ABSTRACT
Nurses are imperative for healthcare systems' ability to effectively function during pandemics, yet multiple factors may affect their willingness and preparedness to work. The aim of the present cross-sectional survey was to identify factors associated with registered nurses' (RN) willingness and preparedness to work during the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. The study was reported following the STROBE guidelines. A total of 358 nurses completed a self-administered online questionnaire. The participants were a part of a COVID-19 task force at a Danish university hospital during spring 2020. The results showed that the majority of RNs felt a professional obligation to engage in clinical work during the pandemic;however, their willingness and preparedness to work were affected by multiple factors, such as being relocated voluntarily, being prepared for the task and feeling safe. This study highlights that these factors are essential for the hospital management and nurse leaders to take responsibility for. © The Author(s) 2023.
ABSTRACT
COVID-19 restrictions prevented relatives from visiting and accompanying patients to hospital and required that nurses wore personal protective equipment. These changes affected patients’ relationships with relatives and challenged their ability to connect with nurses. Individual, semi-structured interviews with 15 patients were carried out to explore patients’ experiences of their relationships with relatives and their collaboration with nurses during in- and outpatient contacts in non-COVID-19 hospital wards. The analysis of data was guided by phenomenological hermeneutic frame of reference and the study was reported according to the COREQ checklist. The findings illustrated that patients felt lonely and insecure when separated from relatives, caught between relatives and professionals during information exchange, and experienced the absence of relatives as both beneficial and burdening. Visitor restrictions provided patients with time to heal but prevented provision of informal care. Patients had to take responsibility for maintaining contact with relatives independent of their health condition. COVID-19 restrictions created distance with nurses, which potentially led to insufficient physical and psychosocial care. © The Author(s) 2022.
ABSTRACT
The Covid-19 pandemic has caused elevated levels of stress, anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress. Health care staff work daily in an environment where they are exposed to varying degrees of agitation and anxiety. This requires perseverance and a high degree of motivation and concentration. This study aimed to meet such diverse challenges by supporting citizens and staff through Covid-19 vaccine procedures in the Spring of 2021 through the utilization of background music. A curated playlist was developed in collaboration with health care and medical staff. Observation data was collected on three days with music and on three days without music with a total of 699 citizens and 39 employees participating. Analysis of data indicated how background music in connection with vaccination may have a positive effect on citizens and staff, especially in terms of citizens’experience of waiting time, of mood, of sound environment in the vaccination hall, as well as staff experience of contact with citizens and in cooperation with colleagues. Implementing curated playlists requires professional expertise to maximize potential benefits, as background music also can have negative effects. The involvement of staff is essential in addressing ethical aspects, as they need to be fully informed about background music and its appropriate usage. © 2022, International Association for Music and Medicine (IAMM). All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
In order to address the main challenges related to the rare diseases (RDs) the European Commission launched the European Reference Networks (ERNs), virtual networks involving healthcare providers (HCPs) across Europe. The mission of the ERNs is to tackle low prevalence and RDs that require highly specialised treatment and a concentration of knowledge and resources. In fact, ERNs offer the potential to give patients and healthcare professionals across the EU access to the best expertise and timely exchange of lifesaving knowledge, trying to make the knowledge travelling more than patients. For this reason, ERNs were established as concrete European infrastructures, and this is particularly crucial in the framework of rare and complex diseases in which no country alone has the whole knowledge and capacity to treat all types of patients. It has been five years since their kick-off launch in Vilnius in 2017. The 24 ERNs have been intensively working on different transversal areas, including patient management, education, clinical practice guidelines, patients' care pathways and many other fundamental topics. The present work is therefore aimed not only at reporting a summary of the main activities and milestones reached so far, but also at celebrating the first 5 years of the ERN on Rare and Complex Connective Tissue and Musculo-skeletal Diseases (ReCONNET), in which the members of the network built together one of the 24 infrastructures that are hopefully going to change the scenario of rare diseases across the EU.
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Telehealth is purported to be the wave of the future, offering improved access to care by overcoming geographical and other logistical challenges while simultaneously improving efficiencies within the healthcare system. As the global COVID-19 pandemic swept through our state, we were abruptly forced to take our burn clinic to a telehealth platform for most patients. The purpose of this study was to evaluate our experience with telehealth in managing burn wounds and other complex skin defects. Methods: A 16-item survey was developed using the framework outlined by the National Quality Forum for the development of telehealth measures. The survey was distributed to direct care providers and focused on the domains of experience and effectiveness and the subdomains of efficiency and satisfaction. Results: There were a total of 14 respondents, including physicians, allied healthcare professionals, therapists and nurses. Seventy-seven percent of participants felt that overall, the system was efficient in the 4 categories of time required for scheduling, check-in, visit conduct and care coordination. Telehealth was deemed moderately to very effective by 80% in providing the patient access to care and the provider's ability to educate the patient. However, providers, therapists and nurses uniformly found telehealth to be either not at all effective or slightly effective in assessing wounds, musculoskeletal function and developing a plan of care. When rating satisfaction with connectivity and overall quality of the clinic visit 70% of respondents were either dissatisfied/neither satisfied nor dissatisfied with the platform. Conclusions: The operational aspects of our burn clinic telehealth program implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic were found to be largely satisfactory, with the exception of connectivity issues. However, the clinical aspects of the program were found to be largely unsatisfactory and, notably, were judged to be inferior to in-person visits.