This study identified variation in process and products used in patient hygiene practices in four ICUs. Further study to improve patient outcomes is required to determine the appropriate timing of patient hygiene activities and cleansing agents used to improve skin integrity.
Introduction: Controversy remains about the impact of 12-h shift patterns on staff satisfaction and health and on patient outcomes. Consequently, the objective of the study was to investigate the effect on nurses and patients of 8-h rostering compared with 12-h rostering. Methods: We conducted a two-phase survey. Intensive care nurses completed a purposefully designed 49-item questionnaire, which included open-and closed-ended questions. Phase 1 was conducted during 2015, while the 8-h shift pattern was in place. Data for phase 2 were collected in 2017, approximately 6 months after the trial of 12-h shifts began. We extracted data from the hospital's adverse event register to compare patient outcomes between the two phases. Results: A total of 152/193 (78.8%) surveys were returned in phase 1. In phase 2, the response rate was 114/188 (60.6%). The proportion of nurses satisfied with the roster increased 3-fold after the introduction of 12-h shifts; risk ratios 3.36 (95% confidence intervals 2.62 to 4.28). Communication with all levels of senior staff improved, and the number of hours of professional development leave increased with the 12h roster phase 1, 358 h versus 538 h in phase 2 (p ¼ <0.0001). Most respondents believed that 12-h shifts would be beneficial for their health, and this belief was validated by official leave records; there was a reduction of 69 days for sick leave and 216 days for family leave. Adverse outcomes for patients were similar in the two periods. Conclusion: Twelve-hour shifts are popular with ICU nurses, days lost to sick and family leave are reduced, and patient outcomes are not compromised.
This paper presents the first phase of a four-phase collaborative action research study which aimed to facilitate family-focused nursing in the intensive care environment. The purpose of phase one was to determine intensive care nurses' perceptions of family-focused critical care nursing and the appropriateness of family-focused nursing in the intensive care unit. A collaborative action research group was established with six registered nurses working in the intensive care unit of a metropolitan tertiary referral hospital. Data were collected through group discussions and analysed using open coding. Findings revealed two categories related to perceptions of family-focused intensive care nursing: partnership in care and maintaining a balance. The group unanimously agreed that family-focused nursing was appropriate in the intensive care environment. The three subsequent action research phases of this study are reported elsewhere.
This paper explores the positive and negative experiences of adolescent users of social networking sites (SNS) and the level of adult support they receive to deal with the challenges related to the use of SNS. Data for this research were collected through focus groups comprising 192 male and female adolescents aged between 12 and 17 living in Adelaide, South Australia. The focus-group discussions revealed that young people enjoyed social networking for a variety of positive reasons; however they also encountered a wide range of issues associated with the ways that they, and others, make use of this technology. This study respondents indicated the presence of a gap existing between adolescents and adults and this gap needs to be urgently narrowed in order to enable adults to provide appropriate support and help to ensure that young people are safe when using SNS. Based on its findings the present study argues that more studies are needed in order to understand the interesting and complex experiences of teenagers while using SNS, the rules which teenagers apply while using the SNS, and how far these conventions differ from those set by adults; all of these are needed in order to reduce the gap that currently exists between young people and adults.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.