Aim To analyse graduating nursing students’ self‐assessed competence level in Europe at graduation, at the beginning of nursing career. Design An international cross‐sectional evaluative design. Methods Data were collected in February 2018–July 2019 from graduating nursing students in 10 European countries. Competence was assessed with a validated instrument, the Nurse Competence Scale (NCS). The sample comprised 3,490 students (response rate 45%), and data were analysed statistically. Results In all countries, graduating nursing students assessed their competence as good (range 50.0–69.1; VAS 0–100), albeit with statistically significant differences between countries. The assessments were highest in Iceland and lowest in Lithuania. Older students, those with working experience in health care, satisfied with their current degree programme, with excellent or good study achievements, graduating to 1st study choice and having a nursing career plan for future assessed their competence higher.

Background Studies performed in Central European countries showed a high prevalence of missed nursing care in various clinical settings before the COVID‐19 pandemic. Aims The aim of the study was to investigate which domains of the work environment were significant predictors of missed nursing care activities in Czech hospitals during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Methods A cross‐sectional study was used. The RANCARE guideline and STROBE checklist were followed for reporting in the study. The sample consisted of 371 nurses from four acute care hospitals. The MISSCARE Survey and the Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index questionnaires were used to collect data. The data were analyzed using multiple linear and logistic regression analyses. Results Nurses reporting unfavorable environments consistently describe a higher frequency of episodes of missed care. Prevalence estimates of missed care in Czech acute care hospitals during the COVID‐19 pandemic was predicted from the overtime work, the nurses’ perception of the “Nursing foundations for the quality of care,” and their satisfaction with their current position. Conclusions Missed nursing care could be mitigated by improving the nurses’ work environment. Domains of the nurse work environment are known as structural modifiable factors and their refinement could be a cornerstone for interventions to reduce the prevalence of missed nursing care. Implications for nursing policy Monitoring the conditions and aspects of the nurse work environment in hospitals and considering nurses’ concerns about the work environment on an ongoing basis are important strategies for nurse supervision as well as for policymakers.

The aim of this study was to determine the predictive validity of the Braden, Norton, and Waterlow scales in 2 long-term care departments in the Czech Republic. Assessing the risk for developing pressure ulcers is the first step in their prevention. At present, many scales are used in clinical practice, but most of them have not been properly validated yet (for example, the Modified Norton Scale in the Czech Republic). In the Czech Republic, only the Braden Scale has been validated so far. This is a prospective comparative instrument testing study. A random sample of 123 patients was recruited. The predictive validity of the pressure ulcer risk assessment scales was evaluated based on sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve. The data were collected from April to August 2014. In the present study, the best predictive validity values were observed for the Norton Scale, followed by the Braden Scale and the Waterlow Scale, in that order. We recommended that the above 3 pressure ulcer risk assessment scales continue to be evaluated in the Czech clinical setting.

Aim: To determine the levels of predictive validity of scales for assessing the risk of pressure ulcers (Braden, Norton and Waterlow scales) in the Slovak clinical setting. Design: A prospective study. Methods: One hundred patients staying in a longterm care department of a hospital from April to August 2014 were investigated using the Braden, Norton and Waterlow scales. The inclusion criteria were age over 18 years and having no pressure ulcers on admission to the department. The predictive validity of the pressure ulcer risk assessment scales was evaluated based on sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values and the area under the ROC curve. Results: The incidence of pressure ulcers in the study was 14%. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value were 85.71%, 53.48%, 23.07% and 95.83%, respectively, for the Braden Scale (a cut-off point of 15); 85.71%, 48.83%, 21.42% and 95.45%, respectively, for the Norton Scale (a cut-off of 12); and 85.71%, 30.23%, 16.66% and 92.85%, respectively, for the Waterlow Scale (a cut-off of 13). The areas under the ROC curve were 0.696 (Braden), 0.672 (Norton) and 0.579 (Waterlow). Conclusion: In the present study, the best predictive validity values, with little differences, were observed for the Braden Scale, followed by the Norton Scale and the Waterlow Scale, in that order.

The purpose of the paper was to perform a comparative analysis of the impact of T2DM on QoL, including specific ADDQoL domains and associations between QoL, selected socio-demographic factors (including gender, age, education, residence, marital status, professional activity) or clinical parameters (HbA1c levels, fasting blood glucose, BMI, duration of DM, complications, treatment used), in adult diabetic patients from Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The study group included 608 patients diagnosed with T2DM. There were 214 patients from Poland, 196 from the Czech Republic and 198 from Slovakia. Results: Overall, respondents from all three countries rated their QoL as good or very good. The mean scores for the item "If I did not have diabetes, my quality of life would be" were slightly higher for Poles than for Slovaks and Czechs. In the ADDQoL results, the weighted impact scores were negative for all domains. The lowest scores in all three countries were found for "freedom to eat" for all patients; the highest for "living conditions". For Polish patients, the linear regression model demonstrated the following significant AWI predictors: pre-university education and past smoking. For Czech patients, the linear regression model demonstrated that none of the characteristics analyzed were significant independent predictors of AWI. In the For Slovak patients, the linear regression model demonstrated the following significant AWI predictors: higher education and concurrent heart failure. Conclusion: In summary, our findings demonstrate that T2DM has a negative impact on all aspects of patients' QoL, which is the strongest in terms of the freedom to eat and dietary habits, regardless of the country. Education, past smoking, and concurrent heart failure were the only independent predictors of QoL in our study. This suggests a need for further research that would include more variables and a larger number of patients.