Adaption of the Cancer Information Overload Scale for pandemics and assessment of infodemic levels among nurses and midwives.

AIM: This study was conducted in three phases. Phase 1 aimed to adapt the Cancer Information Overload Scale and conduct content validity testing. Phase 2 aimed to conduct factorial validity testing of the scale. Phase 3 aimed to assess information overload and the sources of information used by nurses and midwives to keep up-to-date about COVID-19. DESIGN: A cross-sectional survey of nurses and midwives working in a metropolitan Local Health District in Sydney, Australia, was conducted from May to June 2020. METHODS: Adaptation of the Cancer Information Overload Scale and content validity of the modified scale (as the Pandemic Information Overload Scale) was undertaken by an expert panel comprising of senior nurses and researchers. Factorial validity and reliability of the Pandemic Information Overload Scale were evaluated using exploratory factor analyses using one subsample of the data. Using the second subsample of the data, information overload and sources of information used by nurses and midwives to keep up-to-date about COVID-19 were examined. RESULTS: The Pandemic Information Overload Scale is a reliable and valid instrument for measuring information overload among nurses during a pandemic. Its internal consistency was high (α = 0.81, M = 3.84). CONCLUSION: The 8-item PIO scale is a brief, reliable and psychometrically sound instrument for measuring nurses' and midwives' perceptions of information overload during COVID-19. Mean scores across this study indicated that participants were experiencing above average information overload. Implementing strategies to reduce this overload would optimize clinical decision making and promote patient safety.

The COVID-19 pandemic - A focus on nurse managers' mental health, coping behaviours and organisational commitment.

BACKGROUND: The emergence of COVID-19 has substantially impacted frontline health care workers, including nurse managers. To date, no studies have been conducted to examine the impact COVID-19 has had on Nurse Managers' mental health, coping strategies and organisational commitment. AIM: To investigate the mental health, coping behaviours, and organisational commitment among Nurse Managers during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: Cross-sectional study involving 59 Nursing Managers from one Local Health District in Sydney Australia during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected relating to demographics, anxiety, coping strategies and organisational commitment. RESULTS: Overall, approximately three quarters of the Nurse Managers had high anxiety scores. Managers who had worked longer as a nurse had higher scores for adaptive coping strategies and 41% of Nurse Managers considered leaving their jobs. CONCLUSIONS: Strategies to minimise anxiety and enable coping as part of organisational disaster, emergency or crisis planning for Nurse Managers may result in decreased anxiety and stress levels, increased use of adaptive coping strategies and lower intent to leave the organisation and the nursing profession.

Teamwork and social cohesion are key: Nurses' perceptions and experiences of working in a new decentralised intensive care unit.

BACKGROUND: Decentralised nursing stations (DCNs) have gained popularity in new hospital designs owing to their positive impact on patient safety. However, the impact on the nurses' working environment and on continuity and quality of patient care is limited. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to describe nurses' perceptions and experiences of the working environment and of patient care in a decentralised intensive care unit (ICU). METHODS: Twelve months after the establishment of the new decentralised ICU in a tertiary teaching hospital in Sydney, Australia, a prospective cross-sectional survey of registered nurses working in the unit was undertaken. Nurses' perceptions and experiences of the working environment and patient care were evaluated using a 56-item questionnaire comprising nine domains and optional open-ended comments. Quantitative data were analysed using SPSS, version 25. Qualitative data were used to enhance the quantitative data. RESULTS: A total of 128 nurses responded to the questionnaire. The mean scores for overall job satisfaction, nursing teamwork, social cohesion, continuity of patient care, and quality of patient care were 3.02 (±0.91), 2.78 (±1.05), 2.68 (1.02), 2.60 (±1.01), and 3.48 (±0.88), respectively, for a maximum obtainable score of 5. Overall mean scores for teamwork, social cohesion, and continuity of patient care were explained by nurses to be a direct result of the physical layout of the new DCN ICU. Nurses believed this influenced their ability to interact with other staff and impacted teamwork and social cohesion and in turn reflected in their current job satisfaction. CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of a new model of nursing care, whereby staff members are rostered together in a pod for a period of time, along with team-building exercises, is recommended to improve the social cohesion and teamwork within the DCN ICU. Further research on nurses' experiences within a DCN ICU is required to produce robust evidence and generalisability.

Effective communication is key to intensive care nurses' willingness to provide nursing care amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic posed and continues to pose challenges for health care systems globally, particularly to Intensive Care Units (ICU). At the forefront of the ICU are highly trained nurses with a professional obligation to care for patients with COVID-19 despite the potential to become infected. The aim of this study was to explore ICU nurses' willingness to care during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: A prospective cross-sectional study to explore ICU nurses' willingness to provide care during the COVID-19 pandemic was undertaken between 25 March and 3 April 2020 at a large principal and referral teaching hospital in Sydney, NSW Australia. RESULTS: A total of 83 ICU nurses completed the survey. Approximately 60% reported receiving sufficient information from managers regarding COVID-19 and about caring for a patient with COVID-19. Ninety percent of nurses were concerned about spreading COVID-19 to their family. Sixty one percent of the nurses indicated that they were willing to care for patients with COVID-19. Receiving timely communication from managers was the only predictor of willingness to care among ICU nurses. CONCLUSIONS: Effective communication is a vital component during a public health emergency in order to promote nurses' willingness to care for patients in the ICU.