Aim and objectives Defining the components of emotional competence in caring for older people in Iranian hospitals. Background People of older age are the largest recipients of healthcare services in hospitals. Thus, it is essential to establish what characteristics of emotional competence are required for nursing older people. Design This qualitative descriptive‐exploratory study was conducted in Iran from September 2015 to April 2016. Methods Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with 25 participants (nine nurses, 12 nurse managers, four clinical instructors), chosen by purposive and snowball sampling based on saturation. Data were analysed by content analysis method. Results Qualitative content analysis identified two core categories and seven subcategories from the data: (a) Individual emotional competence with five subcategories of positive attitude, spiritual maturity, emotional self‐control, adherence to professional ethics and creativity and innovation, and (b) social emotional competence with two subcategories of relationship management and compassionate care. Conclusion Emotional competence was identified as one of the main components of nursing skills when caring for older people. Gerontological nurses should demonstrate emotional competence in caring for older people and include a positive attitude, spiritual maturity, emotional self‐control, adherence to professional ethics, creativity in care, successful relationship management and compassionate care in their practice. Implications for practice These findings can be used to guide development of emotional competencies for nursing older people.

Background: Many nurses working in hospitals are not prepared to provide appropriate care for older people. This qualitative study aimed to identify factors influencing the development of gerontological nursing competence in Iranian hospitals. Method: Twenty-six participants (nine nurses, 12 nurse managers, four clinical instructors, one physician) who worked in four teaching hospitals and nursing schools were interviewed by semistructured interview method. Conventional content analysis was used. Results: Two main categories emerged from the data: (a) management factors with the subcategories of meritocracy in elderly nursing, leadership style of nursing managers, educational system, the quality of working life, and performance management; (b) organizational factors with the subcategories of organizational learning, and organizational support. Conclusion: These findings can help nurse managers and clinical instructors identify, develop, and implement strategies for further development of gerontological nursing competence. [ J Contin Educ Nurs. 2019;50(3):127–133.]

Background: Different studies have shown that health level, performance statutes and quality of life in chronic patients are less than the expected level especially in patients with diabetes. Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of a self-care program with a multimedia software support on quality of life in patients with diabetes type II. Patients and Methods: This study was a randomized controlled clinical trial in which 60 patients who had been referred to the diabetes clinic of Arak city were randomly divided to experimental (n = 30) and control (n = 30) groups. Diabetes Quality of Life Brief Clinical Inventory was used for determining the quality of life. Data were collected before and two months after the intervention for both groups. An educational program with equal content was conducted for both the experimental group (self-care program with multimedia software support in two sessions) and control group (lecture and presentation with PowerPoint in one session). Data analysis was made by the SPSS 16 software. Results: There were no significant differences between the two groups in mean scores of quality of life before the intervention (P = 0.97) while after the intervention, the difference between the two groups was significant (P = 0.029). Applying the self-care program with software support improved quality of life of the experimental group after the intervention (P < 0.0001) while there was no significant difference in mean score of quality of life in the control group after eight weeks (P = 0.051). Conclusions: According to the results of this study, the examined method is a simple, cheap, effective and attractive intervention program for patients with diabetes.

Introduction: Education is the most effective and economical part of diabetes treatment. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of a training program with multimedia software on the knowledge and self-care behaviors of patients with type 2 diabetes. Methods: This study was a randomized controlled clinical trial in which 60 patients referred to diabetes clinic at Arak city were divided randomly into experimental (n=30) and control (n=30) groups. The instruments for collecting data were "Summary of Diabetes self-care activities questionnaire" and "knowledge of self-care in patients with diabetes". Data were collected before and 2 months after the intervention in the both groups. Educational program with equal content was applied for both experimental group (self-care program with multimedia software support) & control group (lecture and presentation with PowerPoint). Data analysis was done using SPSS Ver.13. Results: Implementation of the self-care program with multimedia software support resulted in improvements in patients’ self-care behaviors in the experimental group, whereas these behaviors had not significant changes in the control group after eight weeks. There was a significant difference in the mean score of knowledge in both the experiment and control groups before and after the intervention. Conclusion: Considering beneficial effects of training program with multimedia software support on the knowledge and self-care behaviors and the importance of this issue, suggested that the patients preferably provide terms of use of educational software for themselves.

Background: Nurses have critical roles in the process of medication. Evaluating the process of medication helps nursing educators and students to determine the present status and then, improve the quality of care. Objective: The current study was conducted to compare the self-evaluation of nursing students in their own medication skills with the evaluation done by clinical instructors, in Qom's Azad University and Arak University of Medical Sciences, in 2011. Materials and Methods: A descriptive study was conducted. Data gathered using a self-report questionnaire and an observation checklist. A total of 141 students and 10 instructors participated in the study. SPSS software (version 13) was employed to analyze the data. Descriptive statistics and Wilcoxon rank test were used. Results: The mean scores for the domain of medication preparation were 2.51 ± 0.55 and 2.58 ± 0.57 based on the students' self-evaluation and the instructors' evaluation of the students, respectively. No significant difference was observed between the total mean scores of 'medication preparation' in the two evaluation methods (P > 0.05). The highest mean score was achieved in the domain of drug administration both in the self-evaluation and evaluation by the instructors. A significant difference was observed between the total mean scores of 'drug administration' in the two evaluation methods (P < 0.05). The domain 'post medication nursing care' has got the lowest mean score among the three domains both from the perspective of the students and that of the instructors. The mean scores of different domains of medication management were close in the two universities. Conclusions: The present study showed that the nursing students are not quite competent in the process of medication therapy both from their own and their clinical instructors' perspectives. This finding shows the urgent need to implement some actions to strengthen the students' skills in medication therapy.

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Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a chronic disease that needs special self-care strategies. The current study aimed at determining the effects of a self-care program on the severity of symptoms and quality of life of patients with IBS. In this randomized controlled clinical trial, 119 patients were randomly assigned to the experimental (n = 60) and control (n = 59) groups. Patients in both groups received the usual treatment of IBS by a gastroenterologist. The control group did not receive any intervention, whereas the experimental group was trained in the self-care program. The process of implementing the self-care program included designing and determining the content validity of the self-care training package, individual training, the first follow-up call, group training, and the second follow-up call. The instruments for collecting data were IBS-Quality of Life and IBS-Symptom Severity Scale. Two sets of evaluations (before and 2 months after the intervention) were done for both groups. The data were analyzed using SPSS software, Version 16. The results showed that there was not a significant difference between the two groups in the severity of symptoms and quality of life before the intervention (p > .05); however, the 2 groups were significantly different after the intervention (p < .0001). Implementation of the self-care program resulted in the improvement of quality of life and reduction in the symptom severity in the experimental group after the intervention (p < .0001), whereas no significant changes were observed in the control group (p > .05). Hence, the data supports that self-care program was effective in improving the quality of life and reducing the severity of symptoms in patients with IBS.

Background: There is limited research on gerontological nursing competence in hospitals. However, there is no comprehensive and integrated description of the gerontological nursing competence requirements in hospitals. The purpose of this study was to explain the components of nursing competence in caring for older people in Iranian hospitals. Materials and Methods: This is a qualitative descriptive-exploratory study. The data were collected through a semi-structured interview with nurses, nurse managers, and clinical educators in teaching hospitals and nursing schools affiliated to Arak, Isfahan, and Tehran Universities of Medical Sciences in Iran from September 2015 to July 2016. Participants included 25 people who were selected by purposive and snowball sampling method. Sampling continued until data saturation. Data were analyzed using conventional content analysis method. Results: Data analysis generated three main categories including (1) Patient and family centered care; (2) Process-oriented care; and (3) Self-care and continuing professional development. Conclusions: Nurses should have competencies such as participation and empowerment of the patient and family; ease of comfort in the elderly; comprehensive geriatric assessment; development, implementation and evaluation of care plan; development of knowledge and clinical proficiency; and coaching so that they can work effectively during the care of the elderly. The results of this study can be used by nursing educators, nursing students, and nurses to develop their individual and professional skills in the field of gerontological nursing.