Satisfaction of intensive care unit patients linked to clinical and organisational factors: A cross-sectional multicentre study.

BACKGROUND: The satisfaction of critical care patients with the nursing care they receive is a key indicator of the quality of hospital care. OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were to analyse the level of satisfaction of critical care patients in relation to the nursing care received and to determine the relationship between the level of satisfaction and sociodemographic, clinical, and organisational variables. DESIGN: This was a prospective, descriptive correlational study. SETTING AND METHODS: The population consisted of all patients discharged from the intensive care units (ICUs) of 19 hospitals in Spain between December 2018 and December 2019. The level of satisfaction was measured using the validated Nursing Intensive Care Satisfaction Scale, and sociodemographic, clinical, and organisational data were collected. RESULTS: Participants' mean age (n = 677) was 59.7 (standard deviation: 16.1), and 62.8% of them were men (n = 426). Satisfaction with the nursing care received was 5.66 (SD: 0.68) out of a possible 6. The score for overall satisfaction presented statistically significant relationships with the hours of mechanical ventilation (p = 0.034), with the participant's perception of own health status (p = 0.01), with the participant's perceived degree of own recovery (p = 0.01), with the hospital's complexity level (p = 0.002), with the type of hospital (p = 0.005), and with the type of ICU (p = 0.004). Finally, the logistic regression model shows that the Nursing Intensive Care Satisfaction Scale score was not linked to age or sex but did have a statistically significant relationship with the perceived degree of recovery (p < 0.001) and the type of ICU (p=<0.001). The variables that predicted satisfaction were age, degree of recovery, and the type of ICU. CONCLUSION: Several studies show that patient satisfaction is related to the patient's perceived health status and perceived degree of recovery, a finding that is confirmed in our study. Our study moves beyond these outcomes to show that the hours of mechanical ventilation and the characteristics of the hospital also have a significant relationship with patients' satisfaction.

Factors influencing critical care nurses' intentions to use physical restraints adopting the theory of planned behaviour: A cross-sectional multicentre study.

BACKGROUND: Studies addressing critical care nurses' practices regarding physical restraints have focused on individual nurses' knowledge and attitudes but lack the understanding of other social influences that could affect nurses' intentions to use them. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to determine critical care nurses' attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control, and intentions to use physical restraints in intubated patients and the relationship between them and sociodemographic, professional, and contextual factors using a survey approach. METHODS: A cross-sectional, multicentre study was conducted in a convenience sample of 12 intensive care units from eight hospitals in Spain (n = 354). The Physical Restraint-Theory of Planned Behaviour questionnaire and a researcher-developed survey were used to collect structural and clinical data from each unit. Multilevel model analysis was used. RESULTS: Critical care nurses showed a moderate level of intention to use physical restraints 12.52 (standard deviation = 3.81) [3-21]. More than a half (52%) agreed restraints were safe. The highest perceived barrier against physical restraint use was patient cooperation. Although nurses did not feel that others expected them to use restraints, they did not perceive high levels of disapproval of such practice. Nurses who had received previous training on restraints and who worked in units with a flexible family visitation policy, an informed consent form for restraint use, analgosedation and restraint protocols, and nurse-driven analgosedation management reported lower levels of intention to use restraints. Working in smaller units (beta -1.81; 95% confidence interval [CI]: -0.18, -3.44) and working in units with a consent form for restraint use (beta -4.82; 95% CI: -2.80, -6.85) were the variables with the highest impact on nurses' intentions to use restraints. CONCLUSIONS: Critical care nurses' intentions to use physical restraints are moderate and are influenced by intrapersonal, patient, and contextual factors. Nurses who work in units with organisational policies and alternatives to restraints demonstrated lower levels of intention to use them.

Eliciting critical care nurses' beliefs regarding physical restraint use.

BACKGROUND: Despite the reported harms and ethical concerns about physical restraint use in the critical care settings, nurses' intention to apply them is unequal across countries. According to the theory of planned behaviour, eliciting nurses' beliefs regarding the use of physical restraints would provide additional social information about nurses' intention to perform this practice. AIM: To explore the salient behavioural, normative and control beliefs underlying the intention of critical care nurses to use physical restraints from the theory of planned behaviour. RESEARCH DESIGN: A belief elicitation study was conducted. PARTICIPANTS AND RESEARCH CONTEXT: Twenty-six critical care nurses were purposively sampled across gender, work-shift patterns and professional experience in five intensive care units of three hospitals in Spain. Data were obtained from a nine-item open-ended questionnaire and a focus group. Deductive content analysis was performed. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS: Ethical approval was obtained from the hospital ethics committee. Participants were assured their participation was voluntary. FINDINGS: Nurses framed the use of restraints as a way of prioritising patients' physical safety. They referred to contextual factors as the main reasons to justify their application. Nurses perceived that their decision is approved by other colleagues and the patients' relatives. Some nurses started advocating against their use, but felt powerless to change this unsafe practice within an unfavourable climate. Control beliefs were linked to patients' medical condition, availability of alternative solutions, analgo-sedation policies and work organisation. DISCUSSION: Safety arguments based on the surrounding work environment were discussed. CONCLUSION: Nurses' behavioural and control beliefs were related. Nurses should be trained in alternatives to physical restraint use. The impact of analgo-sedation protocols, relatives' involvement, leadership support and intensive care unit restraint policies on physical restraint practices need to be revised. Further research is required to explore why nurses do not act with moral courage to change this harmful practice.

Level of satisfaction of critical care patients regarding the nursing care received: Correlation with sociodemographic and clinical variables.

BACKGROUND: The satisfaction of critical care patients regarding the nursing care received is a key indicator of the quality of hospital care. It is, therefore, essential to identify the factors associated with the level of satisfaction of critical care patients. OBJECTIVES: To analyse the level of satisfaction of critical care patients in relation to the nursing care received and to determine the relationship between the level of satisfaction and the sociodemographic and clinical variables. METHODS: This is a prospective and descriptive correlational study. The population were all patients discharged (January 2013 to January 2015) from three intensive care units of a third-level hospital (n = 200). The data on the satisfaction level were collected using the previously validated Nursing Intensive-Care Satisfaction Scale, and the sociodemographic and clinical data were recorded by means of a questionnaire. RESULTS: Mean participants' age in the study (n = 200) was 65.9 years (standard deviation 13.4 years), with a 66% proportion of men (n = 132). There was a very high level of satisfaction regarding the nursing care received during the patients' stay in the intensive care unit, with a rating of 5.73 (standard deviation 0.41). There is no correlation between the level of satisfaction and the sociodemographic variables collected. However, there were statistically significant differences in the average score of the overall level of satisfaction (rho = 0.182, p = 0.010) with respect to the perception of the state of health. CONCLUSION: Critical care patients expressed very high rates of satisfaction, for both the scale as a whole and each of the factors. A high level of satisfaction is strongly influenced by the perception of the state of health.

Identifying Coordination and Continuity of Care Indicators for Population-Based Cancer Screening Programs: A Delphi Study.

BACKGROUND: Continuity of care and care coordination are critical issues in virtually all healthcare systems. European guidelines for the quality of screening programs for breast and colorectal cancer describe process, structure, and outcome indicators, but none specifically evaluate coordination and continuity of care during the cancer screening process. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to identify indicators reflecting care coordination and continuity in population-based breast and colorectal cancer screening program. METHODS: A two-round Delphi study was conducted in a sample of 30 cancer screening nurses to identify quality indicators. RESULTS: The final Delphi consensus resulted in six core indicators for the cancer screening program: adequacy of the referral of the target population from the screening program to other health services, waiting time for referral to other health services, understanding of the screening program by professionals involved in the process, effective information flow between professionals involved in the process, participants' perception of the screening program, and, finally, participants' understanding of information about the program. CONCLUSION: The evaluation of indicators is crucial for quality improvement and should allow a measuring system to be established that would allow a comparison of outcomes for all population-based cancer screening programs.

Implementation of the evidence for the improvement of nursing care to the critical patient's family: a Participatory Action Research.

BACKGROUND: There are many descriptive studies regarding the needs of the family, as well as those regarding nursing care aimed directly at family members. However, there is no widespread application of such evidence in clinical practice. There has also been no analysis made of the evolution of patterns of knowing during the act of improving clinical practice. Therefore, the purpose of the study is to understand the change process aimed at improving care to critical patient's families, and to explore the evolution of patterns of knowing that nurses use in this process. METHODS: Qualitative study with a Participatory Action Research method, in accordance with the Kemmis and McTaggart model. In this model, nurses can observe their practice, reflect upon it and compare it with scientific evidence, as well as define, deploy and evaluate improvement strategies adapted to the context. Simultaneously, the process of empowerment derived from the Participatory Action Research allows for the identification of patterns of knowing and their development over time. The research will take place in the Intensive Care Units of a tertiary hospital. The participants will be nurses who are part of the regular workforce of these units, with more than five years of experience in critical patients, and who are motivated to consider and critique their practice. Data collection will take place through participant observation, multi-level discussion group meetings and documentary analysis. A content analysis will be carried out, following a process of codification and categorisation, with the help of Nvivo10. The approval date and the beginning of the funding were December 2012 and 2013, respectively. DISCUSSION: The definition, introduction and evaluation of care strategies for family members will allow for their real and immediate implementation in practice. The study of the patterns of knowing in the Participatory Action Research will be part of the theoretical and practical feedback process of a professional discipline. Also, the identification of the construction and evolution of knowledge will provide decision elements to managers and academics when choosing strategies for increased quality.

Nursing Intensive-Care Satisfaction Scale [NICSS]: Development and validation of a patient-centred instrument.

AIM: The aim of this study was to develop and validate the Nursing Intensive-Care Satisfaction Scale to measures satisfaction with nursing care from the critical care patient's perspective. BACKGROUND: Instruments that measure satisfaction with nursing cares have been designed and validated without taking the patient's perspective into consideration. Despite the benefits and advances in measuring satisfaction with nursing care, none instrument is specifically designed to assess satisfaction in intensive care units. DESIGN: Instrument development. METHODS: The population were all discharged patients (January 2013 - January 2015) from three Intensive Care Units of a third level hospital (N = 200). All assessment instruments were given to discharged patients and 48 hours later, to analyse the temporal stability, only the questionnaire was given again. The validation process of the scale included the analysis of internal consistency, temporal stability; validity of construct through a confirmatory factor analysis; and criterion validity. RESULTS: Reliability was 0.95. The intraclass correlation coefficient for the total scale was 0.83 indicating a good temporal stability. Construct validity showed an acceptable fit and factorial structure with four factors, in accordance with the theoretical model, being Consequences factor the best correlated with other factors. Criterion validity, presented a correlation between low and high (range: 0.42-0.68). CONCLUSIONS: The scale has been designed and validated incorporating the perspective of critical care patients. Thanks to its reliability and validity, this questionnaire can be used both in research and in clinical practice. The scale offers a possibility to assess and develop interventions to improve patient satisfaction with nursing care.

Development of an instrument to measure the degree of critical patient's satisfaction with nursing care: research protocol.

AIM: To investigate and understand patient's satisfaction with nursing care in the intensive care unit to identify the dimensions of the concept of 'satisfaction' from the patient's point of view. To design and validate a questionnaire that measures satisfaction levels in critical patients. BACKGROUND: There are many instruments capable of measuring satisfaction with nursing care; however, they do not address the reality for critical patients nor are they applicable in our context. DESIGN: A dual approach study comprising: a qualitative phase employing Grounded Theory and a quantitative and descriptive phase to prepare and validate the questionnaire. METHODS: Data collection in the qualitative phase will consist of: in-depth interview after theoretical sampling, on-site diary and expert discussion group. The sample size will depend on the expected theoretical saturation n = 27-36. Analysis will be based on Grounded Theory. For the quantitative phase, the sampling will be based on convenience (n = 200). A questionnaire will be designed on the basis of qualitative data. Descriptive and inferential statistics will be used. The validation will be developed on the basis of the validity of the content, the criteria of the construct and reliability of the instrument by the Cronbach's alpha and test-retest approach. Approval date for this protocol was November 2010. DISCUSSION: Self-perceptions, beliefs, experiences, demographic, socio-cultural epistemological and political factors are determinants for satisfaction, and these should be taken into account when compiling a questionnaire on satisfaction with nursing care among critical patients.