International journal of nursing studies
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Review Meta Analysis
Effects of early mobilization on the prognosis of critically ill patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Early mobilization is considered a safe and effective therapeutic strategy for accelerating the rehabilitation of patients admitted to the intensive care unit, with a proven benefit for critically ill patients. ⋯ Early mobilization was effective in enhancing the recovery of critically ill patients, but more large-scale, multicenter randomized controlled trials are required to further confirm these findings.
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New graduate nurses' competence is a concern for all healthcare organizations. Previous reports show heterogeneous levels of competency amongst them. As a positive association between competency and quality of care in clinical settings has been suggested, it is essential for researchers and clinicians to select valid, reliable, and responsive scales to assess new nurses' competence. However, a systematic evaluation of the measurement properties of scales measuring new nurses' competence had yet to be published. ⋯ There is little evidence on the measurement properties for each scale regarding their validity and reliability; responsiveness was not assessed for any scale. Every scale evaluated in this review had different characteristics (length, subscales, response options). Therefore, selection of the most appropriate scale depends on the context and purpose of the assessment. Prospero registration number: CRD42018109711 Tweetable Abstract: Systematic review of scales measuring new nurses' competence: we must do better and conduct more validity/reliability testing of existing scales.
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The pandemic of COVID-19 is growing, and a shortage of masks and respirators has been reported globally. Policies of health organizations for healthcare workers are inconsistent, with a change in policy in the US for universal face mask use. The aim of this study was to review the evidence around the efficacy of masks and respirators for healthcare workers, sick patients and the general public. ⋯ The study suggests that community mask use by well people could be beneficial, particularly for COVID-19, where transmission may be pre-symptomatic. The studies of masks as source control also suggest a benefit, and may be important during the COVID-19 pandemic in universal community face mask use as well as in health care settings. Trials in healthcare workers support the use of respirators continuously during a shift. This may prevent health worker infections and deaths from COVID-19, as aerosolisation in the hospital setting has been documented.
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The concept of prefrailty lacks clarity. Often, prefrailty is defined in relation to frailty and less often as a distinct concept. Theoretical evidence for prefrailty is minimal unlike frailty, which has been examined for decades although consensus about how to measure frailty has not been achieved. ⋯ As a result of conducting this concept analysis, we found that prefrailty was defined as a clinically silent process that predisposes individuals to frailty. Prefrailty, as a concept, was derived from the Fried's operational definition for frailty. Attributes, antecedents, consequences, and related terms will help clinicians consider how prefrailty presents in older adults separate from frailty. Further research is needed to build upon our understanding from this concept analysis. Tweetable Abstract: Prefrailty is unclear as a concept - Research on sociodemographic characteristics of older adults living with frailty will help clarify.
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Pharmacological interventions for sleep (analgesic, sedative and hypnotic agents) can both disrupt and induce sleep and have many negative side effects within the intensive care population. The use of complementary and alternative medicine therapies to assist with sleep has been studied but given the variety of modalities and methodological limitations no reliable conclusions have been drawn. ⋯ Complementary and alternative medicine interventions, in particular, melatonin and music, have shown promise for improving sleep in adults with critical conditions; however, further research that addresses the limitations of small sample sizes and improved techniques for measuring sleep is needed.