International journal of nursing studies
-
Disturbed sleep pattern is a common symptom after head trauma and its prevalence in acute traumatic brain injury (TBI) is less discussed. Sleep has a profound impact on cognitive function recovery and the mediating effect of disturbed sleep on cognitive function recovery has not been examined after acute TBI. ⋯ Poor sleep efficiency, prolonged periods of daytime sleep, and a high prevalence of hypersomnia are common symptoms in acute TBI patients. The duration of daytime sleep mediates the relationship between the severity of brain injury and the recovery of cognition function.
-
Previous literature indicates that biases exist in pain ratings. Healthcare professionals have been found to use patient demographic cues such as sex, race, and age when making decisions about pain treatment. However, there has been little research comparing healthcare professionals' (i.e., physicians and nurses) pain decision policies based on patient demographic cues. ⋯ Results replicated findings of previous studies using virtual human patients to assess the effect of sex, race, and age in pain decision-making. In addition, healthcare professionals' pain ratings differed depending on healthcare profession. Nurses were more likely to rate pain higher and be more willing to administer opioid analgesics than were physicians. Healthcare professionals rated male and African American virtual human patients as having higher pain in most pain assessment and treatment domains compared to their demographic counterparts. Similarly the virtual human-sex difference ratings were more pronounced for nurses than physicians. Given the large number of patients seen throughout the healthcare professionals' careers, these pain practice biases have important public health implications. This study suggests attention to the influence of patient demographic cues in pain management education is needed.
-
To investigate whether the size of the workforce (nurses, doctors and support staff) has an impact on the survival chances of critically ill patients both in the intensive care unit (ICU) and in the hospital. ⋯ This study supports claims that the availability of medical and nursing staff is associated with the survival of critically ill patients and suggests that future studies should focus on the resources of the health care team. The results emphasise the urgent need for a prospective study of staffing levels and the organisation of care in ICUs.
-
Advancing technology allows for successful treatment of children with life-threatening illnesses. Effectively assessing and optimally treating a child's distress during their stay in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) is paramount. Objective measures of distress in mechanically ventilated pediatric patients are increasingly available but few have been evaluated. The objectives of this systematic review were to identify available instruments appropriate for measuring physiological and behavioral cues of pain, non-pain related distress, and adequacy of analgesia and sedation in mechanically ventilated pediatric patients, and evaluate these instruments in terms of their psychometric properties. ⋯ This review provides essential information to guide PICU clinicians in choosing instruments to assess pain, non-pain related distress, and adequacy of analgesia and sedation in mechanically ventilated pediatric patients. Effective knowledge translation is essential in the implementation, adoption, and successful use of these instruments.
-
Randomized Controlled Trial
Effect of nature-based sound therapy on agitation and anxiety in coronary artery bypass graft patients during the weaning of mechanical ventilation: A randomised clinical trial.
Weaning from mechanical ventilation is a frequent nursing activity in critical care. Nature-based sound as a non-pharmacological and nursing intervention effective in other contexts may be an efficient approach to alleviating anxiety, agitation and adverse effects of sedative medication in patients undergoing weaning from mechanical ventilation. ⋯ Nature-based sound can provide an effective method of decreasing potential adverse haemodynamic responses arising from anxiety and agitation in weaning from mechanical ventilation in coronary artery bypass graft patients. Nurses can incorporate this intervention as a non-pharmacological intervention into the daily care of patients undergoing weaning from mechanical ventilation in order to reduce their anxiety and agitation.