Preferences for disease-related information and transitional skills among adolescents with congenital heart disease in the early transitional stage.

PURPOSE: The transition towards adult-focused healthcare comprises a complex process requiring careful, individualized guidance of adolescents with congenital heart disease (CHD). Detailed data on their preferences regarding disease-related information and acquirable transitional skills are mostly lacking. We examined the preferences of CHD adolescents in the early transition stage. METHODS: A cross-sectional descriptive study was performed with adolescents recruited from a transition program. Two questionnaires assessing needs for information and transitional skills were used. Only questionnaires completed in the early transition stage were included. RESULTS: Forty-nine adolescents participated (mean age 15.9 ± 1.2 years, 43% girls). 59% requested information about their heart and previous and/or future surgeries/interventions, 45% about sports and medication, and a maximum of 27% about psychosocial topics. More girls than boys requested surgical information (76% versus 46%; p = 0.04). Adolescents with severely complex CHD more often requested information about medication than those with moderately complex CHD (63% versus 28%; p = 0.02). Older adolescents were less likely to request surgical information (OR = 0.53; 95%CI [0.26-0.88]; p = 0.03). Up to 83% of the adolescents perceived their skills as insufficient, but less than 14% was interested in acquiring skills.    Conclusion: Adolescents were mainly interested in medical topics, followed by lifestyle information. The informational needs tended to decrease with age. Timely gauging individual needs and delivering information, ideally in the early teens, appear important when providing person-tailored transitional care in CHD. Paradoxically, although the transitional skills were low-perceived, there was limited motivation to improve them. This paradox requires further investigation to better tailor transition interventions.     Clinical trial registration: Not applicable. WHAT IS KNOWN: • Transition towards adult life and care requires careful patient guidance. A person-tailored approach is strongly encouraged. However, details on preferences regarding disease-related information and transitional skills are scarce in adolescents with CHD. WHAT IS NEW: • This study showed that adolescents with CHD in early transition mainly need medical-related information. Their informational needs tend to decrease with age necessitating timely gauging for interest and delivering information. Adolescents report a low need to acquire transitional skills despite low self-esteemed skills levels.

An organizational design perspective on the monthly self-scheduling process in nursing homes: A multiple case study.

AIMS: To describe the monthly self-scheduling process in nursing homes (NH), to determine how specific organizational design characteristics (including interpersonal relationships and leadership style) influence this process, and to examine the effect on individual, team, and organization-related outcomes. DESIGN: A multiple case study using an organizational design perspective as the overarching theoretical and explanatory framework. METHODS: Data collection was performed in four Belgian NH during Spring 2019 using semi-structured interviews (n = 39), documents, and observations. Open, axial, and selective coding was used for the data reduction process, and a within-case and cross-case analysis was performed. The COREQ checklist was used for reporting the findings. RESULTS: One group (two NH) used self-scheduling because it corresponds with their decentralized organizational design. Together with a motivating head nurse and additional resources during the core phase of the process, this led to positive outcomes. In contrast, another group used self-scheduling under the assumption that it would solve the mismatch between their organizational design and other organizational problems, which resulted in less positive work attitudes. CONCLUSION: Self-scheduling should match the organizational structure and culture. Additional resources and an adaptive leadership style can help mobilize and support employees. Future research may use quantitative methods to confirm positive outcomes. IMPACT: This study contributes to the rare literature on self-scheduling in NHs by focusing on the monthly self-scheduling process and by including an organizational design perspective. NH management can become informed of different self-scheduling methodologies and the impact of specific organizational characteristics on this process. Head nurses can become aware that they need to adapt their leadership style to obtain improved outcomes. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: Three members of the study team met with several caregivers during field visits to conduct interviews and to observe the monthly self-scheduling process.

The effect of self-scheduling on organizational justice and work attitudes through leader-member exchange: A cross-sectional study using propensity scores.

BACKGROUND: Nurses have a very stressful and demanding job, which probably affects their health and well-being. This has resulted in a search for an optimal nurse schedule. Self-scheduling is one method to enhance flexibility and give more control to the employee. Literature on self-scheduling is scarce and mainly focused on the implementation process. So far, little is known about the long-term effects of self-scheduling. OBJECTIVE: The comparison of effects of self-scheduling versus fixed scheduling on three dimensions of organizational justice (distributive, procedural, interactional justice) and three work attitudes (job satisfaction, affective commitment, global empowerment). This total effect is decomposed into direct and indirect effects via hypothesised mediators (leader-member exchange and organizational justice). DESIGN: A cross-sectional multisite-matched study. SETTING: A questionnaire was distributed to nurses and nurse assistants of twelve nursing homes in Flanders (Belgium). Six matched pairs of nursing homes were formed, each containing a nursing home that uses self-scheduling (for at least one year) and one that uses fixed scheduling. PARTICIPANTS: The study sample included 308 nurses and nurse assistants, of which 160 surveys were from nursing homes using fixed scheduling, versus 148 surveys from nursing homes using self-scheduling. METHODS: Using a double robust fixed effects regression model adjusted for the propensity score, the total effect of self-scheduling compared to fixed scheduling was analysed on the proposed outcomes. Subsequently, a (multiple) mediation analysis was performed. RESULTS: If all people would have used self-scheduling instead of fixed scheduling, on average a significant decrease in the mean procedural justice score (estimated mean difference = -0.20, 95% CI -0.36 to -0.05) would be found. There is a significant negative direct effect (estimated mean difference = -0.12, 95% CI -0.21 to -0.03) and indirect effect via the mediator leader-member-exchange (estimated mean difference = -0.08, 95% CI -0.15 to -0.01) on procedural justice. In addition, significant negative indirect effects of self-scheduling were found via the mediator leader-member exchange on all the investigated outcomes. CONCLUSION: Drawing up the work schedule is perceived as less fair in the case of self-scheduling. Furthermore, self-scheduling has a negative indirect effect on several work attitudes as a result of the changed relationship between the head nurse and the employees. The increase in task variety and decision-making autonomy for the employees and the altered leadership role of the head nurse can have a major impact on the dynamics of the entire team.

Systematic review: What is the impact of self-scheduling on the patient, nurse and organization?

AIM: To systematically review and evaluate the literature on the impact of self-scheduling on patient, nurse and organization-related outcomes. DESIGN: A systematic review. DATA SOURCES: PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cinahl, Scopus, Google Scholar, ERIC and Cochrane Library were screened until October 2019 (week 40) for peer-reviewed, empirical articles, written in English, Dutch or French. REVIEW METHODS: Two reviewers screened title and abstract using predetermined eligibility criteria and one reviewer screened the full texts of relevant hits. Quality was assessed with the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. RESULTS: Studies (N = 23) were retained and classified into explanatory and descriptive studies. The articles reported on a range of outcomes: patient- and nurse-reported quality of care, job satisfaction, satisfaction with scheduling, work/life balance, planning involvement, interaction with colleagues, health and well-being, psychosocial factors, professional development, nurse manager's scheduling time, general working conditions, turnover, temporary employment agency use and absenteeism, recruitment and retention. CONCLUSION: The evidence base is limited. Several studies confirmed the positive impact of self-scheduling on the nurse and the organization. However, other studies found negative outcomes or no change. These outcomes should be interpreted in the light of contextual factors and the implementation process, which was often not without difficulties. Future research should use a multimethod longitudinal design, bear in mind the possibilities of quantitative research (e.g. for studying psychosocial factors) and employ a theoretical framework. IMPACT: This review informs about the inconsistent evidence on the association between self-scheduling and patient, nurse and organization-related outcomes and includes enablers and barriers to a successful implementation. These outcomes are influenced by the implementation process and the sustainability of the self-scheduling system, which are still major challenges for healthcare management. This demonstrates the urgent need for further research.

The relationship of nursing home price and quality of life.

BACKGROUND: Knowledge about the relationship between the residents' Quality of Life (QOL) and the nursing home price is currently lacking. Therefore, this study investigates the relationship between 11 dimensions of QOL and nursing homes price in Flemish nursing homes. METHODS: The data used in this cross-sectional study were collected by the Flemish government from years 2014 to 2017 and originates from 659 Flemish nursing homes. From 2014 to 2016, data on the QOL of 21,756 residents was assessed with the InterRAI instrument. This instrument contains 11 QOL dimensions. Multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to examine the research question. RESULTS: The multiple linear regressions indicated that a 10 euro increase in the daily nursing home price is associated with a significant decrease (P <  0.001) of 0.1 in 5 dimensions of QOL (access to services, comfort and environment, food and meals, respect, and safety and security). Hence, our results indicate that the association between price and QOL is very small. When conducting a subgroup analysis based on ownership type, the earlier found results remained only statistically significant for private nursing homes. CONCLUSION: Our findings show that nursing home price is of limited importance with respect to resident QOL. Contrary to popular belief, our study demonstrates a limited negative effect of price on QOL. Further research that includes other indicators of QOL is needed to allow policymakers and nursing home managers to improve nursing home residents' QOL.

Systematic review: Association between the patient-nurse ratio and nurse outcomes in acute care hospitals.

AIMS: To evaluate and summarize current evidence on the relationship between the patient-nurse ratio staffing method and nurse employee outcomes. BACKGROUND: Evidence-based decision-making linking nurse staffing with staff-related outcomes is a much needed research area. Although multiple studies have investigated this phenomenon, the evidence is mixed and fragmented. EVALUATION: A systematic literature search was conducted using PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cinahl, Cochrane Library and the ERIC databases. Thirty studies were identified, analysing eight selected key nurse outcomes. KEY ISSUE(S): Future research should focus on unit-level data, incorporate other methodologies and aim for comparability between different types of clinical settings as well as different health care systems. CONCLUSION: A relationship between the patient-nurse ratio and specific staff-related outcomes is confirmed by various studies. However, apart from the patient-nurse ratio other variables have to be taken into consideration to ensure quality of care (e.g., skill mix, the work environment and patient acuity). IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Hospital management should pursue the access and use of reliable data so that the validity and generalizability of evidence-based research can be assessed, which in turn can be converted into policy guidelines.