Journal of evaluation in clinical practice
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Recognising and responding swiftly to patient deterioration is critical for preventing adverse events. Junior nurses play a vital role in identifying the signs of clinical deterioration and initiating interventions. No prior studies have assessed junior nurses' abilities to manage clinical deterioration in Malawi. ⋯ This study highlights the need for specialised training programmes related to clinical deterioration that incorporate active learning, such as clinical scenarios and practical applications, along with mentorship initiatives to enhance junior nurses' skills and confidence in recognising and responding to clinical deterioration.
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Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) are widely used for assessing clinical competence, especially in high-stakes environments such as medical licensure. However, the reuse of OSCE cases across multiple administrations raises concerns about parameter stability, known as item parameter drift (IPD). AIMS & OBJECTIVES: This study aims to investigate IPD in reused OSCE cases while accounting for examiner scoring effects using a Many-facet Rasch Measurement (MFRM) model. ⋯ These findings suggest that while OSCE cases demonstrate sufficient stability for reuse, continuous monitoring is essential to ensure the accuracy of score interpretations and decisions. The study provides an objective threshold for detecting concerning levels of IPD and underscores the importance of addressing examiner scoring effects in OSCE assessments. The MFRM model offers a robust framework for tracking and mitigating IPD, contributing to the validity and reliability of OSCEs in evaluating clinical competence.
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This study was conducted to determine the effect of nurses' attitudes towards evidence-based practices on individualised nursing care. ⋯ Positive attitude towards evidence-based nursing practices positively affects individualised care. Variables such as professional experience positively affect nurses' attitudes towards evidence-based nursing. A positive and significant relationship was found between nurses' attitudes towards evidence-based practice and their attitudes towards individualised care.
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Observational Study
Effect of a Contamination Prevention Activity Against Contamination of Blood Culture.
Blood culture is important in the diagnosis of blood infections and the identification of treatment strategies. Increased contamination in blood culture is a reduction in quality of care. This retrospective observational study, set in an emergency department in Japan, aims to elucidate the contamination rate before and after the introduction of contamination prevention activities. ⋯ Prevention activities including specific use of a blood culture cart and careful adherence to a checklist were not associated with a significant decrease in contamination rate in our hospital. Further studies based in hospitals with greater rates of contamination may see higher rates of reduction.
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Cancer patients experience substantial psychological distress which causes the reduction of the quality of life. However, the risk of psychological distress has not been well predicted especially in young- and middle-aged gynaecological cancer patients. This study aimed to develop a prediction model for psychological distress in young- and middle-aged gynaecological cancer patients using the artificial neural network (ANN). ⋯ Compared with the LR model, the ANN model shows obvious superiority across all assessment index outcomes, and it may be used as a decision-support tool for early identification of young- and middle-aged gynaecological cancer patients suffering from psychological distress.