Journal of nursing care quality
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Are deaths that occur in critical care expected or unexpected? The objective was to illustrate the incidence of deaths in adult critical care units. We also wanted to discover if our patient population fit the norm of those who die in these units in the United States. ⋯ Patients had an average of 3.3 comorbidities. Greater public knowledge about advance care planning is needed and must include education about the full range of options in end-of-life care.
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Quality improvement programs based on guidelines should change practice and reduce intraindividual and interindividual variations as well as variations between groups of caregivers. We analyzed a quality improvement program in 3 groups of caregivers. ⋯ This harmonization was achieved only during the last consolidation period. The analysis of practice could identify the quality of the implementation process and the group on which attention should be focused when such a quality improvement program is undertaken.
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Having reliable and valid instruments is a necessity for nurses and others measuring concepts such as patient satisfaction. The purpose of this article is to describe the use of convergence to test the construct validity of the Davis Consumer Emergency Care Satisfaction Scale (CECSS). Results indicate convergence of the CECSS with the Risser Patient Satisfaction Scale and 2 single-item visual analogue scales, therefore supporting construct validity. Persons measuring patient satisfaction with nurse behaviors in the emergency department can confidently use the CECSS.
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Research on continuous lateral rotational therapy (CLRT) has demonstrated mixed results, but there have been definite benefits described in its use for the prevention and treatment of nosocomial and ventilator-acquired pneumonia. Several studies have shown decreased hospital and intensive care unit costs and lengths of stay, and ventilator days when used appropriately. The intent of this study was to develop a protocol for initiating and discontinuing CLRT and to determine if the protocol would result in more effective and efficient use of this therapy.