International journal of nursing studies
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Western countries have encountered an increase in elderly patients transferred from residential aged care facilities to emergency departments. This patient cohort frequently experiences impaired physical and cognitive function. Emergency department staff require important clinical and personal patient information to provide quality care. International studies show that documentation and handover deficiencies are common. ⋯ This paper identifies frequent communication deficits in the information provided to the emergency department from aged care facilities. There is an imperative to identify suitable items of information which health care professionals agree are essential. Future research should focus on methods to improve the transfer of information between facilities, including consensus regarding what information is essential transfer data.
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Blind placement of a nasogastric feeding tube is a common nursing procedure. Confirmation of the correct position in the stomach is warranted to avoid serious complications such as misplacement in the lung. Testing pH of aspirate from a tube is one of the techniques to confirm the tip position. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the auscultatory method and pH measurement with a pH cut-off point of 5.5 after tube insertion and to compare this with the 'gold standard': an abdominal X-ray. Also the feasibility of the pH method was evaluated. ⋯ A pH of ≤ 5.5 from tube aspirate is adequate to check the position of the tube in the stomach. Additional measures improve the success to obtain an aspirate from the tube. The auscultatory method is unreliable.
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Various staffing measures have been used in examining the relationship between nurse staffing and patient outcomes. Little research has been conducted to compare these measures based on their explanatory power as predictors of nursing-sensitive outcomes. In this study, both administrative and nurse-reported measures were examined. Administrative measures included registered nurse (RN) skill mix and three versions of nursing hours per patient day (HPPD); nurse-reported measures included RN-reported number of assigned patients and RN-perceived staffing adequacy. ⋯ Although RN-perceived staffing adequacy was not highly correlated with administrative measures of HPPD and RN skill mix, it was the strongest predictor of UAPU occurrences. RN-perceived staffing adequacy can serve as a more appropriate measure of staffing for nursing-sensitive outcomes research than administrative measures, as it reflects relevant aspects of staffing and involves an implicit adjustment for patient acuity.