Food Preferences in Undergraduate Nursing Students and Its Relationship with Food Addiction and Physical Activity.

The transition to college is a decisive stage for the acquisition of eating habits that continue into adulthood. The aim of this study is to assess the consumption of healthy elements of the Mediterranean diet in a group of university students and to evaluate whether the consumption pattern was related to sex, Body Mass Index (BMI), food addiction or the amount of physical activity performed. A total of 515 nursing students participated. The Mediterranean diet adherence questionnaire (PREDIMED), the food addiction scale (YFAS 2.0) and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) were completed. For data analysis, multivariate analysis was performed with multiple linear regression and adjusted for sex, age, and BMI. The results showed that females consumed various types of meats (white/red, processed) in a healthier proportion (p < 0.05). Students that consumed more than one per day (unhealthy) of red/processed meats (mean difference (MD) = −0.49; 95% CI: −0.83; −0.15), soft drinks (MD = −0.82; 95% CI: 82−1.36; −0.27) and pastries (MD = −0.63; 95% CI: −0.97; −0.30) displayed higher food addiction scores. In addition, students who skipped breakfast also scored higher on food addiction (MD = 0.75; 95% CI: 0.31−1.19). Higher values of physical activity were observed in those who presented a healthy consumption of vegetables (MD = 140.86; 95% CI: 72.71−209.02), fruit (MD = 145.78; 95% CI: 69.35−222.21), legumes (MD = 136.46; 95% CI: 60.43−212.50) and nuts (MD = 74.36; 95% CI: 14.23−134.49). Students who consumed more red or processed meats, more pastries and more soft drinks had higher values of food addiction, while those who consumed more vegetables, fruits, legumes, and nuts had more minutes of physical activity per week. These findings invite us to insist on expanding knowledge regarding the health benefits of consuming a Mediterranean-type diet as a whole. The healthy consumption of fish, fruit and legumes should also be emphasized, especially among university students.

Perceptions of Patients and Their Families Regarding Limitation of Therapeutic Effort in the Intensive Care Unit.

OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to determine and describe the opinion and attitudes of patients and their families regarding the limitation of therapeutic effort and advanced directives in critical patients and whether end-of-life planning occurs. Religious affiliation, education level, and pre-admission quality of life were also evaluated to determine whether they may influence decisions regarding appropriate therapeutic effort. METHODS: A prospective, observational and descriptive study, approved by the center's ethical committee, was carried out with 257 participants (94 patients and 163 family members) in the intensive care unit (ICU). A questionnaire regarding the opinions of patients and relatives about situations of therapeutic appropriateness in case of poor prognosis or poor quality of life was used. The questionnaire had three sections. In the first section, sociodemographic features were investigated. In the second section, information was collected on the quality of life and functional situation before ICU admission (taking as a reference the situation one month before admission) assessed by the Karnofsky scale, Barthel index, and the PAEEC scale (Project for the Epidemiological Analysis of Critical Care Patients). The third section aimed to determine whether the family knew the patient's opinion regarding his/her end of life. RESULTS: Of those interviewed, 62.2% would agree to limit treatment in case of poor prognosis or poor quality of future life. In contrast, 37.7% considered that they should fight for life, even if it is irretrievable. Only 1.6% had advanced directives registered, 43.9% of the participants admitted deterioration in their quality of life before ICU admission, 18.2% with moderate-severe deterioration. Our study shows that the higher the educational level, the lower the desire to fight for life when it is irretrievable and the greater the agreement to limit treatment. Besides, those participants not affiliated with a religion were significantly less likely to fight for life, including when irretrievable, than Catholics and were more likely to agree to limit treatment. CONCLUSIONS: More than half of the participants would agree to limit treatment in the case of a poor prognosis. Our results indicate that patients do not prepare for the dying process well in advance. Religion and educational level were determining factors for the choice of procedures at the end of life, both for patients and their families.

Experiences and Perceptions of Nursing Students during the COVID-19 Crisis in Spain.

In the early stages of the 2019 coronavirus pandemic in Spain, the Spanish health system was overwhelmed, mainly due to a lack of personnel, and many hospital centers collapsed by following avalanche of patients with COVID-19; this meant that the National System of Health called for fourth-year nursing students to come to the hospital as health care personnel. Our aim was to describe the perceptions and experiences of a sample of nursing students during the early stages of the outbreak. We conducted a qualitative study with an empirical-phenomenological approach. Twenty nursing students in their final year of study in Spain were recruited using purposive and snowball sampling. They participated in in-depth interviews between 20 April and 10 May 2020. The interviews were transcribed and then analyzed using Haase's adaptation of Colaizzi's phenomenological method. Four main themes emerged from data analysis: "social responsibility and pride as a health worker", "pressure caused by working with COVID-19 patients", "feeling defenseless and let down", and "personal growth as a health worker". These main themes were further divided into 11 theme categories. Due to an intense work day for several days in a row, the students were tired and mentally exhausted. Even so, they managed to overcome any difficulties, demonstrating their professional dedication and resilience. Greater preparatory support should be provided to safeguard the well-being of these future healthcare providers. More intensive preparatory training is necessary for health sciences students to facilitate crisis preparedness and effective crisis management. It is necessary to implement support from healthcare systems, including sufficient personal protective equipment, as well as contracts that accurately reflect the work they do. It is necessary for nursing supervisors to have effective communication in the performance of their functions with nursing students; this dialogue helps to clearly explain which are the functions that students must perform when they are carrying out their internships. There is also a need for preparatory training in managing infectious diseases such as COVID-19.

Food Addiction and Lifestyle Habits among University Students.

The prevalence of overweight and obesity is increasing in our society, with a complex, multifactorial origin, and associated with greater morbidity and mortality in the population. Food addiction (FA) is a common disorder in overweight/obese people, which appears to be increasingly common in young people. This study analyzed food addiction in a group of young university students and to examine its association with body composition, quality of sleep, adherence to the Mediterranean diet, physical activity/sedentary habits, tobacco or alcohol consumption, and health status. A total of 536 undergraduate nursing students participated in a questionnaire that included the Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS 2.0). Up to 6.4% of the students presented FA. Statistically significant associations were observed in the variables for sleep quality odds ratio (OR) 4.8 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.66-13.87), anxiety/depression OR 8.71 (95% CI: 3.93-19.27), body mass index (BMI) OR 8.32 (95% CI: 3.81-18.15) and sedentary lifestyle OR 2.33 (95% CI: 1.09-5.01). A predictive model was developed after binary logistic regression (area under the ROC curve 0.84 (95% CI: 0.77-0.91). Students with FA presented higher BMI values, worse sleep quality, anxiety or depression problems, and more time spent in sedentary behaviors.

The Impact on Nursing Students of Creating Audiovisual Material through Digital Storytelling as a Teaching Method.

The creation of videos in teaching has a high educational potential and is a challenge that can motivate students. There is little evidence on the use of this method when applied to the creation of digital stories. Thus, the aim of this study was to measure student satisfaction with the creation of audiovisual material through digital storytelling, measure its usefulness, and evaluate its impact on their motivation to study the subject. As a secondary objective, we intended to determine the influence of this learning experience on raising awareness of society toward mental illnesses by measuring the impact by the number of views on social networks. A cross-sectional descriptive study design was used. The participants were 90 third-year nursing students enrolled in the subject "Psychiatric Nursing". The students created eight themed videos (depression, suicide, anxiety, anorexia, mobile phone addiction, obsessive-compulsive disorder, drug addiction, schizophrenia). The students were then asked to complete an ad hoc questionnaire on the matter. A total of 90% of the nursing students thought that creating the videos improved the acquisition of nursing knowledge, 91.2% replied that they would like to use the method in other subjects on the degree in nursing syllabus, and 67.8% thought that their clinical skills improved after using narrated digital stories to create videos. Students acknowledged that this training activity helped them feel better prepared and helped them better understand the subject. They believe that this teaching technique is more stimulating and more enjoyable than the conventional system, giving them more motivation to study the subject. Students acknowledge that the experience gained from this initiative has helped them feel better prepared and helped them better understand the subject, and they think that it will be a useful resource in the future as it has improved the process of the creation of audiovisual material through digital storytelling.

Pathological Preoccupation with Healthy Eating (Orthorexia Nervosa) in a Spanish Sample with Vegetarian, Vegan, and Non-Vegetarian Dietary Patterns.

Orthorexia nervosa (ON) has been defined as an obsessive and pathological attitude towards healthy nutrition. The aim of this study was to compare individuals who followed a vegan, vegetarian, and omnivore diet in terms of ON behaviors and to examine their prime motivations, attitudes, and behaviors towards food. The Spanish version of the ORTO-15 test - ORTO-11-ES - and the Food Choice Questionnaire (FCQ-SP) were used with a demographic questionnaire in an online survey disseminated among the social networks of different vegetarian associations and the general population. Of 466 individuals, 55% followed an omnivore diet, 23.5% were vegetarian and 21.7% were vegan. Results revealed relationships between type of diet and FCQ-SP dimensions for: health and natural content (H = 8.7, p < 0.05), sensory appeal (H = 11.4, p < 0.01), weight control (H = 40.4, p < 0.01), and familiarity (H = 37.3, p < 0.01). Our results confirm the findings of recent studies showing that individuals who follow a vegan or vegetarian diet are more likely to develop a pathological preoccupation with healthy eating versus omnivores. Further studies are required to determine the potential lines of action for the prevention of ON.

Physical Activity and Sedentary Lifestyle in University Students: Changes during Confinement Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Regular physical activity is related to many factors in a university student's environment. The coronavirus pandemic and the resulting lockdown have restricted many elements of our environment. The aim of this study was to evaluate students' physical activity and sedentary behaviour at two points in time: before and during the coronavirus lockdown. As a secondary aim, we also wanted to look at changes resulting from other factors (alcohol, tobacco, diet, stages of change, symptoms of anxiety/depression and sociodemographic characteristics). We conducted an observational, cross-sectional, pre-post study with two cut-off points. Two hundred and thirteen students took part in the study. The main dependent variables were physical activity and sitting time, measured using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form (IPAQ-SF). Parametric and non-parametric tests were used for paired and unpaired data, as well as group-stratified analysis. During lockdown, both weekly physical activity (MD: -159.87; CI: -100.44, -219.31) and weekly sitting time increased (MD: -106.76; CI: -71.85, -141.67). In the group analysis, differences were observed in relation to gender, year of study, BMI, alcohol consumption, tobacco use, symptoms of anxiety/depression, Mediterranean diet, living situation and stage of change. The results showed an increase in both physical activity and sitting time globally and by group.

Sleep Pattern Changes in Nursing Students during the COVID-19 Lockdown.

The prevalence of poor sleep quality among students is very high and, in nursing students, has been associated with reduced performance, behavioral changes, dietary changes, and even aggressive behavior due to changes in sleep patterns. The lockdown in response to COVID-19 may have resulted in lifestyle changes that affected sleep quality. For this reason, the objective of this study is to determine the difference in nursing students' sleep quality before and during the lockdown, put in place in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. To meet this objective, we conducted a longitudinal observational study on 207 nursing students, with two cut-off points (February and April). The main dependent variable was sleep quality, measured using the Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) and its seven components. Parametric and nonparametric tests were used for paired and unpaired data, as well as group-stratified analysis. The mean time students spent in bed was 7.6 h (standard deviation (SD) = 1.1 h) before lockdown and 8.5 h (SD = 1.2 h) during lockdown. The PSQI score got 0.91 points worse during lockdown (95% CI, -0.51, -1.31). Of the five components, five were statistically significantly affected (p ≤ 0.05), and of these, the most changed were sleep latency, sleep duration, and sleep efficiency. When stratified by group, we observed differences in women, first-year students, second-year students, alcohol consumers, those of normal weight, and those that live with family. The main conclusion is that although students spent more time in bed, overall sleep quality was worse during lockdown, as well as being worse in five of the seven components.