Constipation is a health problem commonly seen in the elderly. In the present study, the effect of abdominal massage on constipation in the elderly was examined. The study sample consisted of 22 elderly people residing in a nursing home in the province of Manisa who were suffering from constipation in June 2014 to February 2015. The following were used to collect data: a case identification form; the Rome III Functional Constipation Diagnosis Criteria Form; the Bristol Stool Scale, consisting of the Recall Bias and Visual Scale Analog; and the Standard Diary Constipation Monitoring Form. The comparison of the mean scores obtained before, during, and after the implementation of abdominal massage in the elderly revealed that the number of bowel movements, stool weight, and stool consistency scores increased during and after the implementation. The differences between the mean intra- and postimplementation scores in terms of stool weight and between the pre- and postimplementation mean scores in terms of stool consistency were not statistically significant. There was a statistically significant difference between straining scores except for those obtained during intra- and postimplementation application. It was determined that abdominal massage increased the number of bowel movements, stool weight, and stool consistency, decreased the mean scores for straining, and decreased inability to completely empty the bowels (except on the implementation days).
Objective: This study was conducted to investigate the perceptions of stressors in the intensive care unit by patients and nurses. Material and Methods: The research was performed in the medical and surgical intensive care units in a university hospital. The sample consisted of 86 patients who stayed in the intensive care units for at least 24 h, who were conscious, and who had no communication difficulties and 52 nurses who were working in the same intensive care units. A Patient and Nurse Description Form and an Intensive Care Unit Sources of Environmental Stress Scale (ICUSESS) were used to gather data. Results: The patients' mean ICUSESS score was 80.65±18.46 and that of the nurses was 142.5±28.7. The nurses' mean ICUSESS score was higher than that of the patients (t=15.063, p=0.00). Having an oral or nasal tube was the number one stressor reported by both patients and nurses. The other top five stressors reported by the patients were lack of privacy, being in a very hot/cold room, men and women being in the same place, and hearing other patients cry and moan, whereas those of the nurses were feeling pain, fear of death, hearing the sound of a cardiac monitor which shows that there is a problem with the heart, and hearing other patients cry and moan. Conclusion: The level of perception of intensive care stressors by nurses was higher than that of the patients. The stressors perceived by the nurses and patients as the five most important were similar, and it can also be said that the nurses mostly named the stressors relating to diseases, whereas the patients named those concerning the physical condition of intensive care.
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