The Relationship between Self-Efficacy of Older Patients and Caregiver Burden in Turkey.

Many factors affect the caregiver burden. However, there is no clear information about whether older patients' self-efficacy levels affect the caregiver burden. This study was carried out to determine the relationship between the self-efficacy of older patients and the caregiver burden in Turkey. This cross-sectional and correlational study was conducted at a university hospital with a sample of patients and their family caregivers. The population of the study consisted of 163 older patients and their caregivers. Data were collected using the demographic data form, Self-Efficacy Scale, and Burden Interview. The self-efficacy of older patients was found to be the strongest predictor of the caregiver burden. Other significant predictors of the caregiver burden were the caregiver's degree of kinship with the patient, marital status of the caregiver, and the patient's duration of illness. This study determined that the predictor variables explained 28% of the total variance. The addition of applications that increase patient self-efficacy to the scope of the programs aimed at reducing the caregiver burden will increase the effectiveness of the programs.

Validity, internal consistency, and responsiveness of the Turkish version of The Family Needs Questionnaire-Revised.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to conduct validity (language, content and confirmatory factor), internal consistency and responsiveness properties for Turkish version of the Family Needs Questionnaire-Revised (FNQ-R). METHODS: It was carried out with 185 family members who met study inclusion criteria and provided care for the patients with TBI. Sociodemographic characteristics form and the FNQ-R were used as data collection tools. Validity was assessed by language validity, content validity and confirmatory factor analysis. Internal consistency and item-total correlation were used for reliability analysis. Responsiveness analyses were evaluated with infit and outfit statistics, person-item maps and point biserial correlation. RESULTS: The language validity of FNQ-R was provided by translation-back translation. The content validity index values were above 0.80. Fit indices were at an acceptable level in confirmatory factor analysis. Cronbach alpha of subscales was found to be between 0.69 and 0.85 and Spearman-Brown split-half reliability was between 0.68 and 0.85. A positive and significant relationship was found between the subscales. The item fit statistics were at the acceptable level. CONCLUSION: It has been determined that the FNQ-R is a valid and reliable measurement tool to identify the needs of the family members who provide care to patient with traumatic brain injury and can be used for Turkish population.

Being overweight or obese during pregnancy: a qualitative study.

OBJECTIVE: The objectice of this study was to reveal difficulties, coping and expectations of overweight/obese women during pregnancy. METHODS: A descriptive, phenomenological approach was used. Fourteen pregnant women having a body mass index of 25 or over 25. RESULTS: The findings were presented under three themes: difficulties experienced, coping and expectations. The women had physical difficulties and their daily life was affected negatively. They experienced stigmatization, humiliation and uncertainty about how much they had to eat during pregnancy. Therefore, they were upset and unhappy. Some women denied that they were overweight and some women considered being overweight as normal due to pregnancy. Social support plays an important part in coping with difficulties; however, some women could not get sufficient social support. The women also expected to be treated tolerantly. CONCLUSION: Overweight/obese women try to overcome many physical and psychological problems due to their weight during pregnancy, but they do not receive adequate support.

Predictor of self-efficacy in individuals with chronic disease: Stress-coping strategies.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: This study aims to investigate the relationship between stress-coping strategies of individuals with chronic diseases and their self-efficacy. BACKGROUND: Self-efficacy and coping with stress in chronic diseases affect the course of the disease. DESIGN: The sample of this methodological study consisted of 178 patients who were hospitalised in a university hospital between November 2017 and November 2018. METHODS: Data were collected by the face-to-face interview method using a Patient Information Form, Stress-Coping Styles Scale and Self-Efficacy Scale. This study followed STROBE checklist for cross-sectional studies. RESULTS: The study found that there was a strong relationship between patients' coping strategies and their self-efficacies and that the variables that predict self-efficacy in order of importance were self-confident approach (ß = .41), the helpless approach (ß = -0.24) and the submissive approach (ß = -0.15), respectively. The study also found that the optimistic approach and the seeking social support approach had no significant contribution to the model. CONCLUSIONS: The most important predictor of self-efficacy in individuals with chronic disease was the self-confident approach, which was one of the problem-oriented coping strategies. Therefore, patients should be taught to use effective methods to cope with stress to increase their self-efficacy, and their self-confidence should be supported. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: In individuals with chronic disease, self-efficacy has an important role to get better psycho-social adaptation. To determine patients' self-efficacy levels and predictors will guide nursing initiatives.

Determination of the characteristics and outcomes of the palliative care patients admitted to the emergency department.

OBJECTIVES: Terminally ill patients in need of palliative care present to emergency departments. This study aims to identify the usage level of the emergency departments by patients in need of palliative care, along with their experienced symptoms, preferences, needs, and the subsequent initiatives taken for symptom management. METHODS: The study was designed as a cross-sectional study and conducted with a group of 208 patients. The Patient Information Form, the Form of the Criteria for Receiving Palliative Care, and the Karnofsky Performance Scale were used for data collection. RESULTS: This report founda thatcancer patients were the most frequent users of emergency facilities within palliative care patient groups and more than half of those hospitalized patients were subsequently admitted to intensive care units. Patients with poorer functional conditions and in need of further palliative care preferred home care rather than receiving Advanced Cardiac Life Support. CONCLUSION: This study displays evidence that palliative care patients with a poorer functional condition in need of further palliative care should be able to spend the last days of their lives at home with their families rather than in the exhausting and crowded environment of the emergency departments. Furthermore, healthcare policymakers should actively support palliative care as well as taking the necessary actions to mitigate the burden placed on hospital resources.

Coping measurement: Creating short form of Coping and Adaptation Processing Scale using item response theory and patients dealing with chronic and acute health conditions.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to enhance the CAPS tool by clarifying the concept of coping, using item response theory (IRT) to shorten and assess the metric equivalence of the scale, and testing the preliminary validity of the resulting shortened scale. METHODS: A descriptive design of participants from different ethnic backgrounds was employed (USA n = 347 and Panama n = 327). To select items for the shortened CAPS, a well-established multi-step process grounded in IRT was used. Further, a coping ladder was created to approximate the a priori perceived location/difficulty of each item along the coping trait scale. Items for the shortened scale were selected based on considerations central to the middle range theory of coping and adaptation processing and the results of the item calibration and model testing. RESULTS: A total of 15 items were selected. The selected items were well distributed on the coping ladder and all basic subconcepts of the middle range theory were included. Further the sum of the DIF size for the selected short form items is − 0.01, so the overall bias of the total score is minimal. Finally, concurrent and divergent validity of the new scale was demonstrated in two separate correlational studies. CONCLUSION: The 15-item Coping and Adaptation Processing Scale (CAPS)--Short-Form can be a practical tool to effectively and efficiently measure coping and adaptation in both practice and research for people dealing with both chronic and acute health conditions.

Theory-guided interventions for adaptation to heart failure.

AIM: This paper is a report of a study to examine the effects of a Roy Adaptation Model-based experimental education, exercise and social support programme on adaptation in persons with heart failure. BACKGROUND: In the past 20 years, a large number of studies have evaluated heart failure. Several studies of other chronic diseases have been based on the Roy Adaptation Model and show that this approach is useful in promoting adaptation for patients. METHOD: A randomized, parallel, controlled clinical trial was conducted in 2005 with 43 patients (21 intervention and 22 control patients). A booklet for patient training was given to those in the intervention group. Participants received a patient identification form, assessment form for physiological data, the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire, Interpersonal Support Evaluation List and the 6-Minute Walk Test. RESULTS: Patients in the intervention group adapted well to their condition and the four adaptive modes of Roy Adaptation Model were interrelated. Patients' quality of life was enhanced, their functional capacities increased and social support within the interdependence dimension improved in patients in the intervention group. CONCLUSION: This is the first study to use the Roy Adaptation Model in a study of patients with heart failure. Roy's model is an effective guide for nursing practice when caring for patients with heart failure.

Self-care agency and factors related to this agency among patients with hypertension.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to assess the self-care agency and factors regarding this agency among patients with hypertensions. DESIGN: This study, descriptive, analytical and cross-sectional in nature, was conducted to evaluate the self-care agency of 120 hypertensive patients at the Cardiology and Internal Diseases Polyclinic of University of Ege, Faculty of Medicine; izmir Atatürk State Hospital; University of Selçuk, Faculty of Medicine; and Karaman State Hospital between July and August 2003. METHODS: The data were collected by using the self-care agency scale and a questionnaire designed to determine the socio demographic features, and evaluated by means of percentage calculation and chi-square tests. RESULTS: The mean self-care agency rate of the patients in general was moderate. It was determined that educational situation and social insurance affected self-care. CONCLUSION: Self-care agency and health are related to economic, social and educational factors. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Data obtained could be used for policy formulation, health planning, outcome evaluation of instruments, better health education strategies and, ultimately, to demonstrate the worth of nursing in the marketplace.