Swedish stakeholders' views of the preparatory work needed before introducing the nurse practitioner role in municipal healthcare-A focus group study.

BACKGROUND: The nurse practitioner role has become important globally in handling the growing healthcare needs of older adults with chronic diseases. Nevertheless, research shows that introducing the role is a complex process, and more studies are needed to prepare for its introduction into different healthcare contexts, such as municipal healthcare. AIM: The aim is to investigate what Swedish stakeholders identify as the preparatory work needed before introducing the nurse practitioner role into municipal healthcare. METHODS: Data were collected through four focus group interviews conducted virtually on the TEAMS digital platform, with three to six participants in each group and 18 participants total. The transcribed interviews were analysed using a six-step thematic approach: familiarisation with the data, coding the data, generating initial themes, reviewing themes, defining and naming the themes and producing the report. FINDINGS: The findings are divided into two main themes, each with two sub-themes. In the first, clarifying why the nurse practitioner role is needed, participants stressed the importance of having a clear intention for introducing the role. The second, ensure a national framework to bolster the introduction at the local level, demonstrates the need for collaboration among national actors to clarify the role's mandate and authority before its introduction. CONCLUSIONS: Adding the nurse practitioner role to municipal healthcare can help increase the supply of nursing competence and the quality of patient care, but preparation for introducing the role requires extensive work. The development of the nurse practitioner role requires decision-makers and leaders to take primary responsibility for its introduction. This study can support countries in the early phase of developing the nurse practitioner role by identifying both best practices and pitfalls.

'No one size fits all' - community trust-building as a strategy to reduce COVID-19-related health disparities.

BACKGROUND: Citizens with low levels of social capital and social status, and relative poverty, seem to have been disproportionally exposed to COVID-19 and are at greater risk of experiencing poor health. Notably, the incidence of COVID-19 was nearly three times higher among citizens living in socially vulnerable areas. Experiences from the African Ebola epidemic show that in an environment based on trust, community partners can help to improve understanding of disease control without compromising safety. Such an approach is often driven by the civil society and local lay health promoters. However, little is known about the role of lay health promoters during a pandemic with communicable diseases in the European Union. This study had its point of departure in an already established Community Based Participatory Research health promotion programme in a socially disadvantaged area in southern Sweden. The aim of this study was to explore how citizens and local lay health promoters living in vulnerable neighbourhoods responded to the COVID-19 pandemic a year from the start of the pandemic.  METHOD: In-depth interviews with the 5 lay health promoters and focus group discussions with 34 citizens from the neighbourhood who were involved in the activities within the programme were conducted in autumn 2020. The interviews and focus group discussions were transcribed verbatim and analysed using qualitative content analysis following an inductive approach.  RESULTS: Four themes emerged including, 'balancing between different kinds of information', 'balancing between place-based activities and activities on social media', 'bridging between local authorities and the communities and community members', and 'balancing ambivalence through participatory dialogues'. CONCLUSION: The study highlights that a Community Based Participatory Research programme with lay health promoters as community trust builders had a potential to work with communicable diseases during the pandemic. The lay health promoters played a key role in promoting health during the pandemic by deepening the knowledge and understanding of the role that marginalised citizens have in building resilience and sustainability in their community in preparation for future crises. Public health authorities need to take the local context into consideration within their pandemic strategies to reach out to vulnerable groups.

Curricula and learning objectives in nurse practitioner programmes: a scoping review protocol.

INTRODUCTION: Globally, nurse practitioner (NP) has become an important nursing role in the pursuit of a more efficient healthcare, possessing the necessary expert skills to work as autonomous practitioners. Nevertheless, there are barriers in the implementation of this role. One barrier concerns the different levels of education required for NPs. Previous studies demonstrate the importance of acting for a uniform international education. The aim of the scoping review was to compile research about education to become an NP, focusing on the content of curricula and learning objectives. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The six-stage methodological framework by Arksey and O'Malley will guide the scoping review through the following stages: identifying the research questions; identifying relevant studies; study selection; charting the data; collating, summarising and reporting the results; and consultation. The research questions are as follows: What is the content of curricula in NP programmes? What are the learning objectives in NP programmes? The literature searches will be conducted between March and June 2019 in the following databases: PubMed, CINAHL and ERIC, followed by hand searching reference lists of key studies. Grey literature will be searched in Google Scholar, Libsearch, existing networks and relevant organisations. Two researchers will screen titles and abstracts. Included full-text articles will be screened by three researchers and assessed for their methodological quality by the use of the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme. The PreferredReporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses flow diagram will be used to demonstrate included and excluded articles. The findings will be presented through a numerical summary of the included articles, followed by a thematic analysis. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Research ethics approval is not required for a scoping review. The scoping review will be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal. Additionally, the findings will be disseminated to stakeholders representing political, educational, professional and union organisations through a Delphi study as part of the consultation stage of the Arksey and O'Malleys framework.

Older adult's experience of chronic low back pain and its implications on their daily life: Study protocol of a systematic review of qualitative research.

BACKGROUND: Of various chronic diseases, low back pain (LBP) is the most common and debilitating musculoskeletal condition among older adults aged 65 years or older. While more than 17 million older adults in the USA suffer from at least one episode of LBP annually, approximately six million of them experience chronic LBP that significantly affects their quality of life and physical function. Since many older adults with chronic LBP may also have comorbidities and are more sensitive to pain than younger counterparts, these older individuals may face unique age-related physical and psychosocial problems. While some qualitative research studies have investigated the life experiences of older adults with chronic LBP, no systematic review has integrated and synthesized the scientific knowledge regarding the influence of chronic LBP on the physical, psychological, and social aspects of lives in older adults. Without such information, it may result in unmet care needs and ineffective interventions for this vulnerable group. Therefore, the objective of this systematic review is to synthesize knowledge regarding older adults' experiences of living with chronic LBP and the implications on their daily lives. METHODS/DESIGN: Candidate publications will be sought from databases: PubMed, CINAHL, and PsycINFO. Qualitative research studies will be included if they are related to the experiences of older adults with chronic LBP. Two independent reviewers will screen the titles, abstracts, and full-text articles for eligibility. The reference lists of the included studies will be checked for additional relevant studies. Forward citation tracking will be conducted. Meta-ethnography will be chosen to synthesize the data from the included studies. Specifically, the second-order concepts that are deemed to be translatable by two independent reviewers will be included and synthesized to capture the core of the idiomatic translations (i.e., a translation focusing on salient categories of meaning rather than the literal translation of words or phrases). DISCUSSION: This systematic review of qualitative evidence will enable researchers to identify potential unmet care needs, as well as to facilitate the development of effective, appropriate, person-centered health care interventions targeting this group of individuals. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO 2018: CRD42018091292.

Factors associated with active commuting among parents-to-be in Karlskrona, Sweden.

AIM: The purpose of the present study is to examine the prevalence of active commuting and factors associated with participation in active commuting in the municipality of Karlskrona, Sweden. Active commuting is defined here as walking or cycling to and from school/work for at least 15 minutes one-way. METHOD: A cross-sectional study was carried out, which included baseline data from parents-to-be. Pregnant females and their partners were invited to participate in the study when they contacted either of the municipality's two antenatal clinics. Data collection ran from March 2008 to February 2009. When completing the questionnaire, the participants were asked to reflect on their situation one month before the female became pregnant. The final sample consisted of 432 participants (response rate 51.9% for females and 85.0% for males). RESULTS: The main mode of commuting was motor vehicle (63.0%), with active commuters forming a minority (8.3%). The main facilitating factor for active commuting was living in an urban as opposed to a rural area. Regular participation in outdoor recreational physical activity was significantly positively associated with active commuting. Being Swedish and being surrounded by a green space environment were significantly negatively associated with active commuting. CONCLUSIONS: This study found that the number of people who are active commuters is modest and other modes of transportation are preferred. Several facilitating and impeding factors associated with active commuting were also found, indicating the importance of applying a broad health-promoting approach to encouraging active commuting.