Intellectual disability nurses' challenges in medication management in primary health care: A qualitative study.

This study examines how intellectual disability nurses employed in residential living services for persons with intellectual disabilities, in Norway, deal with medication management for these individuals. Using a qualitative study, a total of 18 intellectual disability nurses were interviewed as part of four focus groups. The results demonstrate six main challenges: First, Being alone with the responsibility of medication management - a challenge; Second, The need for further competence development; Third, Teaching and supervising unskilled colleagues in safe medication management; Fourth, Interpreting residents with little or only nonverbal communication; Fifth, The need to act as advocates when residents require hospitalization; Sixth, Deficient systems for medication management on several levels. The findings point to several major flaws in the system of medication management, which necessitates the need for highly qualified intellectual disability nurses. Managers must ensure that there is a secure system to mitigate errors and promote patient safety.

Safeguarding patients while implementing mechanical restraints: A qualitative study of nurses and ward staff's perceptions and assessment.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To explore nurses' and ward staff's perceptions and assessments of patient care while implementing mechanical restraints. BACKGROUND: To prevent the risks associated with the use of restraints in psychiatry and ensure safe mental health care, it is necessary to know more about how the nursing staff experiences, comprehends and intervenes in managing patients subjected to coercive measures. DESIGN: This study employed a qualitative descriptive design, in accordance with the COREQ guidelines. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18 nurses and ward staff aged between 22 and 45 years old, who had experience implementing mechanical restraints. Data were digitally audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Inductive thematic analysis was conducted using NVivo 12. RESULTS: The participants believed that mechanical restraints should be used as a last resort and that safeguarding patients during implementation is important; however, their assessments of the patients' physical and mental conditions varied. A clear difference emerged in how management qualified professionals handled situations prior to and during the implementation of mechanical coercive measures. CONCLUSIONS: The findings emphasise the need to focus on the assessment of patients prior to and during restraint, ensure the quality of safe implementation in a risk-of-harm situation, prioritise competence in education, and practice, and improve management. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: The findings highlight the importance of assessing the physical and mental condition of patients while implementing restraints, as well as aiding the management, nurses and ward staff in tailoring safety procedures.

Norwegian nurses' perceptions of assisted dying requests from terminally ill patients-A qualitative interview study.

This study explores the perceptions of Norwegian nurses who have received assisted dying requests from terminally ill patients. Assisted dying is illegal in Norway, while in some countries, it is an option. Nurses caring for terminally ill patients may experience ethical challenges by receiving requests for euthanasia and assisted suicide. We applied a qualitative research design with a phenomenological hermeneutic approach using open individual interviews. A total of 15 registered nurses employed in pulmonary and oncology wards of three university hospitals and home care in one municipality were recruited. Four themes emerged from the analysis: (1) unprepared for the request; (2) meeting direct, indirect, and nonverbal requests; (3) working in a gray zone, and (4) feeling alone and powerless. The study found that nurses were unsure how to handle such requests due to professional uncertainty about assisted dying. Working in an environment where the topic is taboo made nurses morally uncertain, and some perceived this as moral distress. The hospital chaplain played a significant role in providing support to these nurses.

Nurse leaders' experiences of professional responsibility towards developing nursing competence in general wards: A qualitative study.

AIM: To explore nurse leaders' experiences of professional responsibility to facilitate nursing competence in general wards. BACKGROUND: Nurse leaders are responsible for maintaining high levels of competence among nurses to improve patient safety. METHODS: Qualitative analysis was conducted between February and April 2019 using semi-structured interview data from 12 nurse leaders in surgical and medical wards at three Norwegian hospitals. RESULTS: Four main themes were identified: struggle to achieve nursing staff competence; focus on operational and budgetary requirements rather than professional development; demands to organize sick leaves and holiday periods; and challenges in facilitating professional development. CONCLUSION: Nurse leaders felt that their responsibilities were overwhelming and challenging. They witnessed more support for current administrative tasks than for the implementation of professional development. Additionally, unclear work instructions from the employer provided few opportunities to facilitate professional development. Hospital management failed to ensure quality of care and patient safety in general wards by not supporting the strengthening of nurses' professional competence and preventing turnover. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Management may integrate formal work instructions that clarify nurse leaders' responsibilities as professional developers, allowing nurse leaders to meet their obligation of maintaining adequate professional competence among nursing staff in general wards.

Professionals' understanding of their responsibilities in the collaboration with family caregivers of older persons with mental health problems in Norway.

Research has highlighted the importance of health and social care professionals' collaboration with family caregivers. In the field of mental healthcare, involvement of family members is perceived as beneficial to the recovery process of the care recipient. Furthermore, family care-giving is an essential part of elderly care. It is well documented that family members need support to prevent negative consequences of care-giving. Nevertheless, involvement of and support for family caregivers have not developed into a common practice, and research has identified professional barriers to collaboration with family caregivers in several areas. The aim of this study was to explore professionals' experiences of collaboration with family caregivers of older persons with mental health problems, and how they understood their responsibility towards families. We conducted three focus group interviews with 18 health and social care professionals working in community-based services, in three rural municipalities in Western Norway. The thematic analysis by Braun and Clarke guided the analysis. The findings in relation to the professionals' role and responsibility towards family caregivers are presented in three themes: family caregivers - a resource that needs support; a responsibility with unclear boundaries; and balancing different needs. Professionals recognised family caregivers' need for support and acknowledged the importance of family relationships. However, they experienced dilemmas in performing their dual responsibility of caring for the older care recipient as well as the family member, which they described as having unclear guidelines. They also experienced that they had insufficient knowledge to take on this responsibility. We argue that the exercising of discretion is essential for the professionals' responsibility, and that clarification of their responsibility is needed. We recommend a stronger focus in education on developing competence in the family perspective. Furthermore, the apportionment of professionals' responsibility needs to be formalised, especially when several services are involved in providing care.

Mothers' Experiences and Perceptions of Facility-based Delivery Care in Rural Ethiopia.

In Ethiopia, delivery wards are a part of primary healthcare services. However, although the maternal mortality rate is very high, approximately 50% of mothers use skilled birth attendants. This study focused on how women in a rural southern district of Ethiopia experience maternity care offered at the local delivery wards. In this qualitative, exploratory study, 19 women who had given birth in a healthcare facility were interviewed in 2019. Individual in-depth interviews were supplemented with observations conducted at 2 different delivery wards in the same district in 2020. Two main themes emerged from the thematic content analysis: increased awareness and safety were the primary reasons for giving birth at a healthcare facility, and traditions and norms affected women's birth experiences in public maternity wards. The main shortcomings were a shortage of medicine, ambulance not arriving in time, and lack of care at night. For some women, being assisted by a male midwife could be challenging, and the inability to afford necessary medicine made adequate treatment inaccessible. Providing continuous information gave the women a certain feeling of control. Strong family involvement indicated that collectivistic expectations were key to rural delivery wards. The healthcare system must be structured to meet women's needs. Moreover, managers and midwives should ensure that birthing women receive high-quality, safe, timely, and respectful care.

Providing safe maternity care under challenging conditions in rural Ethiopia: a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: Women's health and the reduction in the global maternal mortality rate is a research priority worldwide. The aim of this study was to investigate the structural conditions that influence the maternity care provided for women in rural Ethiopia. METHODS: A qualitative descriptive study was conducted, composed of 28 individual in-depth interviews with midwives and women who had given birth during the past 8 months, and observations of maternity care at health centres and a primary hospital. A thematic analysis was conducted. RESULTS: The midwives do their utmost to save the lives of mothers and prioritise saving lives over providing compassionate care. Inadequate resources, such as equipment, medicine and water, affect the quality of care they provide for the birthing women. This creates a conflict between the midwives' ideals and what conditions allow them to do. Families and the women's network play important roles in providing care and support to the women who give birth in health facilities. CONCLUSIONS: Structural conditions make it difficult for Ethiopian midwives in rural areas to provide optimal maternity care. In addition to the availability of professional midwifery care, the expectant mothers' families and networks also tend to provide important support and care. Further studies on how to improve the quality of maternity care from the women's perspective are needed.

Finding ways to carry on: stories of vulnerability in chronic illness.

Purpose: In this study, we explore the lived experiences of chronic illness in four groups of patients; children with asthma, adolescents with diabetes, young adults with depression, and adult patients with chronic, obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Persons living with chronic illness are often designated as vulnerable. This study builds on the assumption that being vulnerable belongs to being human, and that vulnerability also might entail strength and possibilities for growth. Methods: A narrative analysis was undertaken to illuminate how experiences of vulnerability were narrated across the four patient groups, presenting four individual stories, one from each of the patient groups. Results/conclusion: The stories illuminate how living with a chronic illness implies differing capabilities and capacities dependent on the specific condition. At the same time the stories point to how various abilities and challenges in living with chronic illness can be alleviated or seen as resources. Considered together, the stories underscore how ´finding ways to carry on´ in chronic illness requires interpretational work. By calling upon resources among significant others, in the surroundings and in oneself, the narrator can find ways of interpreting living with chronic illness that might open towards a hopeful future.

Parents' and nurses' ideal collaboration in treatment-centered and home-like care of hospitalized preschool children - a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: The hospitalization of children requires collaboration between parents and nurses in partnerships. This study examines parents' and nurses' experiences of ideal collaboration in treatment-centered and home-like care of hospitalized preschool children. METHODS: This qualitative study is part of a larger study of 12 parents and 17 nurses who were responsible for 11 hospitalized children. Data collection took place at a Norwegian general paediatric unit, and the data were gathered from observations of and qualitative interviews with the parents and nurses. The analysis was conducted in six steps, in alignment with Braun and Clarke. RESULTS: Two essential themes emerged from the analysis. (1) Treatment-centered care focuses on the following tasks in building relationships - gaining trust, securing - gaining voluntariness, distracting and comforting, and securing and gaining voluntariness. The purpose of treatment-centered care is to perform diagnostic procedures and offer treatment. (2) Home-like care, the purpose of which is to manage a child's everyday situations in an unfamiliar environment, focuses on the following tasks: making familiar meals, maintaining normal sleeping patterns, adjusting to washing and dressing in new situations, and normalizing the time in between. From this pattern, we chose two narratives that capture the essence of ideal collaboration between parents and nurses. CONCLUSION: The ideal collaboration between nurses and parents is characterized by flexibility and reciprocity, and is based on verbal and action dialogues. In treatment-centered care, parent-nurse collaboration was successful in its flow and dynamic, securing the children's best interests. Meanwhile, the achievement of the children's best interest within home-like care varied according to the level of collaboration, which in turn was related to the complexity of the children's everyday situations.

Vulnerability in Nurses: A Phenomenon That Cuts Across Professional and Private Spheres.

Patients' vulnerability is a core concern in nursing. However, the nurse's endeavor to succeed may precipitate her vulnerability. Involving master students, 14 nurses' experiences of vulnerability in their professional roles were explored with a descriptive phenomenological approach. Vulnerability among nurses showed to be a latent feeling that manifests via bodily reactions including being overwhelmed by one's feelings and struggling to avoid being hurt. These experiences were evident in situations with patients and relatives, but also coworkers and working conditions, the latter suggests that the exposure of vulnerability may be possible to reduce by organizational awareness.

Professional vulnerability in mental healthcare contexts: A focus group study of milieu-therapists' experiences.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To gain insight into how the workplace influences milieu-therapists' vulnerability in the mental healthcare context. BACKGROUND: Mental health services have experienced substantial changes. Reduced institutional treatment capacity is replacing the development of locally based treatment. Changes in external conditions in mental health services have influenced the working conditions of nurses and milieu-therapists. DESIGN: Qualitative design. The study complied with the COREQ checklist. METHODS: Focus group interviews. RESULTS: "Vulnerability due to unpredictable and threatening working context" was the common key theme that emerged in both contexts. Two key themes were different and opposite. In municipal mental health care, "Alone and unprotected" and in institutional care, "Together and protected." CONCLUSION: The participants from both specialized and community mental health care, experienced vulnerability at different levels interpreted as a contradictory relationship between the healthcare system and their own ideals of what professional practice ought to be. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: This study contributes to extended knowledge and understanding about the experienced influence of the working environment on professional vulnerability of nurses and milieu-therapists` in mental health services. The impact of contextual conditions on health professionals' working conditions has multi-professional relevance for milieu-therapists and managers of mental health services, and it is an important topic in health and social higher education.

Day Care for People with Dementia: A Qualitative Study Comparing Experiences from Norway and Scotland.

Potential benefits from day care attendance are reported in the literature for both people with dementia and caregivers, although the evidence-base is limited. The study aimed to explore and compare experiences of day care services for people with dementia as described by day care attendees and their caregivers in Norway and Scotland. Whereas day care receives prominence in Norway's national dementia plan, Scotland does not highlight day care in its national dementia strategy. A qualitative cross-national comparative study was undertaken. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 17 people with dementia and 17 caregivers in Norway, and 19 people with dementia and 15 caregivers in Scotland. Data were analyzed thematically and comparatively to explore the experiences and outcomes of the participants. Findings indicate positive outcomes from day care for both people with dementia and caregivers. Satisfaction with services related to meaningful activities, getting out of the home, strengthening social connections and careful staff facilitation to create a positive and welcoming atmosphere. There were strong similarities in the content of services and experiences reported in the two countries. Some minor differences were noted, with caregiver support being an area of notable divergence in experiences. Specialist day care for people with dementia seems to provide important support and positive outcomes for people with dementia, and respite and reassurance for their caregivers. More research is needed to further explore the effect of day care designed for people with dementia both on the attendees and their caregivers.

Discourse analysis of health providers' experiences using service design.

BACKGROUND: Municipal healthcare organizations are facing increasing challenges to developing more cost-effective organizations and services, particularly in nursing homes. The background for this article is an attempt in this concern; implementing service design in a nursing home. AIM: The aim of the study is to explore nurses and nurse assistants' experiences using service design in a nursing home. DESIGN: A qualitative design was applied. METHOD: Data were collected through focus group interviews with 17 nurses and nurse assistants in 2015. Thematic discourse analysis was conducted to analyse their discussed experiences. RESULTS: The employees had positive attitudes towards incorporating a service design approach that focused on the patients' needs, which thus encouraged creative solutions and promoted employee involvement. The study shows that involving service designers and employees in the entire process, from planning to implementation of new and innovative solutions, requires closer collaboration between the service designers, managers, and employees to achieve the final goal. We consider that the results of this study will be of relevance to the future development of health care and nursing in nursing homes.

Women's childbearing location preferences in South Ethiopia: a qualitative study.

Maternal mortality is unacceptably high in developing countries, and maternal health care service utilization is associated with improved maternal outcomes. We shed light on conditions that influence women's preferences for childbirth location. Based on a qualitative descriptive design, 25 interviews were conducted with women of childbearing age in Southern Ethiopia in 2015. Previous experience of complications was the most common reason for using skilled attendants at the next childbirth. In addition, women's limited decision-making authority and knowledge, as well as the quality of health care services and infrastructure, influenced childbirth location preferences. Home birth is still the norm, but there is growing interest in using health facilities and skilled attendants.

Encountering Ambivalence - A Qualitative Study of Mental Health Nurses' Experiences with Dual Relationships.

Nurses are obliged to set professional boundaries in nurse-patient relationships. Relationships with patients that are pursued outside of working hours (dual relationships) are commonly prohibited by legislation and professional codes of ethics, but some nurses still engage in them. A thematic analysis of qualitative interviews revealed that the nurses experienced ambivalence regarding how they see the patients, their assessment of the dual relationships and how people around the nurses react to the relationships. Ambivalence was characterized by contradictory and indeterminate thoughts and attitudes toward patients and dual relationships. Results indicated that dual relationship decisions were complex and highly contextually dependent.

Transforming nurse-patient relationships-A qualitative study of nurse self-disclosure in mental health care.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To describe what and why nurses self-disclose to patients in mental health care. BACKGROUND: Self-disclosure is common, but controversial and difficult to delineate. Extant research suggests that self-disclosure might have several potentially beneficial effects on therapeutic alliance and treatment outcome for patients in mental health care, but results are often mixed and limited by definitional inconsistencies. DESIGN: Multi-site study with purposive sampling and source triangulation. METHOD: Qualitative descriptive study including data from 16 nurses taking part in participant observation, individual interviews and focus group interviews. RESULTS: Separate analyses resulted in four themes addressing the research question of what nurses self-disclose, and one main theme and four subthemes addressing why nurses self-disclose. The content of self-disclosure was captured in the four themes: Immediate family, Interests and activities, Life experiences and Identity. In addition, results showed that disclosures were common among the nurses. Self-disclosure's potential to transform the nurse-patient relationship, making it more open, honest, close, reciprocal and equal, was the overarching reason why nurses shared personal information. The nurses also chose to self-disclose to share existential and everyday sentiments, to give real-life advice, because it felt natural and responsive to patients' question to do so. CONCLUSION: Nurse self-disclosure is common and cover a variety of personal information. Nurses have several reasons for choosing to self-disclose, most of which are connected to improving the nurse-patient relationship. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Self-disclosure controversy can make it difficult for nurses to know whether they should share personal information or not. Insights into the diversity of and reasons for nurse self-disclosure can help with deliberations on self-disclosure.

Nurses and nurse assistants' experiences with using a design thinking approach to innovation in a nursing home.

AIM: The aim of this study was to evaluate nurses' and nurse assistants' experiences with a design thinking approach to innovation used in a nursing home in Norway. BACKGROUND: A design thinking approach to innovation that focuses on users' needs can be employed to address many of the challenges facing health care providers in a field facing a growing ageing population, complex diseases and financial shortfalls. EVALUATION: This study is based on a thematic analysis of four focus group interviews with nurses and nurse assistants (n = 23). KEY ISSUES: In the initial phase of developing the new service model, which included defining staff roles and responsibilities, participating nurses and nurse assistants felt engaged and motivated by the designers' inclusive and creative methods. However, during the new model's testing phase, they were critical of management's lack of involvement in the model`s implementation and therefore became less motivated about the project. CONCLUSION: The findings of the study highlight the importance of the designers cooperating with management and staff for the duration of the innovation process. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Challenging innovation processes require strong managers who engage with designers, patients, staff and volunteers throughout all phases of an innovation process using a design thinking approach.

Meaning in family caregiving for people with dementia: a narrative study about relationships, values, and motivation, and how day care influences these factors.

BACKGROUND: In addition to care-related burdens, most caregivers of a person with dementia perceive a variety of positive and satisfying experiences, such as feeling needed and useful in their family caregiving role. "Meaning-focused coping" describes both positive and negative emotions in periods with high levels of stress. Day care service may have the potential to increase caregivers' positive experiences and meaning-focused coping, and positively influence interpersonal relationships between those giving care and those receiving care. The aim of this study was to gain knowledge about family caregivers' experiences of meaning in their caring role. Additionally, the influence of day care services on caregivers' experiences and motivation in their caregiving role is explored. METHODS: A qualitative design based on individual interviews was used. The interviews were analyzed using a narrative method and a case study approach. FINDINGS: Family caregivers' roles and coping strategies were related to their relational ties. Caregivers had to make decisions about whether to enhance, maintain, or let go of emotional ties to find a good balance between meeting their own needs and the needs of the person with dementia. Family caregivers reported that day care positively influenced their "relationship-oriented coping" and experience of meaning. CONCLUSION: Finding meaning in the role of a family caregiver for persons with dementia is closely connected to the caregivers' own values and goals. Finding a balance between attending to their own needs and the needs of the person with dementia is crucial. Day care has the potential to increase family caregivers' motivation to care by supporting their capacity to meet their own needs, cooperate and communicate with the person with dementia, and make competent and autonomous choices, thus increasing their feeling of mastery.

The influence of day care centres designed for people with dementia on family caregivers - a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: Dementia is one of the most challenging age-related illnesses for family caregivers, whose care-related burden is well known. Research indicates that day care centres (DCCs) can reduce the caregiver burden and help family caregivers to cope with demands; however, the current body of knowledge is still tentative and inconsistent, and more research is recommended. The aim of this study is to provide an extended understanding of the situation of family caregivers and to examine to what extent DCCs can meet their need for support and respite. METHODS: This study has a qualitative descriptive design using in-depth interviews with 17 family caregivers of people with dementia attending DCCs. The data analysis was undertaken using systematic text condensation. RESULTS: Caregivers experience a complex role, with added responsibilities, new tasks, and emotional and relational challenges that are expressed through distressing emotions and demands for interaction. Additionally, the caregiving role leads to positive experiences, such as acceptance and adaptation, support and help, and positive changes in the relationship. Day care relieves family caregivers by meeting the person with dementia's needs for social community, nutrition, physical activity, and structure and variety in everyday life. Using a DCC led to a higher quality of time spent together and easier cooperation, but it also produced some hard feelings and challenging situations. DCCs gave the caregivers a feeling of freedom and increased the time available to be spent on their own needs, to be social and to work or do practical tasks undisturbed. CONCLUSIONS: DCCs for people with dementia can give family caregivers support and relief and have a positive impact on the relationship between the family caregiver and the person with dementia. A more individualized program, in addition to flexible opening hours, would make DCCs even more effective as a respite service, positively influencing the family caregiver's motivation and ability to care and postponing the need for nursing home placement.

Exposed to an Accumulation of Burdensome Feelings: Mental Health Nurses' Vulnerability in Everyday Encounters With Seriously Ill Inpatients.

Seriously mentally ill patients' unusual behavior is considered challenging in caring relationships, but we know little about how this affects mental health nurses' vulnerability. This article uses a phenomenological design inspired by Heidegger's philosophy with the results of fieldwork and reflection groups with 11 nurses on an acute ward. The nurses were exposed to an accumulation of negative emotions, caused by potentially or actually harmful scenarios that were more extreme than those in other nursing contexts. They protected themselves through limit-setting approaches, which conflicted with their standards of building trusting relationships with patients. The feeling of guilt might function as an appeal for authentic practice, but a change in practice requires the use of acknowledgment approaches and the systematic debriefing of accumulated burdensome feelings.