Enhanced peer support and coordinated care between health professionals are needed to address concerns of women with type 1 diabetes in pregnancy. The experiences and perceptions of diverse groups of women with type 1 diabetes need further exploration in order to ensure equitable care.
While guidelines provide evidence-based recommendations for women with type 1 diabetes in pregnancy, women’s perceptions of these recommendations are not well-known. Toledo-Chavarri and colleagues explore these perceptions and found that continuity of care, coordination between health professionals and services, and a more holistic approach are key aspects that are needed for more acceptable, feasible and equitable peripartum care.
Toledo-Chavarri and colleagues conducted a qualitative evidence synthesis with a framework analysis guided by...]]>
Implications for practice and research Collaborative alliances between parents and nurses are vital for delivering holistic family-centred care within the neonatal intensive care unit. Subsequent investigations should also explore the experiences and requirements of parents, as these may vary significantly.
The American Academy of Pediatrics and the Institute for Patients and family-centred care (FCC) outlined the core characteristics of FCC: dignity and respect, transparent information exchange, active family involvement in care and contextual care within the family and community.
This study by Cho and Han determines the educational requirements of neonatal nurses to establish a programme fostering FCC partnerships with parents, the study is grounded in five dimensions of knowledge acquisition. 12 distinct categories were identified from the data.
Implications for practice and research Clinicians should individualise gender-affirming care for transgender and non-binary adolescents, respecting their specific medical and surgical treatment goals as presented at initial healthcare appointments. Future research should separately analyse the distinct treatment aspirations of gender-diverse (‘eclectic’) adolescents to refine clinical guidelines and inform public policy.
An increasing number of adolescents and young adults seek medical care for gender affirmation.
Implications for practice and research Practice: establish standardised protocols to assist healthcare professionals in recognising and managing delirium among hospitalised older adults. Improve interdisciplinary communication and actively involve families to ensure holistic patient care and support. Research: explore the effectiveness of educational interventions for enhancing delirium recognition and management. Investigate strategies to alleviate delirium-related distress in patients and families, emphasising supportive interventions.
Delirium, a common and serious condition among hospitalised older adults, poses significant challenges for healthcare professionals in recognition and management. Despite efforts to improve care, barriers persist, impacting patient outcomes and healthcare systems. This systematic review, comprising 43 studies involving 5596 healthcare professionals across various countries, illuminates key challenges, including deficiencies in knowledge and understanding, communication challenges,...]]>
Implications for practice and research Developing communication skills is essential for healthcare professionals to enhance practice and avoid alienating adolescent patients. Further research should be completed with patients who disengage from the clinic to understand how to best improve services and health outcomes.
Diabetes is a long-term health condition that requires continuous high-intensity self-management to prevent complications. This can be challenging for teenagers striving for independence and developing a sense of self. Maintaining engagement with adolescents with diabetes has favourable outcomes. Coyne et al
Implications for practice and research Social media is part of young peoples’ (YP) everyday life including interacting with peers and sourcing information. Multimodal methods such as online health literacy education and promoting positive health behaviours could contribute to safe social media use in YP.
Worldwide, young people (YP) have a notable online presence with the majority of Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) users <35 years of age. WHO has recognised the potential role and impact of social media to improve health outcomes and the generation of misinformation.
Adults are at imminent risk of fall after an index fracture, with a time-dependent risk pattern that is similar to the imminent risk of subsequent fractures and death. Fall risk assessment is recommended in adults aged ≥50 who have experienced a fracture because early prevention strategies can reduce the risk of new falls, fractures and mortality.
Imminent fall risk can be defined similarly to imminent fracture risk, that is, a 12-month or 24-month increased risk after the index event, which declines over time.
This study by Schene and colleagues compares the fall risk of a large cohort of adults who experienced a fracture with fracture-free matched controls, to assess whether fall risk after the index fracture is time-dependent.
This retrospective study used the Clinical Practice...]]>
Implications for practice and research Intensive lifestyle intervention in primary care can safely achieve type 2 diabetes (T2D) remission at 12 months in around half of selected participants with short-duration, well-controlled T2D. Research on the effectiveness and acceptability of strategies to improve durability of remission is needed.
Although previously thought to be inevitably progressive, evidence is growing that type 2 diabetes (T2D) can be brought into remission with weight loss.
This study by Hocking et al
The findings emphasise the importance of using precise language in healthcare research with patients with advanced liver disease, the implementation of person-centred care and the recognition of the holistic burdens faced by patients and families. The findings call for further research on culturally diverse perspectives to inform the development of culturally sensitive palliative and end-of-life care for individuals with liver disease.
Individuals with liver disease, a major health concern and leading cause of death worldwide, experience a series of psychological, financial and social issues, which, towards the end of life, necessitate active treatment combined with the support of palliative care.
Unless contraindicated, dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitors (DPP-4i) should be used as first-line choice in older adults with type 2 diabetes in preference to sulfonylurea due to increased risk of dementia. Prospective studies are needed to ascertain if the use of sulfonylurea by older adult patients causes higher risk of developing dementia.
Diabetes is already known as a risk factor for developing dementia. Multiple factors contribute to this association: presence of microvascular and macrovascular complications, chronic inflammation, hyperglycaemia, hypoglycaemia and hyperinsulinemia.
Older adult patients often present with multimorbidities, polypharmacy, malnutrition, sarcopenia, longer duration of diabetes and renal and hepatic dysfunction. Furthermore, low education level, high blood pressure, dyslipidemia, obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, physical inactivity, depression, alcohol consumption and...]]>
Implications for practice and research Educational programmes should include simulations and role playing to enhance student nurses’ self-efficacy and reduce stress. Integrating emotional intelligence training into nursing education aids students in managing emotional demands. Future research should focus on longitudinal studies to uncover causal relationships among factors.
Clinical practice training introduces stress to student nurses due to potential conflicts with patients, families and supervisors.
Nursing students have positive attitudes towards addressing sexual health in future practice and this should co-inside with educational opportunities to enable the development of competence and confidence. Further research is required to establish the learning gaps between educational opportunities available to nursing students and that of sexual health-related competence within nursing practice.
Sexual health can be defined as one’s physical, emotional, mental and social well-being.
Medication errors are a patient safety concern and more so with children with medical complexity (CMC). Better implementation of initiatives to support parent’s understanding of medications is crucial to improve outcomes. Further research is needed to understand what initiatives improve parent/caregiver’s understanding of medication for CMC.
CMC are children who have complex chronic conditions, often with a spectrum of severity that requires ongoing healthcare.
It is recommended that home care nurses use specific guidelines when caring for heart failure (HF) patients at home in order to improve symptom control and reduce unnecessary hospital readmissions. The development of guidelines for nurses centred on home care for patients with HF can improve the implementation of strategies for the management of the disease.
There is a growing emphasis on home healthcare, especially in light of current efforts to reduce health-related costs and improve the quality of care for HF patients. It is estimated that nurses provide home care to around 11 million patients in the USA, so it is desirable for these nurses to have skills in implementing strategies and care for the...]]>
Implications for practice and research Implications for practice: the appropriate blood pressure (BP) cuff size should be selected for each patient based on arm circumference measurement. Implications for research: investigation of barriers in National Health Service (NHS) settings preventing clinicians from choosing appropriately sized BP cuffs.
Hypertension is the foremost risk factor for cardiovascular disease.
The organisation should provide training and support for electronic health record (EHR) use; however, if usability problems do not resolve themselves, system development work is needed. Multimethod research is needed to determine the nurses’ cognitive load (CL) in the work environment where EHR is used.
Unintended consequences (UCs) of the EHR and the CL have been on the discussion in USA. In nursing has been recognised UC of the EHR related to the adverse effects on patient care outcomes, patient safety, nursing workflow and nursing workload.
Recognising and managing role development is key to delivering quality patient care. There is a need for a policy shift towards integrated practices and models of care that help to address the practice gaps.
Epilepsy care is known to have evolved dramatically worldwide, but achieving optimal care remains a challenge. In the field of neurological disorder, epilepsy is one of the most disabling diseases and it has a significant personal, social and economic impact.
Although the full implications are still being established, emergency healthcare providers should consider and mitigate cognitive bias in their clinical decision-making. Further research is needed on the impact of emergency nurses’ implicit biases on patient outcomes.
Cognitive bias is the ‘systemic but faulty pattern of responses to judgement and decision-making.’
The ability to develop a trusting relationship with families and carers of hospitalised children is an important skill for paediatric nurses as it can facilitate emotional support and parental empowerment Future research in this area requires the development of tools which can objectively measure trust; these must be culturally sensitive and acknowledge the culturally diverse experiences of parents, caregivers and healthcare professionals
Developing a trusting relationship with parents and caregivers is an essential component of paediatric nursing. Previous studies in this area have been largely conducted in western cultures and as such, the experiences of other cultures are not well understood. This study
Intellectual disability (ID) is a direct and indirect mediator of adult mental health and social outcomes; thus, research into interventions is needed to improve psychiatric and psychosocial outcomes Education and clinical services should consider the early provision of programmes to support vulnerable children and their families to reduce multimorbidity and improve mental health.
There are approximately 351 000 children aged 0–17 years with an intellectual disability (ID) in the UK.
Delivery of trauma-informed care (TiC) may be effective in reducing depression in women who have been subject to intimate partner violence (IPV) immediately postintervention and at short (3 months) and medium (6 months) term follow-up. Nurses appear well placed to engage women who have been subjected to IPV in TiC, deliver or direct them to specialist care and to undertake trials to evaluate the effects of this.
Previous reviews have suggested that TiC and trauma focused therapy (TFT) may be effective in reducing the adverse psychological effects associated with IPV towards women. This study by Chu et al
Dignity therapy (DT) is an effective intervention for patients in palliative care, to improve quality of life (QoL), hope and dignity-related distress. Future studies should consider the importance of standardised measurement tools in measuring DT’s effectiveness. More evidence is needed to confirm effect on spiritual well-being, considering the role of the respective cultural contexts.
DT was developed as psychotherapeutic intervention to improve the sense of dignity and address patients’ psychological distress. It involves focused interviews and legacy documents, which can assist patients with reassessing their lives’ meaning and purpose.
Healthcare providers can foster effective patient–provider relationships by addressing concerns early on and adopting key behaviours, such as showing interest in understanding the patient’s issues, validating their concerns and respecting their choices. Future research should focus on identifying strategies to help healthcare providers develop effective patient–provider relationships. This requires a thorough understanding of these relationships from the perspectives of all involved parties, including healthcare providers, patients and their informal caregivers.
The patient–provider relationship is at the core of effective disease management.
Prioritise multifaceted interventions targeting individuals, schools and communities to develop to avert E-cigarette initiation. Conduct qualitative, quantitative and mixed-method studies to provide evidence-based interventions for healthcare professionals to raise awareness on the prevention of E-cigarette initiation among youth.
In the year 2021, the rate of E-cigarette usage in the past 30 days among individuals aged 8–20 years in 69 countries and territories was reported to be 7.8%.
Reducing barriers and increasing access to mental health for black and white adolescents and young adults aged 10–24 years. Advancing culturally informed care and treatment in mental health providers. Prioritising research on suicide risk factors and protective factors for black adolescents and young adults aged 10–24 years.
Suicide is one of the leading causes of death among adolescents and young adults (AYAs) aged 10–24 years in the USA. Between 2007 and 2021, suicide rates have increased 63% for white and black AYA Americans.
Early, comprehensive pain management can significantly reduce the societal burden of musculoskeletal pain in children and adolescents by minimising disability, school absences and lost productivity. Further research on the economic burden of musculoskeletal pain in low-income and middle-income settings is needed to understand global impact and inform appropriate interventions.
Musculoskeletal pain significantly impacts children and adolescents, and their families. It contributes to global years-lived with disability, leading to disrupting daily activities, school absences, socioeconomic costs and increased healthcare utilisation. There is an association between childhood musculoskeletal pain and the development of chronic pain in adulthood, along with elevated risks of anxiety, depression and suicidal ideation. This study
Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) self-care management practices are linked to positive outcomes, and, particularly, an improvement in the glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c) levels. Further research into self-management interventions is needed to confirm these findings can be validated from a cross-cultural perspective.
The number of people diagnosed with diabetes is steadily rising, and, in 2021, it represented 10.5% of the worldwide population. The incidence is expected to increase to 12.2% by 2045.
Discrepancies in perceived knowledge and concerns suggest a need for improved communication and a more open dialogue between people with intellectual disabilities (PWID), their parents and professionals. Future research should strive to explore the reasons for differences in perceived knowledge in more detail through a qualitative component.
Despite PWID having sexual desires like those without intellectual disabilities, there are often misconceptions about their sexual needs, restricting their sexuality.
Improving access for South Asian and black women requires work with communities to challenge mental health stigma and improve confidentiality among translators. Research is required into the role of the peer support worker, and how they will affect women’s access to and experience of perinatal mental health services.
The context of Bains et al’s study is centred around the inequalities currently experienced by ethnic minority mothers when accessing perinatal mental health services in the UK.
Nurse-led intervention programmes may enhance resilience among children with chronic illnesses and their parents, improving their well-being. Mixed-method research is required to examine the nuanced relationship between various congenital heart disease (CHD) subgroups and the resilience of children with CHD.
CHD in children results in treatment complications, compromised development and increased risk of chronic illnesses in adulthood. Children with CHD and their families may face challenges to their mental and physical health and quality of life, and they may feel uncertain, overwhelmed and vulnerable. COVID-19 posed particularly adverse circumstances for families managing childhood CHD. The outcome of adversities may depend on people’s extent of adaptive reaction (resilience), which is well studied about health outcomes and quality of...]]>
The purpose of a scoping review is to identify the types of available evidence in a given area; summarise the existing evidence; identify gaps in the literature; and make recommendations for future research.
Enhanced 7 day specialist palliative care services improve the quality of life for patients and family carers as well as decrease healthcare utilisation and costs. Further studies are required to identify the most effective enhanced 7 day services including the impact of senior nurse roles.
There is evidence that those with a life limiting illness disproportionally use ‘out of hours’ (overnight or weekends) services including emergency departments and hospital admissions.
Reducing high rates of medically unnecessary caesarean surgeries among black women requires changes at both structural and clinician levels. Participatory research with diverse teams of clinicians may seek to explore the role of cultural sensitivity in reducing the unconscious bias of care providers regarding black women.
Racial disparities have been shown to increase the likelihood of low-risk caesarean (LRC) among non-Hispanic black or Hispanic people compared to white people.
Disparities exist in pain management for patients from minority groups. These cannot be fully explained by socioeconomic factors alone. Efforts must be made to address racial bias in pain management practices.
Timely, adequate administration of analgesics by emergency medical services (EMS) can optimise pain levels for patients on arrival to hospital.
Nurse-led interventions may improve patient outcomes in systemic lupus erythematosus and systemic sclerosis. More high-quality nurse-led intervention studies with both clinical and patient-reported outcomes are needed to have generalisable conclusions.
Over the last two decades, rheumatology nurse-led care has evolved to become a specialist service providing comprehensive and personalised care to patients with inflammatory arthritis and systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), systemic sclerosis (SSc) and other rare autoimmune rheumatic diseases.
Consequences of retirement are often thought to be negative (e.g., loss of identity, disengagement, retiring mentally), but that does not have to be the case. Understanding how race and sex moderate the impact of retirement on cognition is instrumental in developing tailored public health strategies to promote health in retirement.
Suspicions have been raised that retirement may negatively affect a person’s cognition.
Family interventions are beneficial in improving family’s mental health and reducing family burden. Hence, they could be encouraged and considered as a major component in schizophrenia management.
Further research in this area should focus on the technology-enhanced delivery and cost-effectiveness of family interventions in the management of schizophrenia.
Schizophrenia is one of the leading causes of disability and affects over 24 million people globally.
Increasing awareness of childhood diabetes among healthcare professionals can aid disadvantaged areas. A diabetes classification system and studies on the impact of suboptimal and environmental temperatures on mortality in children are needed.
Childhood diabetes carries a physiological and psychological burden for families. The continuous care demands and lasting consequences make it a significant public health issue. Zhang et al
The...]]>
Some mental health nurses believe that suboptimal nursing care is being provided in inpatient settings due to understaffing. This contradicts the best available current evidence and should not be a major policy determinant. There is a significant research gap in relation to nurse staffing and diverse indicators of care quality in mental health.
Research literature from non-mental health settings suggests that improved safety, mortality and length of stay outcomes are associated with higher staffing levels.
The study
Collaboration between nurse supervisors and academic institutions whereby supervisors are supported in developing pedagogical skills can improve students’ clinical experience. Understanding how experienced nurses implement and express reflective nursing within various clinical settings through the nursing process could assist nursing students in applying theory in clinical practice.
Nursing student education involves both academic knowledge and clinical application of the nursing process. The foundation of the nursing process is learnt through theory within the academic setting, and then applied within clinical settings where the student can participate in real-life complex health situations. Lofgren and colleagues explore how nursing students from a variety of universities experience knowledge translation of nursing theory...]]>
The presence of asymptomatic atrial fibrillation (AF) should always be promptly recognised and addressed to prevent long-term morbidities and mortalities. Future research should clarify and substantiate the benefits of early AF detection and management.
AF is one of the most common arrhythmias with well-established risk factors for adverse cardiovascular outcomes.
The purpose of this study was to comprehensively scrutinize and discuss the contemporary trends,...]]>
Shared decision-making instead of only physician-led end-of-life decision-making for children with life-limiting conditions protect the parents from the burden of decision-making. Explanation of the factors influencing each stage of the decision-making of paediatricians is needed.
End-of-life decision-making in children is a complex process because three parties are involved: the child, their parents and the physician.
But in children with life-limiting conditions (LLCs) who are unable to participate in decision-making due to their developmental capacity, decisions are made by their parents and physician.
Healthcare settings need to consider how to support the complete nursing process when designing and implementing digital health systems to ensure nurses can make clinical decisions more effectively. We need better quality research to understand how digital health systems can effectively incorporate the nursing process comprehensively.
Digital health systems are now widely used in healthcare to facilitate communication, collect more complete patient information in electronic form and improve access to documentation.
Nursing leaders must confront misconceptions and bias to foster gender inclusion in the profession. Research is needed to assess strategies to reduce gender stereotypes and implications on the nursing workforce.
Contemporary nursing, born in the image of Victorian womanhood, is steeped in the trappings of feminity.
While there is insufficient evidence to support the routine use of family-systems interventions for families of people with an intellectual disability or who are autistic, clinicians can consider integrating systemic techniques and ideas with other treatment methods. Additional research on routine use of family-systems interventions in this population is needed to better establish its role in treatment.
Having a family member with an intellectual disability (ID) or autism can have problematic psychological effects on the individual’s parents and siblings. Family systems interventions have been suggested as one way to help support these families. These interventions target the interactions between family members and address their belief...]]>
Interdisciplinary care for chronic musculoskeletal pain (CMSP) is important to address the multifaceted impact of the condition.
Future studies of high quality should explore mental health interventions, social interventions and interdisciplinary interventions for CMSP, using patient-centred and economic outcomes.
Chronic musculoskeletal pain (CMSP) is a major cause of disability,
Results inform immediate post-seclusion or restraint incident debriefing structured with both an emotional and a practical component. Future research is needed to understand the complexity of nurses' emotions following seclusion or restraints events.
Seclusion or restraints (referred to as S/R) are common inpatient mental health interventions used to control patients who are engaged in violent behaviour or aggression toward staff, other patients and themselves.
Family resilience crucial in the entire cancer journey. Factors influencing family resilience are multifaceted. Enhanced understanding aids targeted interventions.
Family resilience is critical to managing health crises, particularly chronic and life-threatening diseases such as cancer.
Clinicians should be more vigilant and mindful of the possibility of myocardial infarction when assessing patients with diabetes with atypical presentations. Further research needs to focus on the patient, caregiver and provider level interventions to increase awareness regarding atypical symptoms of myocardial infarction.
Myocardial infarction (MI) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality, particularly among patients with diabetes mellitus (DM).
Evidence-informed psychological treatments are a promising option for older adults suffering from common conditions of depression and anxiety. While preliminary evidence suggests that telemedicine-delivered psychotherapy may be efficacious for older populations in high-income countries, more research is required worldwide and among diverse populations to determine what works for whom and optimal implementation guidelines.
Psychological treatments use evidence-based behavioural, cognitive and interpersonal tools to reduce the burden of depression, anxiety and stress-related disorders worldwide. There is growing interest to examine the role of telemedicine-delivered psychological treatments, including among older populations. People 65 years of age and older are the fastest growing segment of the population in many countries, including the UK. The...]]>
Individualised factors contributing to pain and its management in relation to sleep problems should be explored to provide tailored pain management treatments. Further research is needed to reveal interconnection patterns of pain medications and sleep problems.
Pain and insomnia are independent major life challenges for many and are interconnected, yet poorly understood. Additionally, the complexity of how pain medications influence sleep requires further investigation. Pain can be physically discomforting, emotionally disturbing and debilitating. Lack of sleep impedes normal functioning including physical and emotional well-being. Insomnia may enhance irritability and pain sensitisation. Conversely, pain may result in insomnia and other sleep problems, which may intensify pre-existing or trigger new pain.
Rise of online health forums, patient interactions and self-care practices requires monitoring in practice. Applying netnography may facilitate monitoring these online spaces and places.
Influenced by Kozinets, netnography is a research practice for comprehending the meanings on social media platforms.
Salzmann-Erikson and Eriksson conducted a mapping review of 53 empirical articles derived from 7 databases.
Video enhances the practical skills, knowledge and confidence of nursing students. More rigorous studies are needed to find out the specific characteristics of efficient videos on training practical skills.
Nursing is a clinical profession in which psychomotor skills are imperative, in terms of quality of services and patient safety.
Embracing technologies like mobile applications are acceptable and feasible and can empower Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) to enhance post-total hip arthroplasty (THA) and total knee arthroplasty (TKA) rehabilitation management while promoting greater individual self-care. Mobile apps engage patients in personalised care and offer objective assessments. To boost global adoption, implementation and potential impact on personalised care and assessments, future research must address limited evidence on the long-term efficacy of mobile applications.
THA and TKA have become transformative interventions in the field of orthopaedics
Universities should focus efforts on recruiting and retaining more nursing educators from minority ethnic and diverse backgrounds to enable all students to engage with relatable nursing role models and ultimately widen their career aspirations. Nursing education provision should be reviewed and revised to ensure decolonised and diverse curricula to enable all students to have a more inclusive experience and ultimately achieve better outcomes.
This research
IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE AND RESEARCH Despite the established link between traumatic childbirth and practitioner maltreatment, understanding of ethnically diverse mothers’ experiences of obstetric racism within the context of traumatic childbirth is lacking. Changes are required to address both systemic and interpersonal racism. This requires practitioner awareness training, access to doulas, greater racial/ethnic diversity among maternity care staff, and improvements in educational curricula.
Traumatic childbirth is prevalent in the USA, with a substantial number of mothers deeming their experience traumatic.
Actively including nurses in developing and implementing generative artificial intelligence-based technologies and emerging digital platforms can enhance their work motivation, engagement, satisfaction and patient care and safety. Receptive and embracing technology implementation in healthcare settings requires addressing challenges and enhancing opportunities for nurse-patient interaction.
New technology, such as interactive electronic medical record systems, is widely embedded in healthcare settings and impacts nurses’ day-to-day functioning. Adapting to emerging technologies requires a degree of readiness, preparedness and comfort. Nurses must be deeply engaged expert users to employ new technologies in healthcare systems successfully. However, we do not know in what contexts a successful implementation of new technologies is employed, how...]]>
In the context of newly emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants, education on self-management of sick day rules for children with diabetes and their parents is imperative to avoid decompensating diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). Prospective research is needed to examine new-onset diabetes accompanied by a diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2.
There is a need for a better understanding of the association between new-onset diabetes mellitus and SARS-CoV-2 in children, including DKA in the newly diagnosed and DKA in those with pre-existing diabetes. Ponmani et al
Blended diets may be used for enteral nutrition which may have a positive impact on gastrointestinal symptoms and a reduction of incidence of respiratory infections. A combination of commercial enteral formula combined with blended diet can also be effective in relieving symptoms.
Blended or blenderised diets or homemade blended formulas are a hot topic regarding enteral nutrition today. In medical history, different food and drink blends were already prepared and used for enteral feeding. The necessity of this type of preparation was reduced over the 1970s with the production and use of commercial enteral formulas. Soon, home enteral nutrition (HEN) was established as a reliable and effective nutritional intervention for patients with chronic diseases who were unable...]]>
Enhance healthcare diversity representation and train practitioners to provide culturally sensitive, personalised care that promotes equity in practice. Further research, drawing on Critical Race Theory (CRT), would be valuable to identify healthcare equity concerns for minority populations, mitigate bias and foster social engagement and workforce diversification.
Recognising racism as a fundamentally complex, global and historical phenomenon pervading all aspects of society, becomes necessary to address such concerns across all sectors, including healthcare.
Healthcare practitioners should consider ethnic disparities when implementing diabetic eye screening intervals, ensuring personalised approaches for high-risk populations to avoid delayed diagnosis and treatment. One should consider more frequent eye screenings for younger and ethnic minority diabetic patients to reduce delayed Sight Threatening Diabetic Retinopathy (STDR) diagnosis. The research highlights the need for demographic-based screening intervals to combat healthcare inequalities. Continued research is essential to grasp the long-term effects of varied screening frequencies...]]>
Loneliness has important impacts on the well-being of nursing home residents and is deserving of further study and action. Specific attention to the experiences of nursing home residents living with cognitive and/or sensory impairments is needed.
Loneliness is an important determinant of health and well-being. Its health impacts, estimated to be equivalent to daily smoking, have prompted national and international responses, including the World Health Organization’s commission of Social Connection as part of the United Nations Decade of Healthy Ageing, and appointment of Ministers of Loneliness in Japan and the UK.
Implications for practice and research It is imperative to implement midwifery curricula that are non-Eurocentric but inclusive and representative of different groups, viewpoints and voices. Amplifying the voice, opinion and presence of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) midwives will improve the quality and safety of BAME women, children and families.
There is a growing body of evidence showing that women from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (also known as Global Ethnic Majority) backgrounds are significantly more likely to die in childbirth in the Global North than their white peers.
Understanding the bereavement context and individuals’ views on a diagnosis of prolonged grief disorder (PGD) may inform clinical decisions about diagnostics and treatment offers. Further research may facilitate a more nuanced understanding of intense and prolonged grief reactions as natural or potentially disordered.
PGD has been included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Text Revision in 2022.
The care of patients following myocardial infarction should seek to redress the impact of socioeconomic deprivation and ethnicity on outcomes. Further research is required into the steps that nurses can take to mitigate socioeconomic and ethnic disparities in patient outcomes.
Ischaemic heart disease results in the death of approximately 9 million people across the globe each year,
Previous studies have demonstrated that the prevalence, management and outcomes of AMI are inequitable, with groups such as women and older adults being disproportionately impacted.
Advocate for a comprehensive restructuring of mental health nursing curricula to incorporate robust content, theory and clinical hours, ensuring graduates are better prepared for effective practice. Conduct research on alternative education models, exploring the feasibility and effectiveness of double-degree programmes to enhance graduate preparedness and improve care quality.
Despite the shift to comprehensive nursing education in the 1980s and 1990s, ongoing concerns persist regarding the graduates’ readiness for mental health practice. The study conducted by Lakeman and colleagues delves into the enduring challenge of effectively preparing nurses for mental health settings in Australia.
Current evidence suggests that blue-light filtering lenses may not significantly relieve eye strain. Practitioners are advised against relying solely on these lenses. Future research is essential to clarify the effects of blue-light filtering lenses on visual performance, sleep and macular health, exploring potential differences in outcomes among diverse study populations.
In the present digital age, with widespread screen use, concerns about visual discomfort and eye strain are prevalent. The popularity of blue-light filtering lenses has surged, claimed to benefit visual performance, retinal protection and sleep quality. This study critically assesses empirical evidence on these advantages, focusing on their effects on visual fatigue, critical flicker fusion frequency...]]>
Integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into nursing education is key to fostering positive attitudes and developing advanced training programmes. Exploring factors influencing AI adoption in nursing and understanding its role in nurse–patient interactions are essential. Research should focus on AI’s ethical implications in nursing, ensuring its responsible and equitable use in healthcare practice.
AI is significantly shaping healthcare, particularly in nursing.
Photography, similar to other arts form, can serve as a powerful tool for data generation and knowledge dissemination in studies with people with intellectual disabilities. Using photovoice with people with intellectual disabilities demand careful accommodations in order to make the collaboration meaningful and inclusive.
Photovoice is a participatory research method that empowers individuals, typically those from marginalised communities or with unique perspectives, to document their experiences and share their stories through photography. In a photovoice project, participants are provided with cameras and are encouraged to take photographs that represent aspects of their lives. Since its inception in 1994, when it was introduced in a study on rural Chinese women, photovoice has been applied across diverse...]]>
When goal setting for older persons’ pain care provision, financial implications must be considered. Religious, racial, ethnic and cultural considerations in relation to bodily autonomy mattered the most for black participants, whereas for white participants, quality of life was more important than length of life.
The evidence base for end-of-life care and advance care directive planning suggests that racial, ethnic and cultural considerations are relevant and influential to the older persons’ healthcare decision-making processes. This US study by Heintz et al
This cross-sectional...]]>
Better patient outcomes can be directly correlated with healthcare professionals' kind deeds and effective communication. More studies that concentrate on the perspectives of patients in various settings would be helpful in understanding behaviours that represent compassionate and empathic interactions and informing education.
An increasing amount of research supports the beneficial effects of compassionate and empathic healthcare interactions on patients’ psychological health outcomes.
Nurses rate the quality of therapeutic nurse–patient relationships significantly higher than patients do. Numerous factors potentially contribute to these different perceptions, but further research is needed to develop a more nuanced understanding, particularly concerning differences between inpatient and community-based relationships.
Therapeutic relationships are central to effective person-centred care, especially to the process of understanding and supporting patients’ health-related needs, and they are the focus of this study by El-Abidi et al.
Front-line nursing leaders can choose from a variety of pragmatic strategies to improve the workplace and increase nurses’ desire to stay. Implementation science approaches to retention allow researchers to examine evidence-based strategies in different contexts and identify the skills needed by front-line leaders for effective implementation.
Nursing workforce shortages have gained global attention and concern, with surveys highlighting high rates of nurses who are burned out and want to leave their job
Simulation-based learning/technology is pivotal to enhancing reflective thinking in palliative care (PC). Facilitators should foster reflective thinking, especially for students with limited end-of-life exposure. Novice participants may benefit from directive feedback. Future studies should investigate the impact of PC simulation scenarios on emotional intelligence (Emot-Int), reflective abilities and spiritual intelligence (Spirit-Int).
While the WHO advocates for comprehensive PC training,
Primary care nurses with specialist training in behavioural insomnia therapy can effectively treat patients with insomnia by improving their symptoms and mental health. Future research should focus on codesign with practising nurses to better understand how insomnia therapy could be implemented into existing models of care.
Insomnia is the most prevalent sleep disorder, characterised by chronic difficulty initiating or maintaining sleep, coupled with daytime impairments. Patients with insomnia often present to primary care with other...]]>
Healthcare providers should recognise the prevalent use of non-pharmacological methods by parents and acknowledge their desire to be actively involved in alleviating their infants’ pain. Longitudinal studies could delve deeper into the evolving dynamics of parent–nurse collaboration and its influence on implementing non-pharmacological methods in neonatal and neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) settings.
In NICUs, parents are integrated into all care processes. In this way, parents can create appropriate tactile, auditory, visual, vestibular and olfactory stimuli for the baby. They are supported in recognising behavioural reactions and temperament in pain, stress, hunger and sleep. This study by Treiman-Kiveste and colleagues mainly correlates with empowerment; this inclusive involvement of parents enhances their understanding...]]>
Workforce priorities include supporting practitioners to improve competence in perinatal advance care planning (PnACP) and approaches to collaborative working. Future research should explore optimal models(s) of PnACP.
The need for the integration of palliative care into perinatal services is increasingly acknowledged across the UK. This is due to the increased prevalence of babies with life-limiting conditions (LLCs), and advances in perinatal care, technologies and treatment options.
PnACP is widely recognised as central to the provision of perinatal palliative care (PPC), regarded as an essential element of care that babies and their families receive. PnACP offers opportunities for parents and professionals to share information and...]]>
Clinicians should vigilantly monitor individuals with autism for early signs of cardiometabolic disease and their complications. Future inquiry should involve large-scale, prospective, multicentre cohort studies to confirm the association between autism and particularly type 2 diabetes mellitus and the potential factors that may contribute to this association.
Autism spectrum disorders represent a group of neurodevelopmental differences commonly diagnosed in childhood, characterised by impaired communication and social interactions and restricted, repetitive behaviours.
Humanistic skills and positive attitudes are crucial in assessing mental health nursing students. Training programmes and clinical assessments play an essential role in developing these skills. Practitioners should recognise the value of both transactional and transformational competencies in delivering quality mental healthcare. Replicating the study in similar fields can validate the findings and enhance future nurse training.
In the UK, nurse education focuses on providing students with a comprehensive blend of theoretical and practical knowledge to foster competence and proficiency. The Nursing and Midwifery Council implemented significant changes in 2018, introducing new proficiencies that highlight the importance of physical health assessment.
Nurses need to understand the multifaceted nature of carrying out inclusive and comprehensive skin assessments, ensuring they are responsive to the multiplicity of skin tones among diverse patient populations. Fostering an inclusive learning environment by integrating innovative learning and teaching methods and education materials that specifically address the complexities of skin assessments across diverse skin tones, promotion of evidence-based guidelines and culturally sensitive care is paramount. There is a need for further research to examine more comprehensively the preparation for, and operationalising of, skin assessments among patients with diverse skin tones.
Adequately equipping nurses with the knowledge, skills and attitudes to provide comprehensive skin assessments for patients with diverse skin tones is essential in...]]>
Providing evidence-based practice (EBP) resources including time, training and mentorship to nurses will improve patient outcomes and increase nursing engagement and decrease turnover of staff. Future research should be conducted on a larger scale to identify improvements and resulting return on investment (ROI) from evidence-based implementations.
It is well known that using evidence-based interventions in practice has positive effects on improving outcomes and safety for patients.
Raising awareness among healthcare staff is integral to improving the existing communication problems and racial stereotyping. Perception of black people regarding discrimination may be explored in greater depth using qualitative research methodologies.
Racial disparity in the USA has been a leading cause of poorer perinatal care and higher rates of pregnancy and birth mortality among black people. Evidence suggests an alarming rising trend of maternal morbidity in the USA, specifically among black and American Indian people between 2000 and 2019.
Qualitative exploration of caregiver burden provides new themes underlying the mechanisms of caregiver burden, towards improving patient/caregiver monitoring and earlier implementation of interventions to prevent caregiver overload. Integrating quantitative and qualitative strands offers a more comprehensive view on caregiver burden in Parkinson’s disease (PD).
Providing informal care for patients with PD is challenging and may be accompanied by caregiver burden. Various factors associated with an increased risk of caregiver burden have been described previously, for example, severity of motor impairment and neuropsychiatric symptoms. However, these metrics are based on predefined constructs such as questionnaires or rating scales, thereby limiting in-depth. Combining quantitative and qualitative data may provide a more...]]>
Timely palliative care should be provided to non-cancer terminally ill patients because they may have more unmet care needs. Future study is warranted to explore different models of timely palliative care for different non-cancer diseases.
Owing to global ageing worldwide, the unmet needs during end-of-life care among non-cancer patients increases rapidly. Therefore, early palliative care for non-cancer patients with focus on quality of care is valued more than ever. However, there is still a gap between optimal palliative care and unmet needs among terminally ill non-cancer patients because the fundamental differences within cancer and non-cancer patients.
Nurses are at the forefront of witnessing the effects of involuntary interventions, particularly the use of forced medication. Additional research is needed to better understand the impact of the use of involuntary care and treatment in forensic psychiatry, from the perspective of service users, nurses and families.
In several countries, including Sweden and Canada,
The use of a properly sized cuff when using oscillometric blood pressure (BP) measurement in clinical practice avoids underestimation of BP in individuals with small arms and BP overestimation in people with large arms. To avoid patient misclassification in clinical studies, healthcare personnel should always use properly sized cuffs according to manufacturers’ instructions.
With traditional sphygmomanometry, the use of a cuff with a bladder of inappropriate size for the arm is a serious source of error.
Pain scales used during labour and birth must capture the multidimensional nature of pain, inclusive of positive and negative pain perceptions and no pain. New strategies must be developed to capture the multidimensional nature of labour pain to guide appropriate responses to women’s unique needs.
Labour pain is a complex experience influenced by several factors.
Maternity services and professionals should have a reflective approach on their heteronormative and cis-gendered model, creating inclusive space for non-birthing mothers and considering the extra challenges coming from being non-birthing parents and belonging to the LGBTQIA+ community. The needs and the challenges connected to multiple minority status should be addressed in further research, aiming at informing practitioners and researchers on how these factors may interfere with recoverrecovery from perinatal mental health difficulties.
Even if numerous studies have already reported evidence of the high rate of perinatal mental health (PMH) difficulties in mothers in many countries worldwide and have also highlighted the presence of other PMH difficulties in cis-gender fathers...]]>
Healthcare providers need to understand that parents generally prefer equal influence on decision-making (DM) between medical teams and parents when caring for children with heart disease (HD). Future mixed-method design studies, involving qualitative interviews, would increase our understanding of the parents’ preference in DM and the influencing factors.
Shared DM (SDM) is a universally accepted patient-centred component in the healthcare system and it is defined as a collaborative DM process among the patient and/or significant others and the healthcare professionals.
Nursing interventions using digital technologies can encourage hypertensive patients to bond with the team and improve aspects of adherence and self-care. More studies on the effectiveness of recent digital innovations should be carried out, in different practice settings, to evaluate nursing interventions and their impact on hypertension control rates.
High prevalence rates of hypertension combined with low treatment and control rates highlight a challenging scenario for health professionals, especially where access to health services is difficult.
Regular evaluation of the quality of the clinical learning environment can help bridge the gap between theoretical teaching and clinical practice. Future research on instruments that evaluate the quality of the clinical learning environment in nursing education should be based on an accurate methodology following the best research and report guidelines.
Nursing education systems are being challenged by the rapid advancements in healthcare technology, sociodemographic changes in modern societies and the expectations of young healthcare students. To guarantee that students learn and develop their theoretical knowledge, attitudes, and skills in a friendly and safe clinical environment, we must evaluate clinical learning environments to systematically identify improvement opportunities.
A systematic review was carried out to update...]]>
Healthcare professionals (HCPs) should support patients with heart failure (HF) to develop effective strategies to improve illness control. Further research needs to explore the cultural differences in illness control and how HCPs tailor best their support to promote illness control in patients with HF.
Heart failure (HF) is a chronic illness with increased impotence and dependency where patients need to self-manage a complex treatment regime and adapt to a new lifestyle.
Stroke, hypercholesterolaemia, diabetes, and osteoporosis are modifiable risk factors for the development of dementia. People with multimorbidity should be encouraged to have regular cognitive assessments starting in middle age. Meanwhile, healthy lifestyles should be promoted from childhood.
The world population is ageing significantly, with a projected 2 billion people over the age of 65 by 2050.
Multivariable pain outcomes are essential for evaluating the effectiveness of pain treatment strategies among the military population. Data repositories like Pain Assessment Screening Tool and Outcomes Registry (PASTOR) offer opportunities to collect and analyse data, improving the knowledge of pain-related issues and enhancing care for military personnel with chronic pain.
Chronic pain is a significant concern for both active-duty military members and veterans, as they often face unique challenges and experiences that can contribute to both physical and psychological pain.
Ethical competence is one of the key areas of expertise for nurses in the field of genomics. Further development in education is needed to demonstrate better knowledge in genetic/genomic literacy of nurses. Enhancing pedagogical methods and considering study context is crucial for translating a positive attitude towards learning into improved genetic/genomic literacy and competence outcomes.
Genomic data are transforming healthcare, although nursing education, primarily centred on single-gene disorders, is relatively limited in addressing the broader scope of the evolving genomics field. Existing studies highlight nurses’ limited competence in genomic information, primarily assessing knowledge concepts while neglecting ethics.
The study aimed to evaluate...]]>
Nurse educators are influenced mostly by their intrinsic motivators, but also when aligned with extrinsic motivators, to remain in their academic roles. Increased understanding and consideration of these motivators can improve recruitment and retention of nurse educators.
There is a widening gap between the supply and demand of nurses, to the extent that the WHO
Emergency departments (EDs) are not the best place for mental healthcare to happen, unless in a genuine emergency. Health and social care systems must focus on providing mental healthcare earlier to prevent ED becoming the default place of intervention.
Emergency department (EDs) play a crucial role in healthcare in most systems internationally. Increasingly, people with mental health problems are attending ED out of desperation and due to inadequate community provision. The environment in EDs is not a good one for such complex and longstanding issues to be properly addressed. Staff can become frustrated, defeatist,and hardened to people presenting with emotional difficulties as...]]>
Children with fever lasting 5 or more days are likely to be suffering from a serious bacterial infection (SBI) rather than viral infection. Although uncommon, presence of warning signs increases the probability of SBI, while absence of warning signs is not sensitive enough to rule out SBI.
Fever is a common problem in children. Longer duration of fever may...]]>
To treat impulsivity and suicidal ideation in patients with bipolar disorder (BD), realistic adjunctive psychological interventions that are easy to implement should be developed. Future research should focus on developing more comprehensive instruments that integrates various components of acceptance and impulsive behaviours and explore the long-term efficacy of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT).
While suicide and suicide attempts (SA) are persistently surging public health problems,
Mindfulness interventions may alleviate or prevent depression and anxiety among mentally healthy pregnant women, but evidence suggests they are less effective for women with a history of depression or perinatal depressive or anxiety symptoms. Future research should include maternal physiological indicators, infant assessment data, and examine whether findings differ based on cultural context.
Postpartum depression is a serious mental health condition with potentially significant adverse consequences for maternal and infant well-being. Identifying interventions that reduce the risk for postpartum depression has critical implications for nursing practice. Min et al
Results of this study suggest that children benefit from prehospital emergency transfusion with a direct correlation in reduced mortality. This should be an intervention that is readily available in the immediate post-injury phase, when anticipating massive transfusion. Further high-quality research and collaboration would be ideal to support increasing prehospital transfusion in paediatric trauma but also to assist in developing prehospital transfusion pathways and practice that can potentially save lives.
Prehospital (PH) transfusion is a well-established practice in adult trauma with studies showing reduction in initiating transfusion improving overall survival.
Periodic training of primary care practitioners, use of mental health screening measures, interservice collaborative efforts and mental health literacy of adults with learning disabilities will ensure timely diagnosis of mental health problems among adults with learning disabilities. Brief and effective mental health screening measures need to be developed/adapted specifically for this population. Certain subgroups of learning disabilities may face comparatively greater instances of missed diagnosis or underdiagnosis of mental health problems and this needs further research.
Mental health difficulties are more prevalent among individuals with learning disabilities than among the general population, with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and psychosis being commonly reported.
Strategies to systematically identify and mange children with delayed development due to the pandemic are required to minimise long-term negative effects. Younger children (1–3 years of age) may have been less prone to negative effects of the pandemic than older children (3–5 years of age) Nursery daycare quality may have reduced the negative effects of the pandemic.
While there is growing international evidence the COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted the academic performance of school-age children, few studies have specifically examined early childhood development and differences between infants and preschoolers. Sato and colleagues addressed this limitation.
The purpose of the study was to examine the association between the COVID-19 pandemic and early child development using census-based cohort data from...]]>
There are gaps in service needs in the area of driving such as providing accessible information, other options for transportation and how to support social involvement and maintain role, identity and independence. Further research is needed to address these gaps to provide more holistic support for people living with young-onset dementia and their families.
As well as a wide range of aetiologies and presentations, young-onset dementia (YOD) is distinctly different to older-onset dementia in terms of the psychosocial effects on the family and individual, in lieu of the younger age of onset and different life stage.
Simulation-based learning (SBL) design should be grounded in best practices, such as the Healthcare Simulation Standards of Best Practice™, to optimise the learner’s experience and self-confidence. Further research is needed to assess if another component of simulation design, a rigorous educational needs assessment, contributes to decreased anxiety in learners while increasing their self-confidence.
SBL experiences are known to increase stress and anxiety in healthcare learners, including nursing students. High stress levels can impair decision-making, working memory, retrieval of information from memory and tasks requiring divided attention
For practice: The study emphasises timely delirium recognition and management to mitigate adverse outcomes. The 3D-CAM emerges as a practical and accurate tool for delirium detection, facilitating clinicians to promptly initiate interventions. For research: Future research should validate its performance in specific populations and comparing it with other diagnostic tools to optimise delirium detection strategies.
The study
Both contextual (eg, family conflict) and personal (eg, low tolerance for boredom) factors were narrated by adolescents with problematic internet use (PIU), suggesting the need of considering these variables in interventions to mitigate the risk of PIU. Quantitative explorations in specific adolescent clinical populations (considering both the type of internet use and the presence of any comorbidities) could be an interesting challenge and contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the phenomenon.
While the internet has brought many benefits to people’s daily lives, some individuals may also develop problematic patterns of use which could result in addictive behaviours.