Educational nutritional intervention to prevent loss of health-related quality of life among older adults after a surgical treatment: design of a randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Disease-related malnutrition after a hospital stay has major consequences for older adults, the healthcare system and society. This study aims to develop and test the effectiveness of an educational video to prevent loss of health-related quality of life among live-at-home older adults after surgical treatment in a hospital. METHOD: This randomised controlled trial will occur at a regional hospital in Norway. Participants will be live-at-home adults aged 65 years and older. They will be recruited from three different surgical departments after a surgical procedure. Individuals with a body mass index below 24 and a home address in one of nine selected municipalities will be eligible for inclusion. Participants will be randomly assigned to either the intervention group or the control group. Those assigned to the intervention group will obtain access to a 6-min educational video 5 days after being discharged from the hospital. The control group will not obtain access to the video. The primary outcome will be health-related quality of life using the Norwegian Rand 36-Item Short Form Health Survey. Furthermore, we will measure body composition, number of readmissions and nutritional knowledge at inclusion and 3-month follow-up. DISCUSSION: This randomised controlled trial is expected to provide insight into whether an educational video can improve the nutritional status of older adults following a surgical procedure and discharge from the hospital. The findings will be useful for assessing how videos offering nutritional advice to older adults who have undergone a surgical procedure can improve their health-related quality of life, reduce loss of function, prevent readmission to hospital and reduce healthcare costs. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05950373. Registered on 11 July 2023.

Patients' expectations of and experiences with psychosocial care needs in perioperative nursing: a descriptive study.

BACKGROUND: Meeting inpatients' psychosocial care needs is essential for their wellbeing, recovery, and positive experiences. This study aimed to describe and compare surgical inpatients' subjective perceptions of the importance of fundamental psychosocial and overall care received. METHODS: A descriptive study with a convenient sample was conducted from September 2019 to April 2020. A total of 194 surgical inpatients from Norway and Denmark answered a perioperative user participation questionnaire on the day of discharge. The questionnaire was previously face- and content validated. The questionnaire assessed patients' sociodemographic characteristics and four dimensions of fundamental care domains: Psychosocial, Relational, Physical, and System level. This study reports the results from the psychosocial domain. Descriptive statistics including frequencies, percentages, means, and standard deviations were used to analyze background information variables. The congruency between participants' expectations of and experiences with psychosocial care is presented. RESULTS: The inpatients expected (and experienced) the healthcare personnel to treat them with respect and dignity, and to be involved and informed throughout their perioperative care. The average ratings regarding these aspects of psychosocial care needs were 72.1-93.8%. There was congruency between patients' perceptions of the subjective importance (SI) of psychosocial fundamental care and their perceived reality (PR) of care. Congruency between high SI and high PR ranged from 59.1 to 92.2%, and congruency between low SI and low PR ranged from 0 to 6.6%. Incongruency between SI and PR varied between 5.9 and 39.6% and was mainly related to higher PR than SI. We found no association between education level, sex, length of stay, age, and patient expectations of or experiences with psychosocial care needs. CONCLUSIONS: Surgical inpatients in Norway and Denmark experience respectful and dignified treatment, and they feel involved and informed in their perioperative care. It is important to include patient perspectives in further research to avoid missed care and disconnection between what patients prefer and what healthcare personnel plan to do. Understanding patient preferences might also lead to less stress and workload for healthcare personnel.

Prehabilitation before elective coronary artery bypass grafting surgery: a scoping review.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this scoping review was to identify and map existing preoperative interventions, referred to as prehabilitation, in adult patients at home awaiting elective coronary artery bypass grafting surgery. This review also sought to report feasibility and patient experiences to shape clinical practice and underpin a future systematic review. INTRODUCTION: As patients age, comorbidities become more common. Strategies to improve postoperative outcomes and to accelerate recovery are required in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting. Prehabilitation refers to a proactive process of increasing functional capacity before surgery to improve the patient's ability to withstand upcoming physiologic stress and, thus, avoid postoperative complications. INCLUSION CRITERIA: Studies that included adult patients waiting for coronary artery bypass grafting surgery at home and that described interventions optimizing preoperative physical and psychological health in any setting were included. METHODS: The JBI methodology for conducting scoping reviews was used to identify relevant studies in MEDLINE (PubMed), CINAHL (EBSCOhost), Cochrane Library, Embase (Ovid), Scopus, SweMed+, PsycINFO (EBSCOhost), and PEDro. Gray literature was identified searching Google Scholar, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, MedNar, OpenGrey, NICE Evidence search, and SIGN. Studies in Danish, English, German, Norwegian, and Swedish were considered for inclusion, with no geographical or cultural limitations, or date restrictions. Two independent reviewers screened titles and abstracts, and studies meeting the inclusion criteria were imported into Covidence. Sixty-seven studies from November 1987 to September 2022 were included. The data extraction tool used for the included papers was developed in accordance with the review questions and tested for adequacy and comprehensiveness with the first 5 studies by the same 2 independent reviewers. The tool was then edited to best reflect the review questions. Extracted findings are described and supported by figures and tables. RESULTS: Sixty-seven studies were eligible for inclusion, representing 28,553 participants. Analyses of extracted data identified various preoperative interventions for optimizing postoperative and psychological outcomes for adult patients awaiting elective coronary artery bypass grafting surgery. Based on similarities, interventions were grouped into 5 categories. Eighteen studies reported on multimodal interventions, 17 reported on psychological interventions, 14 on physical training interventions, 13 on education interventions, and 5 on oral health interventions. CONCLUSION: This scoping review provides a comprehensive summary of strategies that can be applied when developing a prehabilitation program for patients awaiting elective coronary artery bypass surgery. Although prehabilitation has been tested extensively and appears to be feasible, available evidence is mostly based on small studies. For patients undergoing elective coronary artery bypass grafting to derive benefit from prehabilitation, methodologically robust clinical trials and knowledge synthesis are required to identify optimal strategies for patient selection, intervention design, adherence, and intervention duration. Future research should also consider the cost-effectiveness of prehabilitation interventions before surgery. Finally, there is a need for more qualitative studies examining whether individual interventions are meaningful and appropriate to patients, which is an important factor if interventions are to be effective.

Development and validation of the perioperative care and user participation (POUP) questionnaire.

AIM: To validate a Perioperative User Participation questionnaire (POUP) that measures elective adult surgical patient experiences and evaluation of the significance of selected perioperative care items. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A generic perioperative user involvement questionnaire (POUP) was developed in the form of four psychometric scales based on the Fundamentals of Care (FoC) framework. The POUP is designed to capture patients' perceived and subjective importance of selected items of perioperative care. It was developed in Danish and comprehensive Danish-Norwegian translations were conducted. Face and content validation were conducted involving patients and expert nurses. The relevance of items was assessed by 68 patients, and the internal consistency of the scales was calculated. RESULTS: Danish and Norwegian patients assessed the POUP's face validity, and perioperative expert nurses reported no problems in clarity or ambiguity. However, a few reformulations of the questionnaire texts were suggested. None of the questions were reported as irrelevant or difficult to answer nor was any topic reported missing. Patients assessed all items as relevant, and the internal consistency for the three scales was between 0.8 and 0.9, and no differences between countries were found. CONCLUSION: The POUP questionnaire has four scales; the items are valid, but the scales need further statistical validation and refinement. At present, the POUP might provide insight into how elective adult surgical patients value the significance of perioperative care.

Needs of carers participating in support groups and caring for a person with dementia: A focused ethnographic study.

AIMS: The aim is to explore and understand how support group participation meets carers' perceived needs for information and social and emotional support when caring for a person with dementia who lives at home. DESIGN: Focused ethnographic design. METHODS: Participant observations and semi-structured interviews with 25 carers were conducted. An inductive content analysis of the data was performed. FINDINGS: Two themes were identified: "Strengthening the sense of self" and "Managing uncertain benefits." CONCLUSION: Carers' level of information about dementia was partly met, thereby strengthening their sense of self and joy. Maintaining shared decision-making in financial matters was viewed as an expression of respect and reciprocity. Getting acquainted with peers and dementia coordinators was viewed as emotional and social support but was also used strategically to gain easier access to health care services. By fulfilling their needs, support group meetings became meaningful, which motivated carers to continue providing care.

User participation in perioperative hospital care research: a methodological framework for a research program.

It is important to study the well-being of patients and their relatives after receiving hospital treatment, as both the healthcare professional and the political attention towards user participation is constantly increasing. In this study, user participation is understood as a way to manage the user's rights, opportunity for choices and human rights through relationships and with their well-being as a common goal. Therefore, the health professionals' understanding of this must be increased, evidence must increasingly form the basis for the chosen actions and the professional management must support a person-oriented clinical practice. The research program's theoretical perspective for perioperative nursing is presented in this article, and it is based on answering person-oriented Fundamental of Care questions and as a methodological challenge to have user involvement as a constant activity. This theoretical and methodological choice guides the continued development of the research program. Perioperative nursing is understood from the time the patient meets the nurse at the time of admission until the time of discharge after the elective surgical treatment is completed. To our knowledge no studies regarding the outcome of FoC for the perioperative patient have been conducted. We address healthcare providers' actions, starting from when a nurse admits a patient until the day of discharge after treatment is complete, and nursing care related to elective surgical procedures in Norwegian and Danish non-university hospitals. The research program seeks insight into the experiences of current and former patients and relatives as well as the healthcare professionals who perform the treatment in Norwegian and Danish non-university hospitals. Based on results from this research program, we expect to be able to increase the healthcare professionals' competencies in Fundamental Care and to increase their openness regarding user involvement, options and human rights for the benefit of surgical patients well-being.

Psychometric properties of tools for initial screening for oropharyngeal dysphagia in older people: a scoping review protocol.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this scoping review is to identify and map the psychometric properties of screening tools designed to identify oropharyngeal dysphagia in older people. INTRODUCTION: Oropharyngeal dysphagia is a geriatric syndrome associated with reduced quality of life, malnutrition, dehydration, medical administration problems, and poor health care outcomes. It requires a multidimensional approach to treatment. The syndrome is present in approximately 60% of institutionalized, frail older patients and in 47% of frail older patients who are hospitalized. INCLUSION CRITERIA: This review will consider studies of screening tools for oropharyngeal dysphagia used in people older than 65 years who do not have stroke, Parkinson disease, sclerosis, or head and neck cancer. Patients who depend on respiratory support or feeding tubes will be excluded. All health care settings will be included. METHODS: The JBI methodology for scoping reviews will be followed. The Cochrane Library, CINAHL, MEDLINE, Embase, and Epistemonikos will be searched for relevant studies. Sources of unpublished studies and gray literature, including Google Scholar, will be searched. Articles published in English, Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian will be included. Two independent reviewers will screen titles and abstracts against the inclusion criteria. The full text of included studies will be read and relevant citations included. Disagreements between the reviewers will be resolved through discussion or with a third reviewer. The proposed data extraction form will be modified as necessary during the process. Data will be presented in diagrammatic form, and a narrative summary that aligns with the objective will be included.

Urinary tract infection in patients with hip fracture.

INTRODUCTION: Urinary tract infection (UTI) is a frequent complication of hip fractures. The Danish national clinical guideline for hip fracture recommends early and systematic mobilisation after surgery and that indwelling catheters are not used perioperatively. AIMS: The aim of this study was to describe the number of patients who received nursing care to prevent UTIs in accordance with the recommendations from the national Danish clinical guidelines. Specifically, the aim was to report the number of patients developing UTIs during admission, have indwelling catheters removed and being mobilised with 24 hours after surgery. METHODS: This prospective study included 65 patients. Data were collected on mobilisation and catheter use with a chart designed for this study. Sterile intermittent catheterisation was used to collect urine samples on admission and at discharge. Urine samples were sent for analysis at the microbiology laboratory. The urine sample was positive for UTI if the test showed 104 CFU/ml bacteria. RESULTS: A total of five patients contracted nosocomial UTI during their hospital stay (7.7%), while 29.2% of patients had a positive urine culture on admission and were treated for UTI. At discharge, 20% of the patients had a positive urine sample but no symptoms. Postoperatively, 52.3% of the patients were mobilised within 24 hours. CONCLUSION: The incidence of nosocomial UTI was similar to what has been found in other studies (95% [CI], 0.03-0.17]). The percentage of patients with nosocomial UTI was 7.7%. Nursing care related to hygienic performance of catheterisation or intermittent catheterisation adhered to the Danish national clinical guidelines, and 52.3% of the patients were mobilised within 24 h after surgery, which showed low adherence to the guidelines.

Prehabilitation before elective coronary artery bypass grafting surgery: a scoping review protocol.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this scoping review is to identify and map existing preoperative interventions, referred to as prehabilitation, in adult patients at home awaiting coronary bypass grafting (CABG) surgery. This scoping review also seeks to examine the feasibility and patient experiences in order to inform clinical practice and underpin a future systematic review. INTRODUCTION: As patients age, comorbidities become more common. Strategies to improve postoperative outcomes and to accelerate recovery are required in patients undergoing CABG. Prehabilitation refers to a proactive process of increasing functional capacity before surgery to improve the patient's capacity to withstand upcoming physiologic stress and thus avoid postoperative complications. INCLUSION CRITERIA: This scoping review will consider any studies including adult patients at home awaiting CABG surgery. Studies will provide information on any prehabilitation intervention to optimize preoperative physical and psychological health status. Studies conducted in any setting will be included. METHODS: The methodology will follow the JBI recommendations for scoping reviews. Any published or unpublished source of information will be considered. Studies published in English, German, Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian will be included, with no geographical or cultural limitations. Retrieved papers will be screened by two independent reviewers, and a standardized tool will be used to extract data from each included source. The results will be presented as a map of the data extracted in a tabular form together with a narrative summary to provide a description of the existing evidence.

Effectiveness of individualised nutritional care plans to reduce malnutrition during hospitalisation and up to 3 months post-discharge: a systematic scoping review.

OBJECTIVES: The prevalence of malnutrition after hospitalisation is reported to be 20%-45%, which may lead to adverse outcomes, as malnutrition increases the risk of complications, morbidity, mortality and loss of function. Improving the quality of nutritional treatment in hospitals and post-discharge is necessary, as hospital stays tend to be short. We aimed to identify and map studies that assess the effectiveness of individualised nutritional care plans to reduce malnutrition during hospitalisation and for the first 3 months post-discharge. DESIGN: This was a systematic scoping review. METHODS: We systematically searched for all types of studies in the following databases: EMBASE, MEDLINE via PubMed, and the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, with no restriction on data or publication language. We also reviewed the reference lists of the included studies. The abstracts and full articles were simultaneously screened by two independent reviewers. Differences of opinion were discussed among the two investigators, and a third reviewer assisted with the discussion until consensus was reached. Studies in which the patients received an individual nutritional care plan related to their hospital stay and were followed up post-discharge were included. We then conducted a thematic content analysis of the extracted literature. RESULTS: Nine randomised controlled trial studies met the inclusion criteria: six were conducted in Scandinavian countries. All studies were mainly conducted among elderly patients (mean ages varied from 75 to 88 years). The review studies measured 10 different outcomes; the most common outcomes were nutritional status and readmission. Six studies reported one or more significant positive intervention effect. Inconsistent results were identified for four outcome variables. CONCLUSIONS: Individualised nutritional care plans and follow-up home visits might improve patients' nutritional status. However, there is need for a systematic review that assesses study quality and extends the time to 6 months post-discharge.

Questionnaire measuring patient participation in health care: Scale development and psychometric evaluation.

BACKGROUND: Patient participation in treatment and care is often encouraged and is desirable because of its proven positive impact on treatment, quality of care and patient safety. AIMS: To develop an instrument to measure patient participation in health care and to investigate the measurement properties of the Patient Participation Questionnaire (PPQ). METHODS: A literature review was conducted to develop a model of patient participation. The PPQ was constructed consisting of 17 items organized into four subscales. Psychometric evaluation of factor structure, convergent construct validity by hypothesis testing and analyses of internal consistency using Cronbach's alpha were performed on data from a hospitalised mixed group of patients with cardiac disease, pulmonary disease and cancer (N=378 patients). RESULTS: Confirmatory factor analysis did not show a clear model fit, which is why an exploratory factor analysis was performed, suggesting a different four subscale structure consisting of a total of 16 items. The four subscales were labelled Shared decision power, Adapted and individualized knowledge, Collaboration and Human approach. There were strong ceiling effects on all items. Analysis of convergent construct validity showed a moderate correlation (0.59) between the PPQ and another instrument measuring patient participation. Internal consistency for the total PPQ score was high: 0.89. CONCLUSION: In a mixed group of patients with cardiac disease, pulmonary disease and cancer, the PPQ showed promising psychometric properties in terms of factor structure, convergent construct validity and internal consistency. The PPQ may be used to shed light on the experience of patient participation and guide quality improvements.

Barriers to access of healthcare services by the immigrant population in Scandinavia: a scoping review protocol.

INTRODUCTION: Access to healthcare services for legal immigrants in Scandinavia is part of the policy agenda of the various governments as they strive to provide equal healthcare services to its citizens. Legal immigrants have the same rights as natives; however, studies have shown that there are inequalities in access to healthcare services between legal immigrants and natives. The extent of access depends on several factors, including organisational, social, financial and cultural factors. The lack of these factors acts as a barrier to access of healthcare services. The aim of this review is to map and report the evidence available on the barriers to access of healthcare services by legal immigrants in Scandinavia. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: We will adopt the six-stage framework developed by Arksey and O'Malley: (1) identifying the research question(s); (2) searching for relevant studies; (3) selecting studies; (4) charting the data; (5) collating, summarising and reporting the results; (6) conducting consultation exercises refined by Levac et al and the Joanna Briggs Institute. The search strategy for this scoping review will involve electronic databases including Ovid Medline, PsycINFO, Ovid EMBASE, PubMed and Google Scholar, in addition to grey literature from websites of relevant organisations. Data will be extracted and charted by two independent reviewers. A narrative summary of the findings will be presented. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This is a review of the literature and all data will be obtained from publicly available materials; therefore, ethics approval is not required. The findings from this study will be disseminated as publications in peer-reviewed journals, at relevant national and international conferences, and as presentations to the health authorities in several municipalities in the Trøndelag region of Norway.

Speaking the same language: Development of a Nutrition Minimum Data Set for healthcare professionals in primary healthcare.

Providing the best possible nutritional care requires accurate and precise communication between healthcare professionals. Developing a Nutrition Minimum Data Set will inform professionals in primary healthcare of which core elements should be documented and facilitate a standardized approach to the documentation of nutritional care. A two-step methodological approach was utilized in this study: (1) a systematic scoping review was conducted to map evidence underpinning the development of a Minimum Data Set and (2) the datasources were categorized using the inductive content analysis approach. A total of 32 items were identified in the datasources. Five categories were inductively derived from the data: (1) physiologic measurements, (2) ability to eat, (3) intake, (4) stress factors and (5) factors which indirectly affect intake and needs. Organizing the documentation following the structure presented in this Minimum Data Set will contribute to a standardized terminology, which may lead to increased quality of documentation, increased continuity of care and improved health outcomes.

Evaluation of NICU Nurses' Competence in Pain Assessment 5 Years After Implementation of the COMFORTneo Scale.

BACKGROUND: Adequate pain management of preterm and sick newborn infants is a critical issue in the neonatal intensive care unit, as the infants are small and vulnerable with limited resources to deal with pain and stressful experiences. The use of pain assessment instruments, however, must be applied correctly to achieve consistency and improve continuity in care and treatment among clinicians. PURPOSE: To assess the development of neonatal intensive care unit nurses' interrater agreement in using the COMFORTneo pain assessment tool 5 years after initial implementation, and to identify items needing further development through analysis of discrepancies among nurses' COMFORTneo scores. METHODS: An evaluation study with a pre- and postdesign comparing nurses' interrater reliability in assessing infant pain using the COMFORTneo pain assessment tool at baseline and 5-year follow-up. RESULTS: Eighty-five percent of the nurses in the follow-up group (n = 26) had improved their skills 5 years after the implementation, and the improvement was significant (P < .000). We also found that interrater reliability was satisfactory (κ scores ≥0.65) for all the items of the COMFORTneo tool. However, to obtain "very good" interrater reliability (κ scores ≥0.80) 3 items were identified needing increased focus. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: A thorough implementation of a national clinical guideline has been partially effective in ensuring that nurses used the COMFORTneo in their daily practice, which increased their competence in pain assessment. IMPLICATIONS FOR RESEARCH: Further research into the education of nurses on the efficacy of pain scales, nonpharmacologic and pharmacologic therapies, and individualized pain assessment is needed to better address pain management.

Scoping review protocol: effectiveness of individualised nutritional care plans to reduce malnutrition during hospitalisation and up to 3 months after discharge.

INTRODUCTION: More than 20% of patients are malnourished after hospitalisation. Malnutrition may negatively impact patients' outcomes as it increases the risk of complications, morbidity, mortality and loss of function. However, hospital-initiated transitional care can improve some outcomes in hospitalised adult patients. The objective of this scoping review is to map the literature that assesses the effectiveness of individualised nutritional care plans to reduce malnutrition during hospitalisation and for the first 3 months after discharge. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This protocol is based on the framework outlined by Arksey and O'Malley. The search strategy was developed by a medical librarian. We will search for relevant literature from the following databases: MEDLINE via PubMed, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, and Embase. We will also search the reference lists of included studies. Two independent reviewers will screen abstracts and full articles in parallel, from the included studies using specific inclusion and exclusion criteria. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis Protocols checklist facilitated the preparation of this research protocol. The scoping review will provide a narrative account of the findings from the existing literature through thematic content analysis of the extracted literature. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Since all data will be obtained from publicly available materials, research ethics approval is not required for this scoping review. The research findings will be submitted for publication in a relevant open-access peer-reviewed journal and presented at relevant conferences.

The effectiveness of hypnotic analgesia in the management of procedural pain in minimally invasive procedures: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Patients undergoing minimally invasive procedures under a light conscious sedation perceive pain and anxiety. Hypnosis used together with analgesics has been investigated in numerous studies. AIMS AND METHODS: To assess the effectiveness of hypnotic analgesia in management of pain, anxiety, analgesic consumption, procedure length and adverse events in adults undergoing minimally invasive procedures. Clinical controlled trials in which hypnosis was used together with pharmacological analgesia compared to pharmacological analgesia alone during invasive procedures were included. Seven databases were searched. The methodological quality of the studies was assessed by two reviewers using a standardised instrument for critical appraisal from Joanna Briggs Institute, 'Meta-Analysis of statistics assessment and review Instrument'. Meta-analyses using the review manager version 5.3 software were conducted on procedure length and adverse events. Results for pain, anxiety and analgesics were synthesised in narrative summaries. Conduction of the review adheres to the PRISMA checklist. RESULTS: Ten studies comprising 1,365 participants were included. A reduction in the consumption of pain medication was found between 21%-86% without aggravating pain intensity and anxiety. In few studies, significant reduction in pain intensity and anxiety was found. Meta-analysis including seven studies revealed a small beneficial effect on reducing procedure length. A meta-analysis on adverse events showed no significant reduction. Statistical heterogeneity was found among the studies included. CONCLUSION: For patients undergoing invasive procedures, hypnotic analgesia was effective in reducing consumption of analgesics. Only a slight effect was, however, found on experienced anxiety and pain intensity. It did not prolong the procedure and was safe to provide. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Hypnosis is recommended as pain management for adults during invasive procedures. A reduced consumption of pain medication potentially has a major impact on monitoring and observation of patients following the procedure, thus improving patient safety and reducing resource consumption.

Support groups for carers of a person with dementia who lives at home: A focused ethnographic study.

AIMS: To explore and understand carer participation in support groups when caring for a person with dementia who lives at home. DESIGN: Focused ethnographic design. METHODS: Participant observations and semi-structured interviews were conducted from January-December 2015. The data were collected from four support groups in the Danish primary healthcare system. Interviews were conducted with 25 carers. An inductive content analysis of the data was performed. RESULTS: Three themes were identified: emotional well-being due to peer and family support, emotional sense of togetherness despite hardships and emotional and ethical considerations in caregiving. CONCLUSION: Support group participation with positive peer interaction increases carer self-esteem and feelings of togetherness, and an awareness of maintaining the care receiver`s dignity and prevention of conflicts with families, resulting in an improvement in carer well-being, leading to increased motivation to continue caring. Carers who hid their group participation face a potential conflict with the care receiver. IMPACT: By sharing positive experiences, carers have increased self-esteem and feelings of togetherness, which can have a positive impact on their motivation to continue caring. Positive peer interaction encouraged a shift in focus from negative to positive experiences, resulting in an improvement in carer well-being. Joint group participation prevented conflicts in families. To protect the care receivers, carers kept support group participation a secret. Healthcare professionals could improve carer well-being by focusing on positive caring experiences in support groups.

Preoperative oral hygiene recommendation before open-heart surgery: patients' adherence and reduction of infections: a quality improvement study.

Aim: To implement recommendations for oral hygiene before elective open-heart surgery in a thoracic surgery ward and to evaluate whether the number of patients who needed to be treated with antibiotics postoperatively was reduced. Background: Healthcare systems are challenged to implement initiatives that reduce the development of nosocomial infections, to offer patients a safe and cost-efficient treatment and to reduce the use of antibiotics. Previous interventions have focused on staff behaviour in reducing postoperative infections. In this study, patients were recommended to carry out oral hygiene as recommended in a clinical guideline. Methods: A quasiexperimental design with a control and an intervention group was used. Information on adherence to the recommendation was collected at admission. All medical information and prescriptions of antibiotics were obtained from patients' medical records. Data were reported as intention to treat. Results: Altogether 972 patients (506 controls and 466 interventions) were included in the study. Of the intervention patients, 405 (86.9%, 95% CI 83.3 to 89.8) reported that they had adhered to the oral hygiene recommendation. 64 (12.6%) control patients and 36 (7.7%) in the intervention group (p=0.015) were treated with antibiotics postoperatively. Conclusions: It was feasible to involve patients in a programme for oral hygiene and thereby reduce the number of patients needing antibiotics after open-heart surgery and this might contribute to reducing costs.

Transformation of health professional/patient caring relationships through information and communication technologies used in telemedicine: a scoping review protocol.

REVIEW OBJECTIVES/QUESTIONS: The objectives of this scoping review are to examine and map how telemedicine via information and communication technology (ICT) transforms caring relationships between health professionals and patients and how this transformation is conceptualized.The questions of this review are.

The centrality of the nurse-patient relationship: A Scandinavian perspective.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To address aspects of importance in the nurse-patient relationship, as conceptualised within the Scandinavian healthcare context. BACKGROUND: An experiment in Beth Israel Hospital uncovered a set of core values (ontology) that were wiped away by stronger forces. Despite this, some of the ideas impacted the development of nursing thought and values in the Scandinavian countries, partly because they connected with deeper social values and also because investment was being put into explicitly identifying and understanding the core elements of nursing (ontology) and how to provide evidence that they found were important (epistemology). From that beginning and through the work of key thought leaders, Scandinavian nursing is ready to embark on a new phase, which could be helped by the Fundamentals of Care framework. DESIGN: This discursive position study offers insights from a public healthcare setting, influenced by values such as equal rights to equal care and/or cure. This study presents two complementing perspectives: an ontological and an epistemological, on establishing caring relationships. CONCLUSION: There are different pathways to follow in building person-oriented care; however, the nursing approach is both ontologically and epistemologically grounded and based on dialogue. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Patients meet different nurses, the meeting may be short and, routine actions may be on the agenda. However, nurses must engage with patients' experiences and knowledge, in order to add to patients' present and future well-being with their person-oriented care.