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Background: The organisational characteristics of the nursing practice environment play a crucial role in nurses' job satisfaction, job retention, quality-of-care service provision and patient outcomes. The widely used Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index assesses the favourability of these traits, showing the grade of magnetism of these factors in the workplace. Aims and methods: This study aims to assess the nurse working environment at five public hospitals in Greece, and to compare these data with those of Magnet and non-Magnet hospitals. The Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index was completed by 532 nurses. Results: Findings have shown that all five hospitals were assessed by nurses as unfavourable working environments. Four of five subscales were identified as unfavourable by the participants and only Collegial Nurse-Physician Relations were evaluated as a positive organisational trait. The mean scores in all five subscales of favourability were significantly lower than the corresponding scores of non-Magnet hospitals in the US. Conclusions: The present study shows the favourability grade of Greek hospitals. When compared with Magnet and non-Magnet hospitals in the US, Greek hospitals were perceived as more unfavourable than non-Magnet hospitals. Action to improve the current situation must be taken by hospital management, supporting nurse involvement, continuous education, changing human resources management and adopting evaluation procedures.

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Summary Purpose To present the impact of the financial crisis on health status and dental health in Greece and compare it to the European Union and Finland and to identify any changes in health‐related expenditure focusing on pharmaceutical expenditure and generic medicines. Design/methodology/approach Databases as Scopus, Pubmed, Google Scholar, World Health Organization, Eurostat, and Elstat were used. Findings Indicators, such as mortality and life expectancy, show that there is no clear correlation between health deterioration and financial crisis while dental health has deteriorated. Out‐of‐pocket expenses were found to be catastrophic, and the use of generic medicines is still limited. Practical implications Proper prescribing of medicines, coverage of health care costs by the government, and cost savings from the use of generic medicines were implemented. As regards dental care, the state should focus on prevention as well as reinforcement of public dental care services. Originality/value The break through idea is to compare the impact of the financial crisis on health indexes in Greece with the European Union and Finland, to focus on pharmaceutical expenditure, generic medicines, and dental health.

Aims Post-operative atrial fibrillation is defined as an episode of atrial fibrillation that occurs 1–5 days after a surgical procedure in patients without a previous history of atrial fibrillation. Multiple factors such as demographics, cardiac surgical, endogenous, or mental health may relate to post-operative atrial fibrillation. The aim of this study was to identify multivariable high-risk factors for post-operative atrial fibrillation and to propose a risk-assessment tool. Methods and results A cross-sectional observational study was conducted in a University Hospital of Greece. Predictor variables examined demographic and clinical variables, anxiety, depression, health-related quality of life, frailty, perioperative mortality (European System for Cardiac Operative Risk Evaluation II), and 10-year survival/mortality risk (Charlson Comorbidity Index score). The outcome variable was post-operative atrial fibrillation. Multivariable analysis was assessed to identify predictors of post-operative atrial fibrillation. Ninety-one patients were included in our sample. Post-operative atrial fibrillation was diagnosed in 44 (48.4%). Factors associated with post-operative atrial fibrillation are the following: age group of 66–75 years [OR 5.78, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.37–24.34], Charlson Comorbidity Index score (OR 1.42, 95% CI 1.07–1.89), and hours of mechanical ventilation (OR 1.03, 95% CI 1.00–1.06). The Charlson Comorbidity Index score was identified as an independent predictor of post-operative atrial fibrillation (exp: 1.412, 95% CI: 1.017–1.961). Conclusion Patients with post-operative atrial fibrillation had a higher Charlson Comorbidity Index score. The Charlson Comorbidity Index was identified as an independent clinical predictor of post-operative atrial fibrillation. The risk-assessment tool proposed includes age, Charlson Comorbidity Index score, and hours of mechanical ventilation. Future studies are needed to establish such an assessment.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is three-fold: first, to assess nurse satisfaction levels with working environment (known as favourability) in five Greek public hospitals using the practice environment scale (PES); second, to compare perceptions among nurses employed in surgical and medical departments; and third, to examine relationships between perceptions and nurse educational level and experience. Design/methodology/approach In total, 532 nurses from five major public hospitals in Greece completed the PES. Descriptive statistics, t-tests and Spearman correlations were employed to analyse the data. Findings Nurses perceived their work settings as unfavourable in all five hospitals, with collegial nurse–physician relations emerging as the only positive factor. Compared to medical wards, surgical departments emerged as slightly more positive working environments. Work department notwithstanding, in some cases, education and experience levels affected their perceptions on management, poor care quality, limited nurse involvement in hospital affairs and nursing shortage. Practical implications Hospital managers do not provide sufficient support for Greek nurses in their working environments. Originality/value The authors attempted to evaluate nursing practice environments in Greek hospitals, viewed from nurse perspectives. The authors identified insufficient support for nurses’ working in these hospitals.

Evidence-based practice (EBP) is an instrument of great utility in making clinical decisions in nursing care, improving the quality of nursing care and patients' health outcomes. There is no European framework for EBP competency, and no guidelines for EBP teaching. The general concept of the project 'Providing a Teaching and Learning Open and Innovative Toolkit for Evidence-based Practice to Nursing European Curriculum: (EBP e-Toolkit)' is to fill this gap in Nursing education across Europe and to foster and harmonize the teaching and learning of EBP in the European nursing curricula and to produce the acquisition of EBP competence earlier in professional life. The project is organized along four major outputs, and a dissemination and sustainability plan has been set up. A mixed method research constitutes the main methodological approach applied in the project. This methodology requires the active participation of all research groups, partners, steering committee, nursing students, and educators, in the project. The use of the EBP e-Toolkit will increase nurses' and nursing students' level of EBP competence by formulating specific guidelines to be implemented in EBP teaching.