Nursing Research and Practice

Aim. To gain knowledge about how district nurses experience changes in working conditions and discuss nursing manager’s responsibility in facilitating working conditions for district nurses following the implementation of everyday coping. Background. To overcome the challenges related to the sustainability of the healthcare sector, everyday coping was implemented in district nursing. The implementation was set by the government and implemented by the municipality. The nursing manager has an overall responsibility to facilitate working conditions so that everyday coping can be applied into district nursing practice. Method. This descriptive and interpretative study involved 19 interviews and 19 observations on 10 nurses. Kvale and Brinkmann’s three levels of understanding were employed in the analysis. Results. Three categories were established based on the results of the data analyses: (i) time and space are not considered, (ii) crossfire of conflicting expectations, and (iii) nursing manager’s commitment to everyday coping. Conclusion. The working conditions of district nurses are not adapted for them to work according to the everyday coping mindset. The nursing manager has a key role in supporting nurses and addressing challenges the nurses meet in their daily work, where everyday coping is implemented. The study highlights the importance for healthcare managers, at various levels in the healthcare sector, to be conscious of the district nursing practice, its complexity, and quality of health services when implementing change. This knowledge is important when planning future healthcare and nursing practice.

Background. With the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, schools and universities were closed, and virtual education replaced face-to-face classes. This learning method was a new and different experience for nursing students. Perceiving their experiences could help improve the quality of medical education. Therefore, the present study aimed to describe nursing students’ experiences of virtual learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and Methods. This study involved qualitative descriptive research that was conducted in 2022. The participants included 25 undergraduate nursing students studying at the School of Nursing and Midwifery in East Guilan in northern Iran who had experienced virtual learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Purposeful sampling was applied until data saturation. Qualitative content analysis with a conventional approach was performed based on the model proposed by Graneheim and Lundman (2004). Coding was performed with MAXQDA 2007 software. Results. The data analysis led to the emergence of 110 primary codes and two main categories entitled “positive experiences” and “negative experiences.” The first main category was “positive experiences” (included 1 subcategory (benefits of virtual learning) with 3 subsubcategories (saving time, saving money, and increasing the possibility of daily planning)). The second main category was “negative experiences” (included 4 subcategories (reducing quality of education, physical effects, psychological effects, and different exams)). Conclusion. Nursing students had both positive and negative experiences with virtual learning during the COVID-19 pandemic and were facing multiple educational challenges. The findings of this study could be considered by managers and relevant officials in educational planning to improve the quality of nursing education.

Background. Bedside nursing handover is a recognized nursing practice that involves conducting shift change communication at the patient’s bedside to enhance communication safety. Understanding the perceptions of both patients and nurses regarding bedside handover is crucial in identifying the key principles for developing and implementing effective bedside handover protocols. However, there is currently a lack of comprehensive evidence that summarizes and evaluates studies focused on qualitative approaches for gaining insights into the perceptions of both nurses and patients. Purpose. This meta-synthesis review aims to identify, synthesize, and evaluate the quality of primary qualitative studies on the perceptions of patients and nurses about bedside nursing handover. Methods. A meta-synthesis review was conducted to identify qualitative studies that reported patients and nurses’ perceptions about bedside handover using seven electronic databases, including CINAHL, PsycINFO, Embase, Education Database (ProQuest), Web of Science, The Cochrane Library, and PubMed, from January 2013 to November 2023. The authors independently selected reviews, extracted data, and evaluated the quality of included studies using the 10-item JBI Qualitative Assessment and Review Instrument tool. Results. A total of 871 articles were retrieved, of which 13 met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. These studies identified three main themes: (1) facilitators of bedside nursing handover, (2) barriers to bedside nursing handover, and (3) strategies to maintain confidentiality during bedside handover. Conclusion. This study systematically reviewed and integrated the perceptions of patients and nurses about bedside handover. Based on nurses’ perceptions, the combined findings highlight the facilitators of bedside handover, including developing partnership interaction between nurses and patients, promoting professionalism, and enhancing emotional communication among nurses. From the patients’ viewpoint, the synthesized findings emphasize the facilitators of bedside handover, including acknowledging the expertise, professionalism, and humanity of the nursing profession, ensuring a sense of safety, satisfaction, and confidence in the care received, as well as promoting individualized nursing care. In the context of barriers to bedside handover, both nurses and patients perceive breaches of confidentiality and privacy violations as significant barriers. When it comes to maintaining confidentiality during bedside handovers, it is important to consider patients’ preferences. Patients often prefer handovers to take place in a private setting. From the nurses’ perspective, it is important to inquire with patients about their preference for the presence of caregivers, and to conduct private handovers for sensitive issues away from the bedside. Relevance to Clinical Practice. Clinicians should carefully evaluate the barriers and facilitators in this meta-synthesis prior to implementing bedside handover. Study Registration. This study is registered in PROSPERO with Protocol registration ID: CRD42024514615.

HIV self-testing (HIVST) holds promise for accessing hard-to-reach populations by overcoming sociocultural and structural barriers to awareness of HIV status. This phenomenological qualitative study explored the experiences and perspectives of married men in Kano, northern Nigeria, regarding HIV testing and counseling (HTC) and HIVST. Twenty married men from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds participated in in-depth interviews conducted in the local language. Thematic analysis was employed to analyze the data, yielding key themes related to prior test experiences, knowledge of self-testing, and perceived ease of use, in addition to motivation for self-testing and concerns about reliability and counseling support. The findings shed light on the impact of facility-based HIV testing experiences on the perspectives of participants. Concerns related to delays, overcrowding, discomfort, fear, and unsupportive attitudes from healthcare providers influenced their perceptions. Among persons with previous self-testing experience, initial uneasiness was overcome with repeated use, highlighting the ease of use associated with HIVST. Motivations for self-testing included privacy, convenience, personal empowerment, improved infection detection, and efficiency. Concerns were raised regarding the reliability of self-testing results compared to hospital-based testing, and the absence of counseling support during self-testing. Our findings underscore the need to address infrastructural limitations, enhance counseling support, and promote awareness and knowledge of HIVST.

Current literature acknowledges that undergraduate students undertaking programmes in medicine, nursing, and allied health professions experience occupational stress which presents as a detriment to mental health, psychological wellbeing (PWB), and burnout. Strategies to improve the wellbeing of students have been slow to embed and have had limited impact, indeed the issue of declining wellbeing amongst this group is escalating. Studies from the business literature suggest that organisations that foster a playful environment reap benefits in terms of employee wellbeing. This interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) study explored the lived experiences of play amongst undergraduate students from medicine, nursing, and allied health professions’ programmes in the clinical practice setting. The resultant findings offer some unique empirical insights into the types of play that the students engaged in, ranging from informal banter with peers and patients to artful, sophisticated, cocreated play. The study also revealed insights about the factors which facilitate play, notably the “big personalities” on the ward. The factors which limited play are related to the tension between being a health professional and the enactment of play as well as hierarchical factors. Crucially, the study found that the practice of play induced key hedonic and eudaimonic PWB benefits to the students, ranging from positive affect to improved relationships, a sense of meaning, and a positive learning environment, offering original empirical insights. These findings have not been observed previously and shine a conceptual light on a previously unknown phenomenon.

Background. Childhood cancer affects families and friends and causes lifestyle changes that become overwhelming for them. Childhood cancer may cause decreased physical, emotional, and social health-related quality of life (QOL). Childhood cancer may cause strain on the financial status of the family and shape their coping strategy to the disease. The extent of the impact of childhood cancer on families is associated with several demographic characteristics of the family such as diagnosis, phase of treatment, and parent’s educational level, employment, and marital status of the parents. Objectives. The objective of this study was to explore the impact of childhood cancer on family functioning and family quality of life (QOL) in the Western Region of Saudi Arabia. Methods. This study was a quantitative, randomized, cross-sectional study. 187 participants were randomly selected from the population of parents whose children have cancer and treated at Princess Noorah Oncology Center in King Abdulaziz Medical City, Jeddah. A survey was used to collect data for this study. Healthcare and social systems may have to consider the impact of childhood cancer in the care plans of the patients. Result. Leukemia represents the highest disease prevalence followed by brain tumor. The highest score of the impact on the family survey was familial social concerns domains followed by financial burden with mean scores of 3.59 (98.8%) and 3.56 (98.0%), respectively. Then, mastery domain mean score is 3.43 (85.8%) and finally personal strain with mean score of 3.21 (980.3%). The QOL of the family results indicated that the highest was physical/material well-being with mean score of 3.84 (76.8%) and family interaction with mean score of 3.82 (76.4%), followed by emotional well-being with mean score of 3.54 (70.8%) and parenting with mean score of 3.53 (70.6.%). Significant differences were found between the overall scales of QOL and the scale of impact on the family and some demographic characteristics of children and their parents. Conclusions. Childhood cancer has a substantial effect on family functioning and the family’s QOL. In addition, both were significantly associated with some demographic characteristics of the child and his parents.