Effects of the supportive care needs of patients with cancer on their comfort levels.

BACKGROUND: Providing supportive care to patients with cancer and improving their comfort levels can promote their adjustment to the disease, compliance with treatment and improve their quality of life. AIM: The aim of this cross-sectional, descriptive study was to identify the effects of the supportive care needs of cancer patients on their comfort levels. METHODS: The study was performed in the oncology department of a university hospital. A total of 153 cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy constituted the sample. The data collection procedure included the Supportive Care Needs Survey (SCNS) and the General Comfort Questionnaire (GCQ). RESULTS: The SCNS scores of the patients were low (Mean±SD: 75.13±27.93). The socio-cultural dimension of the GCQ was the most adversely influenced area of comfort. There was a negative relationship between needs and comfort levels (rs=-0.69, p<0.01). Lower scores of comfort were associated with higher scores of SCNS (ß=-0.487; ß=-0.316; ß=-0.958, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy were supported in meeting their physical and psychological needs and performing their activities of daily living and care during their hospital stay. Patients with higher support needs had lower comfort levels.

Psychometric properties of the quality nursing care scale-turkish version: a methodological study.

AIM: To analyze the psychometric properties of the Quality Nursing Care Scale in Turkish Language. BACKGROUND: The quality of health services and nursing care effectively improves safe patient outcomes and reduces costs in healthcare organizations. There is a need for valid and reliable tools in order to use for evaluating the quality of nursing care. METHODS: The methodological and cross-sectional study included 225 nurses working in a research and training hospital. Content validity, construct validity, item analysis, and internal consistency analysis were used. RESULTS: The content validity index of the scale was 0.96. The item-total score correlation values of the items were 0.72 and higher. The factor loads of the items ranged from 0.42 to 0.90. Different from the original scale, Turkish form consisted of three sub-dimensions. The fit indices were acceptable or very good. The Cronbach's alpha internal consistency coefficient was 0.99. CONCLUSION: The Quality Nursing Care Scale was valid and reliable with its three-factor structure in Turkish Language. It may be used for measuring the quality of care in the aspects of nurses.

The Relationship Between Perceived Quality of Care and the Patient Safety Culture of Turkish Nurses.

BACKGROUND: Evaluating nurses' perceived quality of care and safety culture is an essential part of the nursing practice and critical to improving the quality of nursing care. PURPOSE: This study aimed to examine the relationship between perceived quality of care and Turkish nurses' patient safety culture. METHODS: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study. The data were collected from a foundation university hospital in Istanbul. The sample consisted of 116 nurses, and data were collected using the Caring Behaviors Inventory-24 and Patient Safety Culture Scale. The nurses were asked to complete the questionnaires. RESULTS: The mean age of participating nurses was 25.95 ( SD = 6.72) years. The mean duration of professional experience of the participants was 6.37 ( SD = 6.05) years. Most (72.4%) of the participants were women who had graduated from vocational high schools (52.6%) and were working in the neonatal intensive care unit (37.9%). The highest mean subdimension score on the Caring Behaviors Inventory-24 was 5.78 ( SD = 0.43) for the knowledge and skills subdimension. The highest mean subdimension score on the Patient Safety Culture Scale was 3.55 ( SD = 0.48) for the unexpected event and error reporting subdimension. Statistically significant correlations were found between Caring Behaviors Inventory-24 and Patient Safety Culture Scale scores ( r = .553, p < .01), with the lowest correlation found between the employee behavior and knowledge and skills dimensions ( r = .305, p = .001). The highest statistically significant correlation coefficients that were found were between the Patient Safety Culture Scale total scores and the connectedness dimension of the Caring Behaviors Inventory-24 ( r = .58, p < .001). CONCLUSIONS/IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Nurses perceive patient care positively and have a positive perception of safety culture. Evaluating the perceived quality of care and patient safety culture perceptions will help prevent adverse events related to patient care and improve the quality of care.

Evaluation of Nurses' Perceptions of Nursing Diagnoses and Their Opinions Regarding the Application of Nursing Process.

AIM: This study aimed to evaluate nurses' perception of nursing diagnoses and their opinions regarding the application of nursing process and to determine the factors affecting them. METHOD: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study. The sample consisted of 320 nurses who worked at a foundation university hospital between October and December 2017. The Nurse's Information Form and Nursing Diagnoses Perception Scale were used to collect the research data. The scale included expressions reflecting nurses' perceptions about the use, usefulness, aims, results, objectives, and limitations of nursing diagnoses. RESULTS: A total of 51.2% of the nurses participating in the study had a bachelor's degree, and the average age was 25.36 ± 4.83 years. More than half of the nurses (50.9%) stated that they had difficulty in the assessment stage of the nursing process and that they diagnosed the risk of infection most frequently (74.4%). The nurses' mean total score on the survey was 2.68 ± 0.44 (2-4). There was a statistically significant relationship between the total mean score of the scale with the sex, education level, and the belief that the nursing process should be used (p < .001; p < .001; p < .05). CONCLUSION: The nurses' perception of nursing diagnoses was at a moderate level. Positive perception of nursing diagnoses could improve nursing quality by enabling nurses to focus on care.

Evaluation of the Educational Needs of Organ Donors After Transplantation Surgery.

OBJECTIVE: This study involved individuals (donors) who underwent transplant surgery and evaluated their educational requirements for meeting self-care needs in the postdischarge period. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This descriptive study consisted of 73 donors who underwent surgery for organ donation in the Sisli Florence Nightingale Training and Research Hospital in Istanbul and who were intended to be discharged after the organ donation. Data were collected using the Donor Information Form and the Post-Organ Donation Educational Needs Survey, which were prepared by researchers based on literature. RESULTS: The mean age of the participants was 38.86 ± 0.78 years. Of them, 54.8% were male, and 38.4% were high school graduates. All the donors (n = 73) received discharge education, and all the education was given by physicians and nurses. But, most donors (63%) stated that the discharge education was not adequate in meeting their needs. Participants received the lowest mean score (2.41 ± 1.27) on the item of "I feel calm and peaceful." The donors' mean total score on the survey was 137.81 ± 25.96 (minimum 76; maximum 170). CONCLUSION: The donors' educational needs for postdischarge self-care were high. It is necessary to determine the educational needs of donors to plan the discharge education for self-care management in home care.

Patient satisfaction with the quality of nursing care.

AIM: To evaluate patients' satisfaction with the quality of nursing care and examine associated factors. DESIGN: A cross-sectional, descriptive survey study. METHODS: The sample was composed of 635 patients discharged from a private hospital. Data were collected using "Patient Satisfaction with Nursing Care Quality Questionnaire" with a total of 19 items, and a questionnaire designed to record socio-demographic characteristics and medical histories between January 1-May 31, 2015. RESULTS: Patients were more satisfied with the "Concern and Caring by Nurses" and less satisfied with the "Information You Were Given." Patients (63.9%) described nursing care offered during hospitalization as excellent. Patients who were 18-35 years old, married, college or university graduates, treated at the surgery and obstetrics-gynaecology units, and patients who stated their health as excellent and hospitalized once or at least five times were more satisfied with the nursing care. According to this study, the nurses needed to show greater amount of interest to the information-giving process.

Evaluation of Nurses' Knowledge Levels of Diabetic Foot Care Management.

BACKGROUND: Nurses, important members of the diabetes treatment team, have an essential role in the prevention of diabetic foot problems and in the care and education of patients at risk of diabetic foot problems. OBJECTIVE: The study evaluated the knowledge levels of nurses regarding diabetic foot care management and determined influencing factors. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional, descriptive study. The research sample comprised 435 nurses who worked in a private hospital. The research data were collected using the "Nurse Information Form" and "Nurses' Knowledge Level Form on Diabetic Foot Management". RESULTS: It was found that 66% of the nurses did not receive training in diabetic foot care, 80.9% did not educate patients with diabetic foot problems, and 77.5% did not perform foot examinations on diabetic patients. CONCLUSION: Nurses' knowledge level scores regarding diabetic foot management are adequate, but this knowledge is not used during patient care. In order to facilitate nurses' involvement in diabetic foot management, theoretical and practical training programs should be organized and nurses should be encouraged to participate in these programs.