean scores on the total attitude scale towards informatics ethical values scale and age, gender, school year, the status of having a personal computer, the status of having an internet connection, frequency of searching for information on the Internet and the duration of searching for information online a week (p < 0.05). A positive, low-level, statistically significant relationship was found between nursing students' attitudes towards informatics ethical values and online information searching strategies (r = 0.339, p = 0.000).

Conclusion: In conclusion, it was found that when online information searching strategies increased, attitudes towards informatics ethical values increased as well. It is thought that our study results will be a guide for nursing students to develop online information search strategies throughout their educational lives and raise awareness about informatics ethics. It may be recommended that students' information search strategies be determined, information sources be found, information be used and necessary arrangements be made to meet their needs.

Introduction: Nursing home residents can be faced with relocations within nursing home care for various reasons, whether individual or per group. We aimed to collect a broad stakeholder overview of observed and experienced impacts on residents and aspects that influence the impact.

Methods: We conducted a qualitative study using semistructured interviews followed by one focus group. We recruited participants from various stakeholder perspectives based on differences in roles while having an interest or involvement in relocations, and experience with relocations. The interviews and focus group were audiorecorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using responsive and thematic analysis.

Results: In 17 interviews including one duo interview, participants described the impact on residents varying from very positive to very negative. In addition, stakeholders addressed differences in impact related to the relocation phase (before, during, after). Aspects influencing the impact of relocations were (1) mental resilience of residents, (2) organisation of relocations, (3) social connections of residents, and (4) the new (care) environment. The focus group with six participants added further insights in the subtheme 'organisation of relocations', emphasising the importance of clear and timely communication with residents and relatives and recognizability of (personal) items and professional caregivers from the former nursing home.

Conclusion: Stakeholders described the impact of relocations within nursing homes to vary between and within nursing home residents. Aspects they identified to influence this impact provide incentives to reduce the negative impact on residents and foster positive impact. Further research needs to zoom-in on the perceived impact of relocations within nursing homes of residents themselves.

Background: For cancer care to be high-quality, a shift is needed from a healthcare system that is designed around disease and institutions to one devised with a holistic perspective on human beings.

Aim: To gain a deeper understanding of healthcare professionals' experiences of the possibilities and limitations for providing person-centred care to alleviate suffering among patients within cancer care.

Method and material: A qualitative and explorative design was used. The data material consisted of texts from four focus group interviews with 15 nurses and physicians from a cancer clinic in Finland during January and February 2024. A qualitative content analysis was applied as a method. The COREQ checklist was used.

Findings: Continuity, multidisciplinary collaboration, supporting collegial relationships, work ethics, and competence were seen as factors promoting person-centred care. The organisation's various boundaries, failure demand, and emotional limitations were seen as factors that limited person-centred care.

Discussion: The organisational management and healthcare professionals' ability to collaborate with the patient can promote opportunities and limit barriers in the unpredictable reality of cancer care and so lead to increased person-centred care.

Conclusions: Healthcare professionals' internal abilities are comprehensive. If the healthcare organisation were more integrated through better collaboration and flexibility between different instances, cancer care could alleviate patient suffering and simultaneously reduce failure demand.

Relevance to clinical practice: Factors such as failure demand slow down care work, and by gaining a deeper understanding of the problems, leaders, together with healthcare professionals in healthcare organisations, can find solutions to address the problems and save time and resources for the benefit of both patients and healthcare professionals.

Background: Individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2D) who have lower levels of education and income face an elevated risk of decreased participation in and adherence to diabetes rehabilitation programmes.

Aim: This study investigated how diabetes rehabilitation could be improved by revamping the organisation of the healthcare system and accommodating the actual needs of people with diabetes. It explored current diabetes rehabilitation interventions from the perspectives of healthcare professionals, managers and people living with T2D in a Danish municipality with a high proportion of people with low incomes and low levels of education.

Methods: The research is based on empirical investigations in a municipality in Denmark. Seven individual qualitative interviews with people living with T2D, 5 individual qualitative interviews with healthcare professionals were conducted and 2 focus groups with managers and physiotherapists, respectively. The data analysis was inspired by Malterud's systematic text condensation. A hermeneutic-phenomenological interpretative approach was taken.

Results: Three main categories were found: (1) The target group, (2) The municipality's efforts and (3) The organisational level. Based upon the analysis, the article discusses how both social relations and the municipal rehabilitation programmes are essential if diabetes rehabilitation is to be successful. For rehabilitation to be successful, intervention must be translated into everyday life.

Conclusion: Despite the dedicated efforts within the rehabilitation programme, individuals with T2D encountered challenges in altering their daily routines and habits. Healthcare professionals faced difficulties translating their diabetes expertise into tangible lifestyle changes for participants in the municipality's rehabilitation programmes. The fundamental importance of fostering supportive social relations both at home and within the community cannot be overstated for successful and effective rehabilitation.