The world is currently responding to the climate crisis and the nature crisis as if they were separate challenges. This is a dangerous mistake. The 28th Conference of the Parties (COP) on climate change is about to be held in Dubai while the 16th COP on biodiversity is due to be held in Turkey in 2024. The research communities that provide the evidence for the two COPs are unfortunately largely separate, but they were brought together for a workshop in 2020 when they concluded that: ‘Only by considering climate and biodiversity as parts of the same...]]>
This article will explore inductive and deductive reasoning and their place in nursing research. We will also explore a third approach to reasoning—abductive reasoning—which is arguably less well-known than induction and deduction, but just as prevalent and important in nursing practice and nursing research.
Induction, or inductive reasoning, involves the identification of cues and the collection of data to develop general...]]>
This is a summary of Cant R, Gazula S, and Ryan C. Student satisfaction is important as it positively influences both student retention and institutional rankings. The concept of student satisfaction with education is poorly understood, although some studies suggested its related elements such as learning environments; student motivation to learn; student and teacher accountability; classroom diversity, and assessment approaches. By identifying factors that influence nursing students’ satisfaction, nurse educators will have the opportunity to further improve the curriculum and student education experiences. This integrative review aims to discover basic conceptual elements that affect higher education students’ satisfaction, focusing on nursing education.
Twenty-two studies were included: 19 with an experimental, quasi-experimental design and three systematic reviews from 15 countries. Service quality, institutional image and...]]>
Social media is one of the fastest growing commercial determinants of health. Healthcare professionals need a better understanding of social media and its impact.
Social media has rapidly become a key source of advice and support for women during childbirth. The growth of influencers, popular users credited with knowledge and expertise, can be seen in the numerous social posts, blogs, podcasts and videos about pregnancy, birth and parenting. Social media influencers provide responsive and relatable content to their network of followers; but there are concerns about the potential to spread misinformation.
This systematic literature review
Pregnant patients with cardiomyopathy have a risk of complications and should be advised accordingly. Prospective data focusing on pregnancy outcomes in patients with various subtypes of cardiomyopathies are warranted to ensure proper counselling of these patients.
Haemodynamic changes, especially blood volume, heart rate and cardiac output augmentation, during pregnancy can exacerbate symptoms in patients with cardiomyopathy or unmask a preexisting asymptomatic condition.
Incarceration presents barriers to best midwifery practices, restricting patient choice in care provider and place of birth. Midwives play an important role advocating for incarcerated patients. Prison staff misunderstand midwifery and conceptualise access to care as a reward for good behaviour. Future research should assess outcomes of alternatives to incarceration.
Women continue to be one of the fastest growing populations experiencing incarceration, with significant consequences for their newborns and children. Despite international and national requirements for equivalent care to what is available in community, existing research in the field of prison perinatal health has found delays and gaps in care and poor neonatal outcomes associated with pregnancy in prison.
Due to the heightened risk of preterm birth, caesarean deliveries, NICU admission of neonates and increased perinatal mortality among pregnant women with chronic medical conditions, it is essential that midwives and nurses receive comprehensive training to deliver personalised care for these women. To enhance perinatal outcomes among pregnant women with chronic medical conditions, future research should prioritise identifying the contributing factors to such outcomes and developing novel interventions targeted at optimising perinatal outcomes during both the prepregnancy and pregnancy periods.
Chronic diseases can impact pregnancy and lead to long-term consequences for women during and after childbirth, causing anxiety. However, medical advancements and...]]>
Women, transgender and non-binary people who experience incarceration often have complex healthcare needs and require dynamic, trauma-informed care in the community. Research is needed to understand how to address the diverse health needs of women, transgender and non-binary people leaving prison.
On any given day, approximately 740 000 women and girls
Nurses need to be aware that extreme temperatures—whether hot or cold—increase the likelihood of death from cardiovascular causes. More...]]>
The study highlights the urgent need for improved surveillance, prevention and control of bacterial antimicrobial resistance worldwide. Research should be conducted to develop rapid and accurate diagnostic tests to detect resistant infections.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a growing global health threat, and the misuse and overuse of antibiotics are contributing factors. AMR is estimated to have caused 4.95 million deaths worldwide in 2019, according to the study that looked at data from 204 studies. The findings of the 2019 study highlight the urgent need for global action to address the problem of bacterial AMR. Governments, healthcare providers and the public all have a role to...]]>
Data will inform the decision of the Scottish Parliament whether to keep the minimum unit pricing (MUP) policy, which expires on 30 April 2024. Further study is needed exploring the enduring effects of MUP on chronic alcohol conditions, including alcohol-related cancer deaths.
In 2021, the rate of alcohol-related deaths in the UK increased by 7.4% from 2020 (14.8/100 000), with the highest rate (22.4/100 000) in Scotland.
MUP is...]]>
Reducing screen time and promoting physical activity among children and adolescents could be a key strategy in preventing cardiometabolic diseases in adulthood. Further research using objective measures of screen time is needed to advance knowledge of dose–response relationship between screen time and cardiometabolic disease risk and to inform future recommendations.
In an increasingly digital world, high prevalence of sedentary behaviour has become a significant concern for public health. It is ubiquitous in various environments, and WHO guidelines
Encouraging daily steps and increasing the daily time with high cadence steps may be important means to prevent morbidity and prolong lifespan. Assessment of daily steps over a longer period may further elucidate the shape of the dose–response relationship and better quantify the benefits of increasing daily step counts.
Physical activity is widely recommended due to the extensive evidence supporting its numerous health benefits, including lower risks of morbidity and mortality. While current physical activity guidelines quantify their recommendations in terms of minutes of physical activity, step count has emerged as another popular metric for quantifying physical activity. However,...]]>
Nurses have an ethical imperative to provide patient-centered care that honours all aspects of one’s identity, including gender identity. Further research is needed to better understand the healthcare experiences of transgender people of intersecting identities and those with varying economic resources.
Transgender people experience numerous health inequities due to societal discrimination and stigma.
Healthcare organisations must invest resources for effective integration of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) nurses. Research on nurse integration must evaluate CALD nurse’s needs, goals, and prospects for retention.
Kamau et al’s
The authors
Without a shift in organisational culture, patient participation in patient safety may continue to be haphazard in Iranian hospitals. Researchers should consider and report the impact of gender when investigating patient participation in care.
Despite Iran’s economic crisis, brought on by sanctions, years of war and improper government resource management, Iranian healthcare is now considered among the finest in the Eastern Mediterranean region.
Given this study’s findings of the negative impact of rotating shifts on nurses’ work and family life, the use of rotating shifts in hospitals should be reconsidered. Since this is the first study to be conducted on the topic, more research is needed.
Rotating shifts are a common way for hospitals to distribute night shift work instead of keeping nurses in fixed night shifts.
Future research must explore contexts of crisis and disaster to investigate whether delays in acquiring the pointing gesture and the first meaningful words would result in cascading impairments in language development in early childhood. During crises and disasters, caregivers must be encouraged to enhance verbal responsiveness following infants’ communicative and exploratory behaviours.
Several studies conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic have indicated deficits in different domains of infant development. This study by Byrne and colleagues compared early developmental milestones in two infant cohorts: babies born at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and babies born between...]]>
Up-to-date information on the use of long-term ventilation (LTV) in the UK paediatric population helps LTV centres to plan services and support healthcare needs. The future development of a national LTV children database could advise clinical guidelines and assist resource allocation planning.
LTV consists in the delivery of respiratory support provided on a daily basis for a minimum period of 3 months through various mechanical interventions.
The current research demonstrates the need to increase staffing and programme capacity for those working with patients with eating disorders (EDs) to ensure adequate care. Future research into how the relationship between ED-related hospitalisations and individual external factors, such as social isolation are needed.
Research has shown that the pandemic greatly impacted worldwide mental health
Rehabilitation programmes if introduced early after admissions to intensive care unit could be beneficial to patients and healthcare systems. Prospective studies are needed to confirm the long-term impacts of early introduction of rehabilitation programmes on healthcare outcomes in terms of, quality of life and physical functions, the optimal timing, duration, and intensity of rehabilitation.
Early rehabilitation is a promising treatment for postintensive care syndrome. Studies have demonstrated the benefits of rehabilitation, such as early exercise and mobilisation, which improve short-term physical and functional outcomes and reduce intensive care unit (ICU) and hospital stay durations for critically ill patients.
To improve continuity and quality of cancer care (QoCC) and patients’ adherence to the oncological treatments, it is necessary to develop innovative, digitalised, personalised and evidence-informed follow-up interventions that enhances patients’ quality of life (QoL). Future research should focus on developing clear guidance and efficient technology-based assessment measures that are necessary for providing individualised early palliative care and post-treatment interventions.
A surge in the ageing population and the rising incidence of cancer risk factors have resulted in the increase in the occurrence of cancer in women worldwide, which requires careful treatment planning and innovations in post-treatment follow-up interventions.
Workforce planning needs focus on the level of practice required for service demand and not ‘what role is needed’. Planners must appreciate the contributions and limitations of practice different advanced clinical practitioners (ACPs) bring. Research is needed to move beyond capturing the advancement of roles to exploring changes, in practice and education, and evaluating the improvements made, particularly with advanced practice (AP) regulation being reviewed by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).
Advanced Practice (AP) is a phenomenon which in the last century may be traced back to the post second...]]>
eHealth interventions can potentially provide cost-effective and easily accessible support for stress-related problems, and reducing sick leave occurrences in healthcare professionals. To establish the effectiveness of interventions targeting healthcare professionals, researchers should prioritise conducting additional studies with larger sample sizes in order to conduct meta-analytic synthesis for more robust and comprehensive conclusions.
Healthcare professionals (HCPs) encounter work-related challenges that elevate the risk of mental health issues like anxiety, depression and stress. The escalating number of sick leaves due to work-induced stress exacerbates the shortage of active HCPs. Employing digitisation...]]>
Nursing staff find adolescent seclusions necessary but also experience related guilt and self-doubt. Seclusion protocols in adolescent psychiatric units should include alternatives to seclusion and debriefing processes.
Seclusions cause distress in patients and lead to negative outcomes, including death. Growing research demonstrates that seclusion rates vary by age, sex, race, diagnosis and personal history of adverse events.
Supervised outdoor running at vigorous intensity leads to antidepressant and physical health benefits in outpatients with major depression or anxiety disorders. More pragmatic exercise trials for mental health outpatients with heterogeneous symptomatology are needed.
Exercise is associated with antidepressant effects in clinical settings but relevant research in pragmatic (real-life) settings is scarce.
Participants were physically inactive adult outpatients with a current major depression or an anxiety disorder and were treated with...]]>
Telehealth is valuable for behavioural support, especially for family carers facing challenges in accessing in-person services. Healthcare professionals need training to effectively use telehealth platforms for behavioural interventions. Further research is required to explore diverse populations’ perspectives and experiences and evaluate technical barriers, long-term effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of telehealth for behavioural support.
Tomlinson et al
Adults with intellectual disabilities need education and additional support to increase daily physical activity and improve their diets. Longitudinal studies are required to identify how adults with intellectual disabilities apply nutrition and activity-related knowledge and the supports that work to reduce cardiometabolic disease.
Research evidence details the significant health needs and inequalities experienced by many people with intellectual disabilities that contribute to their poor physical and mental health. While life expectancy has increased, many continue to die prematurely from avoidable and preventable conditions. Poor diet, obesity, low levels of physical activity, poor lipid profile and type 2...]]>
Formal protocols for engaging with sibling carers of people with intellectual disability about their support needs are required. Future research should explore the experiences of sibling carers and their support needs.
Increased life expectancy of people with intellectual disability (ID) means that sibling caring is more likely to occur. Planning around sibling carer roles is often absent and the needs of this cohort are not well documented.
Family carers of people with ID aged 40 years and older were surveyed between 2011 and 2020.
Hydration and nutrition issues in dementia should be discussed primarily by experienced health professionals, considering the beliefs, culture and expectations of the patient and her family, from the diagnosis. Moreover, these problems may show different characteristics in the acute hospital and at the end of life. Further studies with larger and interrelated study groups may emphasise more on the importance of communication in hydration and nutrition problems in dementia.
Eating and drinking difficulties are known sources of health problems in people with dementia. It is essential to increase the awareness of patients and family carers for these problems. Healthy communication with family carers...]]>
Developing and implementing targeted and integrated community-based interventions that supports steady assessment of technology access and use are required to diminish social isolation among seniors and enhance their overall quality of life. Future research should focus on assessing the efficacy of technology-based interventions and advancing digital technologies to reduce social isolation among older adults.
Social isolation is a fundamental public health problem, and it has significant negative effect on the healthcare system along with surge in ageing population.
Home fall hazard assessments are shown to be effective in fall prevention among community-dwelling older adults at higher risk of falls. Future work should investigate the feasibility of implementing these interventions in practice settings. It is uncertain whether assistive technologies can prevent falls in community-dwelling older adults, thus further research is needed.
Nearly 30% of older adults aged 65 years and older fall each year.
Frailty screening with the Edmonton Frailty Scale can be used to identify risk factors for loss of independence after surgery, including a patient’s functional performance, functional dependence, social support and urinary incontinence. Prospective studies are needed to test whether risk factors can be modified before surgery to prevent loss of independence among frail patients.
Frailty is a common syndrome of physiological decline among older adults characterised by vulnerability to adverse outcomes and loss of functional independence after major surgery.
Continual training for health professionals is vital to improve their rapport building strategies during telehealth palliative care encounters. Future studies should explore the perspectives of patients and families on rapport development during palliative care telehealth encounters.
Telehealth has gained prominence in palliative care, offering convenience and accessibility to patients with advanced illnesses, particularly in the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic.