Systematic Review of Quality Improvement Projects Related to Intershift Nursing Handover.

BACKGROUND: Nursing handover is a real-time process in which patient-specific information is passed between nurses to ensure the continuity and safety of patient care. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of quality improvement (QI) projects in improving the intershift nursing handover process. METHODS: A computerized search was performed of electronic databases for articles published during 2009-2019 in English or Korean for which the full texts were available. The included studies involved QI projects, handover between nurses, and intershift handover. The QI-MQCS (Quality Improvement Minimum Quality Criteria Set) was used to appraise the quality of QI strategies. RESULTS: The handover methods used in the 22 QI projects could be broadly divided into 2 types: (1) using a standardized communication tool; and (2) involving patient-participation bedside handover. CONCLUSIONS: The published research on intershift handover-related QI projects employed standardized communication tools and the patient-participation bedside handover method to reduce adverse events and handover times and increase the satisfaction of patients and nurses. Future studies should measure the changes in patient safety-related outcomes.

Poor dietary behaviors among hospital nurses in Seoul, South Korea.

BACKGROUND: Nurses reportedly practice unhealthy behaviors due to unfavorable work schedules. Korean nurses are particularly vulnerable to dietary and health behaviors due to high patient-to-nurse ratios; however, there are few studies on Korean hospital nurses' health behaviors. PURPOSE: To investigate the dietary and health behaviors of Korean hospital nurses according to their work schedule type. METHOD: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study using survey data from 340 hospital nurses. Nurses' dietary and health behaviors were evaluated across different work schedules and compared to the general Korean female population. RESULTS: Nurses with rotating night shift schedules were more often underweight than nurses without night shifts and had more unhealthy dietary behaviors, such as skipping breakfast and eating late night snacks. Nonetheless, Korean nurses practiced healthy behaviors, such as engaging actively in physical activity. CONCLUSIONS: Hospitals should create policies to provide healthy schedules for nurses to mitigate the negative effects of rotating and night shifts. However, these management-led measures will be effective only if individual nurses realize and take responsibility for their health behaviors and choices.

First flatus time and xerostomia associated with gum-chewing after liver resection.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to compare the return of bowel function and xerostomia in patients who were and were not instructed to chew gum after elective open liver resection. BACKGROUND: Patients who undergo liver resection have limited early ambulation, because they require bed rest after surgery to prevent internal bleeding. They normally also require narcotic analgesics or patient-controlled analgesia for pain control. For these reasons, they often have symptoms of intestinal gas accumulation, abdominal distension and/or abdominal pain. DESIGN: Prospective case-control study. METHODS: Forty-two patients with hepatocellular carcinoma who were treated at Samsung Medical Center from September 2010 to February 2011 were included in this study. Patients who were scheduled for elective liver resection for hepatocellular carcinoma and were over 30 years of age were eligible. Patients were assigned to a gum-chewing group or a non-gum-chewing (control) group before surgery. RESULTS: The mean age of the gum-chewing group was 54·9 (±9·7) years, and the mean age of the control group was 55·1 (±8·4) years. The mean values of first flatus time and xerostomia were higher in the control group than in the gum-chewing group. First flatus time and xerostomia grade were significantly decreased in gum-chewing group compared with the control group after adjustment for hospitalisation days, duration of surgery and amount of analgesics administered. CONCLUSION: Patients who were instructed to chew gum after surgery demonstrated faster bowel function recovery and lower xerostomia grade after elective open liver resection than patients who did not chew gum. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Gum-chewing is an inexpensive, helpful adjunct to standard postoperative care after liver resection.