Presenteeism levels among Italian nurses. A multicentric survey.

BACKGROUND: Presenteeism represents the need to "get to work although we feel sick"; thus, affecting the quality of work, leading to errors or omissions, reducing productivity and increasing costs. Nurses are among the job categories with the highest degree of Presenteeism, which may negatively affect work quality. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To assess the prevalence of Presenteeism among Italian nurses. METHODS: A cross-sectional, multicentric study was carried out from January to December 2015 in a sample of Italian nurses. A total of 652 nurses completed the questionnaire. The mean Stanford Presenteeism Scale (SPS-6) total score was 21.6 (±4.0). Nurses showed high Presenteeism levels when considering the "Avoiding distractions" and "Completing work" sections of the Scale. RESULTS: Male nurses showed a lower degree of Presenteeism than women, which also tended to be less severe with increasing age. The presence of ≥1 self-reported health problem was associated with an increase in the score. CONCLUSIONS: In line with previous studies performed outside Italy, Presenteeism appear to be a widespread condition also among Italian nurses, requiring appropriate treatment and recognition by healthcare providers. The results of this survey might be used as a minimum, most likely underestimated basis for targeted public health policies.

Italian Nurses' Attitudes Towards Neonatal Palliative Care: A Cross-Sectional Survey.

PURPOSE: Neonatal palliative care becomes an option for critically ill neonates when death is inevitable. Assessing nurses' attitudes towards, barriers to, and facilitators of neonatal palliative care is essential to delivering effective nursing care. METHODS: This study was conducted from January to September 2015 and involved Italian nurses employed in Level III neonatal intensive care units in 14 hospitals in northern, central, and southern Italy. A modified version of the Neonatal Palliative Care Attitudes Scale (NiPCAS) was adopted to assess nurses' attitudes. FINDINGS: A total of 347 neonatal nurses filled out the questionnaire. The majority were female (87.6%), with a mean age of 40.38 (±8.3) years. The mean score in the "organization" factor was 2.71 (±0.96). The "resources" factor had a mean score of 2.44 (±1.00), while the "clinician" factor had a mean score of 3.36 (±0.90), indicating the main barriers to and facilitators of implementing palliative nursing care. CONCLUSIONS: Italian neonatal nurses may face different obstacles to delivering neonatal palliative care and to improve their attitudes in this field. In the Italian context, no facilitators of, only barriers to, palliative care delivery were identified. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Nurses' attitudes towards neonatal palliative care are essential to supporting nurses, who are constantly exposed to the emotional and moral distress connected with this field of end-of-life nursing care.

Attitudes Towards and Knowledge About Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Patients Among Italian Nurses: An Observational Study.

PURPOSE: To assess Italian nurses' knowledge and attitudes towards gay and lesbian sexual orientation and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) patients, as there is currently no literature exploring the attitudes of nurses in Italy. METHODS: A multicenter, cross-sectional study was conducted between May 2015 to January 2016, using a data collection tool composed of three validated questionnaires and a sociodemographic form. FINDINGS: Eight hundred twenty-four nurses filled out the questionnaire. Despite their awareness of homosexuality as a "natural expression of one's sexuality," Italian nurses showed only moderately positive attitudes towards lesbian and gay patients. A more positive attitude was displayed by women when compared with men (p < .001). Greater knowledge of homosexuality was associated with female gender (p = .042), moderate-wing political affiliation (p = .014), and more affirmative behaviors (p = .008). Men were found to have greater awareness of being prepared to care for LGBT people (p = .022). CONCLUSIONS: Although Italian nurses displayed moderately positive attitudes and affirmative behaviors, there is the need to increase their cultural competencies regarding sexual minorities. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: LGBT patients feel some discomfort in approaching physicians or nurses. It is important to know nurses' attitudes in caring for LGBT patients in order to modify inappropriate and discriminatory behaviors.

The Experience of Family Caregivers of Patients With a Left Ventricular Assist Device: An Integrative Review.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this review is to understand the experience of caregivers of patients with left ventricular assist device (LVAD) and to evaluate how health professionals can support them properly. BACKGROUND: Left ventricular assist device can improve quality of life, enhance functional status, and prolong survival in patients with advanced heart failure. Nonetheless, LVAD can adversely influence quality of life for their family caregivers. METHODS: An integrative literature review was conducted using scientific databases between January to March 2015. RESULTS: A total of 15 studies are included in the final review. Three major themes emerged "emotional distress," "responsibility," and "coping strategies" that characterize family caregivers' experiences with care of patients with LVAD. CONCLUSION: Health care providers should understand the pivotal role of caregivers in promoting and maintaining patients' well-being and be able to help the caregiver to moderate the impact being overloaded. Research should be addressed to create interventions that motivate the caregivers to engage in activities that promote their health.

Validation of the Italian version of the Stanford Presenteeism Scale in nurses.

AIMS: To ascertain the validity and reliability of the Italian version of the Stanford Presenteeism Scale (SPS-6). BACKGROUND: Presenteeism has been associated with a work productivity reduction, a lower quality of work and an increased risk of developing health disorders. It is particularly high among nurses and needs valid tools to be assessed. METHODS: A validation study was carried out from July to September 2014. A three-section tool, made of a demographic form, the Stanford Presenteeism Scale (SPS-6) and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) was administered to a sample of nurses, enrolled in three Italian hospitals. RESULTS: Cronbach's α for the entire sample (229 nurses) was found to be 0.72. A significant negative correlation between SPS and perceived stress scores evidenced the external validity. The factor analysis showed a two-component solution, accounting for 71.2% of the variance. The confirmatory factor analysis showed an adequate fit. CONCLUSION: The Italian SPS-6 is a valid and reliable tool for workplace surveys. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Since the validity and reliability of SPS-6 has been confirmed for the Italian version, we have now a valid tool that can measure the levels of presenteeism among Italian nurses.

Cultural Competence Among Italian Nurses: A Multicentric Survey.

PURPOSE: To assess Italian nurses' cultural competence, as they are increasingly called upon to care for people of foreign origins. DESIGN: A cross-sectional, multicentric study. METHODS: From September 2013 to May 2014, a survey was carried out among Italian nurses. Cultural competence was assessed by the Cultural Competence Assessment tool, translated and adapted to the Italian context. FINDINGS: Nurses who completed the survey numbered 1,432; 70.6% were female; 42.6% ranged in age from 41 to 50 years; and 50.0% were bachelor's prepared. More than 50% had participated in some kind of cultural diversity training. Overall, cultural competence was moderate, showing a moderately high level of cultural awareness and sensitivity (mean = 5.41; SD = 0.66) and a moderate level of culturally competent behaviors (mean = 4.33; SD = 1.10). CONCLUSIONS: Although Italian nurses' cultural competence was acceptable, given the growing diversity of the patient population, nurses should be better prepared to face the changing health requests. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Providing culturally competent care has been associated with improved provider-client communication, higher satisfaction with care, and health status improvement, as full comprehension of health status, adherence to medications and lifestyle recommendations, and appropriate utilization of the health system. Healthcare providers need to be adequately trained to provide culturally competent care. This research provides, for the first time, a report on Italian nurses' levels of cultural competence, and strengthens the current literature underlining the need for continuous education to enhance cultural competence among nurses.