Barriers and facilitators to opioid deprescribing among Advanced Nurse Practitioners: A qualitative interview study.

AIM: To explore the experiences primary care Advanced Nurse Practitioners have had in relation to deprescribing opioids in chronic non-malignant pain. DESIGN: A qualitative interview study. METHODS: Primary care Advanced Nurse Practitioners were recruited from across the Northern Ireland GP Federations. Data collection for this study took place between April and June 2022. In total, 10 semi-structured online interviews were conducted. Interviews were audio and visually recorded, transcribed verbatim and interpreted using a thematic analysis framework. The COREQ criteria were used to guide the reporting of this study. RESULTS: The Advanced Nurse Practitioners experienced several challenges associated with opioid deprescribing and the implementation of current chronic pain guidelines. The main barriers identified were difficulties engaging patients in deprescribing discussions, a lack of availability of supportive therapies and poor access to secondary care services. The barriers identified directly impacted on their ability to deliver best practice which resulted in a sense of professional powerlessness. CONCLUSION: The experiences of the Advanced Nurse Practitioners demonstrate that opioid deprescribing in patients with chronic pain is challenging, and implementation of current chronic pain guidelines is difficult. IMPACT: This study contributes to existing literature on the topic of reducing opioid prescribing and as far as the authors are aware, is the first study to examine the experiences of primary care advanced nurse practitioners in this context. These findings will be of interest to other primary care practitioners, and prescribers involved in the management of chronic non-malignant pain. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: No patient or public contribution.

Can Clinical Outcomes Be Improved, and Inpatient Length of Stay Reduced for Adults With Diabetes? A Systematic Review.

Aim: To examine the efficacy of clinical practice strategies in improving clinical outcomes and reducing length of hospital stay for inpatients with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. Background: People living with diabetes are at increased risk of being admitted to hospital and to stay in hospital longer than those who do not have the condition. Diabetes and its complications cause substantial economic loss to those living with the condition, their families, to health systems and national economies through direct medical costs and loss of work and wages. Length of stay is a major factor driving up hospitalisation costs relating to those with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes with suboptimal blood glucose management, hypoglycaemia, hyperglycaemia, and co-morbidities shown to considerably impact upon length of stay. The identification of attainable evidence-based clinical practice strategies is necessary to inform the knowledge base and identify service improvement opportunities that could lead to improved clinical outcomes for these patients. Study Design: A systematic review and narrative synthesis. Methods: A systematic search of CINAHL, Medline Ovid, and Web of Science databases was carried out to identify research papers reporting on interventions that have reduced length of hospital stay for inpatients living with diabetes for the period 2010-2021. Selected papers were reviewed, and relevant data extracted by three authors. Eighteen empirical studies were included. Results: Eighteen studies spanned the themes of clinical management innovations, clinical education programmes, multidisciplinary collaborative care and technology facilitated monitoring. The studies demonstrated improvements in healthcare outcomes such as glycaemic control, greater confidence with insulin administration and reduced occurrences of hypoglycaemia and hyperglycaemia and decreased length of hospital stay and healthcare costs. Conclusions: The clinical practice strategies identified in this review contribute to the evidence base for inpatient care and treatment outcomes. The implementation of evidence-based research can improve clinical practice and show that appropriate management can enhance clinical outcomes for the inpatient with diabetes, potentially leading to reductions in length of stay. Investment in and commissioning of practices that have the potential to afford clinical benefits and reduce length of hospital stay could influence the future of diabetes care. Systematic Review Registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=204825, identifier 204825.

Estimating and examining the costs of inpatient diabetes care in an Irish Public Hospital.

AIM: To estimate and examine hospitalisation costs of Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes in an Irish public hospital. METHODS: A retrospective audit of hospital inpatient admissions over a 5-year period was undertaken, and a wide range of admission-related data were collected for a sample of 7,548 admissions. Hospitalisations were costed using the diagnosis-related group methodology. A series of descriptive, univariate and multivariate regression analyses were undertaken. RESULTS: The mean hospitalisation cost for Type 1 diabetes was €4,027 and for Type 2 diabetes was €5,026 per admission. Sex, admission type and length of stay were significantly associated with hospitalisation costs for admissions with a primary diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes. Age, admission type, diagnosis status, complications status, discharge destination, length of stay and year were significantly associated with hospitalisation costs for admissions with a primary diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes. Length of stay was associated with higher mean costs, with each additional day increasing Type 1 diabetes costs by €260 (p = 0.001) and Type 2 diabetes by €216 (p < 0.001). Unscheduled admissions were associated with significantly lower costs than elective admissions; €1,578 (p = 0.035) lower for Type 1 diabetes and €2,108 (p < 0.001) lower for Type 2 diabetes. CONCLUSIONS: This study presents estimates of the costs of diabetes care in the Irish public hospital system and identifies the factors which influence costs for Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. These findings may be of interest to patients, the public, researchers and those with influence over diabetes policy and practice in Ireland and internationally.

"Surviving out of the Ashes" - An exploration of young adult service users' perspectives of mental health recovery.

WHAT IS KNOWN ON THE SUBJECT?: The conceptual components of mental health recovery have been proposed, however, the barriers to their sustainability within the context of internal and external stressors require further exploration. Within their emerging adult role, young people will experience the personal challenges that will directly impact their understanding of their recovery, which will be different from other age groups. WHAT THE PAPER ADDS TO EXISTING KNOWLEDGE?: Findings revealed recovery is understood as an uncharted, timely and personal process of engaging and transcending pain. Perceived barriers to mental health recovery and the internal dynamics experienced within the process have been explored. Recovery in young adulthood involved the reclaiming of their active and purposeful life force. It acquires real-life relevance when applied to the social and cultural factors that provide meaning in life for young adults. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE?: This research will impact how mental health nurses understand the catalytic effects of personal, social and cultural meaning of suffering in young adults' actualization of mental health recovery. Findings have significance for practice as the process of mental health recovery must not be presented as a clinical pathway, but understood as a personalized strategy of individual wellness in young adulthood. ABSTRACT: INTRODUCTION: Within their emerging adult role, young people will embark on employment, form intimate relationships and live independently. This indicates that how recovery is experienced and actualized in young adulthood may be different from other age groups. AIM/QUESTION: To explore young adult service user's perspectives of mental health recovery in Northern Ireland. METHOD: Semi-structured individual qualitative interviews were analysed using a Gadamerian-based hermeneutic method and interpreted using a novel theoretical framework. The sample comprised 25 participants with an average age of 28 years. FINDINGS: Five key themes evolved: Services: A Losing Battle Straight Away; From your Foundations to a Step in the Dark; Let Go of the Pain not the Experience; Surviving Out of the Ashes Recovery; and Needs to be More than a Word. DISCUSSION: The main findings were that recovery involved the reclaiming of their active and purposeful life force. It is suggested that young adults have developed an explanatory model of "use that stuff you wanna bury" to transform an illness narrative to a wellness strategy. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: This research has implications for mental health nursing so the process of mental health recovery is not presented as a clinical pathway, but a personalized strategy of individual wellness.

'The Lynchpin of the Acute Stroke Service'-An envisioning of the scope and role of the advanced nurse practitioner in stroke care in a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: Stroke prevalence is rising internationally. Advanced practice nursing is established across many jurisdictions; however, its contribution to stroke services is under research. AIM: To gain insights into the future scope and role of future advanced nurse practitioners in stroke care from the perspectives of key stakeholders. DESIGN: A qualitative descriptive approach. METHODS: Interviews were conducted in 2019 with a purposive sample of 18 participants, comprising stroke nurses, stroke unit managers, stroke survivors and their family carers, recruited in one UK healthcare trust. The research is reported in line with COREQ. Data were analysed in accordance with an inductive content analysis approach. RESULTS: The abstraction process generated four main themes. These were 'The lynchpin of the acute stroke service', 'An expert in stroke care', 'Person and family focussed' and 'Preparation for the role'. CONCLUSION: These findings offer new perspectives on the potential scope and role of advanced nurse practitioners in stroke service delivery. Further research should focus on how to address the challenges confronted by advanced nurse practitioners when endeavouring to engage in autonomous clinical decision-making. IMPACT: Study findings may advance postregistration education curricula, clinical supervision models and research directions. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: There is support for the implementation of advanced practice nursing in the hyperacute and acute stroke phases of the care pathway. An interprofessional model of clinical supervision has potential to support the developing advanced nurse practitioner in autonomous clinical decision-making.

Ecological Momentary Assessment Within a Digital Health Intervention for Reminiscence in Persons With Dementia and Caregivers: User Engagement Study.

BACKGROUND: User-interaction event logs provide rich and large data sets that can provide valuable insights into how people engage with technology. Approaches such as ecological momentary assessment (EMA) can be used to gather accurate real-time data in an individual's natural environment by asking questions at any given instant. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate user engagement and responses to EMA questions using InspireD, an app used for reminiscence by persons with dementia and their caregivers. Research findings can be used to inform EMA use within digital health interventions. METHODS: A feasibility trial was conducted in which participants (n=56) used the InspireD app over a 12-week period. Participants were a mean age of 73 (SD 13) and were either persons with dementia (n=28) or their caregivers (n=28). Questions, which they could either answer or choose to dismiss, were presented to participants at various instants after reminiscence with personal or generic photos, videos, and music. Presentation and dismissal rates for questions were compared by hour of the day and by trial week to investigate user engagement. RESULTS: Overall engagement was high, with 69.1% of questions answered when presented. Questions that were presented in the evening had the lowest dismissal rate; the dismissal rate for questions presented at 9 PM was significantly lower than the dismissal rate for questions presented at 11 AM (9 PM: 10%; 11 AM: 50%; χ21=21.4, P<.001). Questions asked following reminiscence with personal media, especially those asked after personal photos, were less likely to be answered compared to those asked after other media. In contrast, questions asked after the user had listened to generic media, in particular those asked after generic music, were much more likely to be answered. CONCLUSIONS: The main limitation of our study was the lack of generalizability of results to a larger population given the quasi-experimental design and older demographic where half of participants were persons with dementia; however, this study shows that older people are willing to participate and engage in EMA. Based on this study, we propose a series of recommendations for app design to increase user engagement with EMA. These include presenting questions no more than once per day, after 8 PM in the evening, and only if the user is not trying to complete a task within the app.

Economic costs and health-related quality of life associated with individual specific reminiscence: Results from the InspireD Feasibility Study.

Recent studies have focused on the use of technology to support reminiscence but there remains a dearth of research on the health costs and benefits associated with this intervention. The aim of this study was to estimate costs and quality of life associated with a home based, individual specific reminiscence intervention, facilitated by an iPad app for people living with dementia and their family carers, with a view to informing a future cost-effectiveness analysis. Use of community health and social care services, hospital services, prescribed medication and informal caregiving was assessed using an adapted version of the Client and Socio-Demographic Service Receipt Inventory (CSRI) at baseline and 3-month follow-up. Quality of life was assessed at baseline, 6-week and 3-month follow-up using the EQ5D, DEMQOL and DEMQOL proxy instruments. Results showed that average health and social care costs were £29,728 per person at baseline (T0) and £33,436 after 3 months (T2). Higher T2 costs were largely accounted for by higher informal caregiving costs. There was an overall increase in health-related quality of life over the duration of the intervention, although there were notable differences in index scores generated by the EQ5D (0.649, 0.652 and 0.719) and DEMQOL instruments (0.845, 0.968 and 0.901). The study concluded that a full cost-effectiveness analysis could incorporate a similar range of cost-categories with minor amendments to the CSRI to improve the accuracy of cost estimation. Furthermore, a larger sample size, randomisation and longer follow-up period are required to allow potential effects of the intervention to be realised and differences between intervention and control groups to be accurately detected.

Evaluating User Engagement with a Reminiscence App Using Cross-Comparative Analysis of User Event Logs and Qualitative Data.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the usage of a reminiscence app by people living with dementia and their family carers, by comparing event log data generated from app usage alongside the qualitative experience of the process. A cross-comparative analysis of electronic event logging data with qualitative interview data was conducted. Electronic event logging data were obtained for 28 participating dyads (n = 56) and the interview sample comprised 14 people living with dementia and 16 family carers (n = 30). A thematic analysis framework was used in the analysis of interview transcripts and the identification of recurrent themes. The cross-comparison of electronic event log data and qualitative data revealed 25 out of 28 dyads regularly engaged with a reminiscence app, with the analysis of usage patterns revealing four clusters classifying different levels of user engagement. The cross-comparison of data revealed that the nature of the relationship was a significant factor in ongoing user engagement. The comparative analysis of the electronic event logs as "ground truth" in combination with the qualitative lived experience can provide a deeper understanding on the usage of a reminiscence app for those living with dementia and their family carers. This work not only shows the benefits of using automated event log data mining but also shows its clear limitations without using complementary qualitative data analysis. As such, this work also provides key insights into using mixed methods for evaluating human-computer interaction technologies.

Using Mobile Technology to Provide Personalized Reminiscence for People Living With Dementia and Their Carers: Appraisal of Outcomes From a Quasi-Experimental Study.

BACKGROUND: Dementia is an international research priority. Reminiscence is an intervention that prompts memories and has been widely used as a therapeutic approach for people living with dementia. We developed a novel iPad app to support home-based personalized reminiscence. It is crucial that technology-enabled reminiscence interventions are appraised. OBJECTIVE: We sought to measure the effect of technology-enabled reminiscence on mutuality (defined as the level of "closeness" between an adult living with dementia and their carer), quality of carer and patient relationship, and subjective well-being. METHODS: A 19-week personalized reminiscence intervention facilitated by a program of training and a bespoke iPad app was delivered to people living with dementia and their family carers at their own homes. Participants (N=60) were recruited in dyads from a cognitive rehabilitation team affiliated with a large UK health care organization. Each dyad comprised a person living with early to moderate dementia and his or her family carer. Outcome measurement data were collected at baseline, midpoint, and intervention closure. RESULTS: Participants living with dementia attained statistically significant increases in mutuality, quality of carer and patient relationship, and subjective well-being (P<.001 for all 3) from baseline to endpoint. Carers attained nonsignificant increases in mutuality and quality of carer and patient relationship and a nonsignificant decrease in subjective well-being. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that individual-specific reminiscence supported by an iPad app may be efficient in the context of early to moderate dementia. A robust randomized controlled trial of technology-enabled personalized reminiscence is warranted.

Service user engagement: A co-created interview schedule exploring mental health recovery in young adults.

AIM: The aim of this study was to co-create of an interview schedule exploring mental health recovery in collaboration with young adult service users. BACKGROUND: Service user involvement in research has been increasingly recognized as providing a vital authentic insight into mental health recovery. Engagement and collaboration with service users have facilitated the exploration of inaccessible or under-investigated aspects of the lived experience of mental health recovery, not only directing the trajectory of research, but making it relevant to their own contextual experience. DESIGN: A qualitative content analysis framework was employed in the co-creation of a semi-structured interview schedule through an engagement process with service users. METHODS: Two separate engagement groups took place at the premises of the service user organizations, between January - February 2014. Miles and Huberman's analysis framework was chosen for this phase as it enabled the visual presentation of factors, concepts or variables and the established relationship between them. RESULTS: The lived experience of mental ill health in young adulthood and how this was understood by others was a particularly relevant theme for participants. Further themes were identified between the impact of painful experiences at this developmental life stage leading to a deeper understanding of others through finding meaning in their own mental health recovery journey. CONCLUSION: Our findings identified that suffering painful experiences is an integral aspect in the process of mental health recovery. This understanding has particular relevance to mental health nursing practice, ensuring the care delivered is cognizant of the suffering or painful experiences that young adults are encountering.

Tokenistic or genuinely effective? Exploring the views of voluntary sector staff regarding the emerging peer support worker role in mental health.

WHAT IS KNOWN ON THE SUBJECT: The introduction of PSWs within mental health services has grown substantially both internationally and locally; however, no recognized studies have focused on the evolvement of this role within a Northern Ireland (NI) context. Research is increasingly focusing on service users' and PSWs perspectives on mental health service provision. Despite this, few studies exist which exclusively report staff views in relation to the PSW role. WHAT THE PAPER ADDS TO EXISTING KNOWLEDGE: Results of the current study identified varying perspectives on the peer role. Some participants believed that the PSW role was tokenistic; others opposed these views, highlighting the value of this role. Clearly defined job descriptions and the importance of ensuring the PSW is a cohesive part of the team and not an "add on," was identified as imperative to avoid tokenistic practice. Provision of a flexible working environment, both sensitive and responsive to the peers' own mental health needs, was identified as significant in order for the peer to fulfil their role successfully. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Services introducing PSWs within teams should engage with nursing staff at all organizational levels in the role development process to minimize the risk of tokenism, for example, the PSW role not integrated or valued within teams. Clearly defined job/role specifications for PSWs should be devised to ensure that both the PSW and the mental health nursing team have a shared understanding regarding this role. ABSTRACT: Aim Peer support worker (PSW) roles are gaining recognition internationally as a valuable component in mental health service delivery. The aim of this study was to explore the views of mental health voluntary sector staff regarding the emergence of this role. Method A qualitative research design was used. A purposive sample was employed. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 10 staff members in various positions in two voluntary mental health organizations. Interview transcripts were analysed thematically. Results Views varied on the PSW role with some participants stating that it was tokenistic, whereas others highlighted the value of its contribution. Participants' expressed concerns regarding professional boundaries and organizational cultural challenges that PSWs may encounter in their role. The provision of reasonable adjustments was recommended as an integral support mechanism. Conclusion Successful integration of the PSW requires careful consideration of the role, the workplace environment and the unique needs of the peer, to prevent the role becoming constrained and diluted. Implications for practice The PSW role may impact the traditional delivery of mental health nursing services. It is therefore essential that nurses are cognizant of these potential challenges to successfully facilitate the integration of PSWs in practice.