Nursing Practice Today
Volume:8 Issue: 4, Autumn 2021

Hand dermatitis is one of the occupational skin diseases among nurses. Due to the prevalence of COVID-19, nurses' exposure to disinfectant solutions has increased, which can increase the incidence of dermatitis among them. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of hand dermatitis among nurses in COVID and non-COVID wards and its related factors during the outbreak of COVID-19 in Iran.

Methods & Materials:

 This descriptive-correlational study was performed by available sampling on 287 nurses. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire on hand dermatitis. Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 22.

The prevalence of hand dermatitis among COVID wards nurses was 65.7% and among non-COVID wards nurses were 36.2%. However, the logistic regression showed that Female gender (P= 0.001, odds ratio=3.19, CI=1.57-6.46), marital status (single) (P= 0.011, odds ratio=2.64, CI=1.25-5.57), age 31-40 (P= 0.003, odds ratio=0.16, CI=0.06-0.55), COVID wards (P= 0.000, odds ratio=4.99, CI=2.36-10.59), Allergy history (P= 0.000, odds ratio=13.07, CI=6.12-27.95) increase the prevalence of hand dermatitis among nurses.

Hand dermatitis is a serious problem among corona ward nurses. Therefore, timely identification and treatment of this injury can be very helpful. Nurses should receive adequate training and care for hand dermatitis.

Life after middle age accounts for almost half of the life cycle, along with global increases in life expectancy, it is important to manage the life satisfaction of middle-aged women as they transition from adulthood to old age. This study sought to investigate the life satisfaction of middle-aged women and identify the factors affecting them in various ways.

Methods & Materials: 

As secondary research, sample data were sourced from the 2016 Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging -sixth wave of KLoSA- by the Ministry of Employment and Labor, and the Korean Employment Information Service in Korea.

Factors affecting the life satisfaction of middle-aged women include individual factors such as religion, household income, marriage, and educational background (all p<.05); health-related factors such as depression, and smoking; family-related factors such as frequent contact with nonresident children; and socio-cultural factors such as leisure activity or trips (all p<.05).

The life satisfaction and influencing factors for middle-aged women identified in this study should be used as a basis for successful and healthy aging preparation in women’s health policy.

Hospitalization is a challenging experience all children go through in their life, which leads to their utmost anxiety. In this sense, interactive games and activities can help ease this psychological burden. Therefore, we endeavored to determine the effectiveness of a robotic game kit (RGK) on the anxiety of hospitalized preschoolers.

Methods & Materials:

 This non-randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted in a pediatric hospital, Iran between March and July 2019. 59 participants were assigned to intervention (n=30) or control (n=29) groups through available sampling. Inclusion criteria were Iranian native children aged 3-7 years with communication ability. The RGK was applied in eight sessions at least seven consecutive days of hospitalization. The collected data by using the demographic information form and the preschool anxiety scale (PAS) were analyzed in descriptive, chi-square, t-test, the one-way ANCOVA (analysis of covariance), and multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA).

Two groups were homogenous in terms of demographic variables (p>0.05). There was no statistically significant difference between the mean score of PAS before the intervention in the intervention 46.33±15.81 and control groups 37.24±19.65 (p=0.055). the mean score of PAS in the intervention group was significantly lower compared to the control groups (P=0.030). Also, using the RGK was effective in two subscales related to separation anxiety and physical injury fears  (P=0.034).

The modern RGKs could have a significant place in pediatric health care in hospitals. It is thus an undeniable fact that high-quality comprehensive care can be boosted through RGK based interventions for children encountering stressful situations.

Medication errors are the second most common accident after the fall accident in hospitals. Medication errors are a threat to patient safety. It is important to find the cause of such errors so that we can reduce them. However, the rate of medication error reporting is low. The aim of this study was to explore the factors associated with the intention to report medication errors among general hospital nurses.

Methods & Materials:

 A cross-sectional study design was used. The participants were 171 registered nurses working in 4 general hospitals in South Korea. Convenient sampling was used to select participants. Data were collected using mobile self-report structured questionnaires that covered general characteristics, medication errors and the intention to report them, the safety climate, and the nursing organizational culture. The data collection period was from March 14 to April 6, 2018. The data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, the Pearson correlation coefficients, and multiple regression analysis.

The mean scores of the intention to report medication errors and safety climate were 5.20±1.40 and 3.04±0.47, respectively. Each mean score of nursing organizational culture types was hierarch-oriented culture 3.63±0.51, relation-oriented culture 3.13±0.69, task-oriented-culture2.99±0.56, and innovation-oriented culture 2.85±0.67. Significant factors associated with the intention to report medication errors were the safety climate (β=.26, p=.001), a task-oriented culture (β=.16, p=.023), educational level (β=-.19, p=.006), the experience of medication errors (β=.19, p=.006), and male (β=-.18, p=.011). They accounted for 25% of the intention to report medication errors.

This study found that the safety climate of the hospital, task-oriented culture of the nursing organization, education level, experience of medication errors, and gender associated with the intention to report medication errors. It is necessary to find ways to improve the safety climate of hospitals and the task-oriented culture of the nursing organizations and establish a strategy for improving the intention to report medication errors for male nurses and nurses with medication errors.

Moral intelligence is a foundation and cornerstone of ethics in nursing. However, it is a vague concept which needs to develop. So, this study aimed to analyze the concept of moral intelligence in nursing to help its development and apply it in the context.

Methods & Materials:

 Rodgers's evolutionary concept analysis method was used. Databases of Google Scholar, Science Direct, PubMed/Medline, Scopus, CINAHL, and IranMedex were searched from 2001 to 2020 with moral, ethics, intelligence, and nursing keywords. After considering the inclusion and exclusion criteria and removing irrelevant and duplicate articles, 46 texts were reviewed. The method of analysis was inductive content analysis.

The attributes of moral intelligence were identified as considering "individual-social value", "the integrity of feeling, thinking, and action", and "semantic purposefulness". The antecedents included "prepared person", "purposeful selection and upbringing", and "supportive context", and the consequences were "personal and professional development of the nurse", "facilitating holistic care", and "organizational promotion". Based on the attributes of the concept, moral intelligence was defined as: "The cognitive and value-oriented capability of a nurse in managing the problem and conflict resolution process through self-sacrifice and conscious involvement into intra-and-interpersonal relationships to achieve desirable moral and spiritual goals during comprehensive care of the client."

In ethical challenges, moral intelligence may function as a cognitive ability by considering individual-social values. It uses a purposeful problem-solving process that is purposeful, seeks meaning, and guides nurses to improve the quality of health services.

Healthcare professionals working in Intensive Care Units and Emergency Rooms are at higher risk of violence from patients and their families compared to healthcare professionals working in other units. Healthcare professionals skilled in anger management may de-escalate the situation and stop violence from happening in the first place. This study aims to determine the effect of an aggression management program on perceived stress levels of physicians and nurses working in Intensive Care Units and Emergency Rooms.

Methods & Materials:

 A quasi-experimental design with 158 physicians and 172 nurses recruited from nine hospitals in the three major cities in Jordan was used to assess perceived stress levels with the Arabic Version of Perceived Stress Scale (10-Items). Participants answered the questionnaires twice, before and after attending an aggression management program.

Results showed that female healthcare professionals had significantly higher stress levels than males (M=27.33±4.11, M=24.20±3.13; t (328)=2.11, p<0.001). Furthermore, healthcare professionals working in Emergency Rooms reported significantly higher stress levels than those working in Intensive Care Units (M=27.93±4.10, M=24.94±3.03; t (328)=2.04, p<0.001). Additionally, nurses reported significantly higher stress levels compared to physicians (M=28.17±3.92, M=25.20±3.13; t (328)=2.09, p<0.001). There was a strong significant positive relationship between increased stress levels and the number of violent attacks (r=0.73, p<0.001). Most importantly, perceived stress decreased significantly from the pre-intervention level (28.94±3.21) to the post-intervention level (24.20±3.01) (t (229)=2.03, p<0.001).

Policymakers may need to consider offering aggression management programs for all healthcare professionals, especially those working in the Emergency Room. This program should decrease their perceived stress levels reflecting improved patient care, outcomes, and satisfaction.

Chronic low back pain is a common disease among nurses. According to the literature, complementary medicine can reduce low back pain, one of which is craniosacral therapy. This study was designed to investigate the effect of craniosacral therapy on the intensity of chronic back pain of nurses.

Methods & Materials: 

This randomized clinical trial study was conducted on 60 nurses with chronic back pain. The participants were randomly assigned into intervention and control groups. The intervention group’s participants received eight individual sessions of craniosacral therapy. In the control group, a light-touch in the lumbar region was performed as a placebo. The therapist met each participant separately in a private room of the hospital. The two groups completed the McGill Pain Questionnaire at the baseline, immediately after the intervention, and one month after the intervention.  The collected data was analyzed in SPSS (v.16) using descriptive and analytical tests such as t-test, Chi-Square, ANCOVA, and repeated measures ANOVA.

The ANCOVA test results showed a significant difference between the two groups’ mean scores of pain intensity and its subscales (P<0.05). The results of repeated measures ANOVA showed that the mean scores of pain intensity and its subscales (sensory, affective, pain evaluation, and miscellaneous) decreased over the three time points in the intervention group (P<0.05).

The findings affirmed the positive effects of the craniosacral therapy on the intensity of pain in nurses with chronic back pain. Therefore, it is recommended that this approach be performed as a complementary, effective, non-invasive intervention to decrease chronic back pain.

Most mechanically ventilated patients reported decreasing comfort during their treatments, especially in Muslim patients. Nursing comfort care needs to be addressed by integrating the principles of Islamic daily rituals to fulfill the spiritual need and also to promote holistic comfort of Muslim patients with mechanical ventilation. This study aimed to investigate the effect of nursing comfort care integrating with the Islamic daily rituals on comfort among mechanically ventilated Muslim patients.

Methods & Materials: 

A pretest-posttest with a control group design was used. Fifty-six participants recruited from intensive care units of three public hospitals in Indonesia were randomly assigned into either the experimental group (n=28) or control group (n=28) by matching technique based on gender, age, and duration using a ventilator. Those in the experimental group received nursing comfort care developed based on Kolcaba’s Theory of Comfort integrating with the Islamic daily rituals while those in the control group received usual care. Comfort was measured on the first day before receiving the intervention, and on the second day after the intervention was completed by using Comfort Questionnaire for Mechanically Ventilated Patients (CQMVP).

  Data analysis by using an independent t-test found there is no significant difference in data between the experimental group and control group at baseline (t = .134, p .894). The mean comfort score of patients in the experimental group after receiving the intervention was significantly higher than those in the control group (t=6.70, p<.05).  

  Nursing comfort care integrated with Islamic daily rituals increased comfort in Muslim patients while receiving mechanical ventilation. Thus, this nursing comfort care program can be recommended to use in practice.

Hypertension is a prevalent and significant health problem; moreover, lack of treatment adherence can cause precarious complications. The present study aims to determine the effect of education based on Leventhal's model on adherence to treatment and control of blood pressure in patients with hypertension.

Methods & Materials: 

This quasi-experimental study was performed on 59 patients with hypertension in Gonabad in 2020. The participants were selected based on convenience sampling; they were randomly assigned to the intervention and control groups. In addition to the routine treatment for hypertension, the patients in the intervention group received a training program based on Leventhal's model in 45-minute sessions and three times a week. In contrast, the patients in the control group received only the routine treatment for hypertension. A demographic and Hill-Bone Adherence Questionnaires were completed for the participants. Moreover, their blood pressure was recorded using the blood pressure record form. The data were analyzed in SPSS v.22 software, at the significance level of p<0.05.

The two groups were homogeneous in adherence to treatment (P=0.63) before the intervention; yet, there was a substantial difference between the groups once the intervention was implemented (P<0.001). Besides, the average systolic and diastolic blood pressure was not significantly different between the two groups before the intervention. After the intervention, though, the difference was reported significant (p<0.05).

Education based on Leventhal's model caused an improvement in adherence to treatment and reduced blood pressure among patients with hypertension.