Measuring tools are essential in assessing the quality of care. This study aimed to evaluate the validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the Palliative Nursing Care Quality Scale (PNCQS-T) and the sociodemographic characteristics affecting the quality of care.

This methodological study, whose linguistic equivalence was confirmed by the translation/back translation method, was carried out with the participation of 209 nurses. Personal Information Form and PNCQS-T were used as data collection tools. Construct validity was determined by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Reliability was tested with internal consistency and item-total correlation coefficients.

Adaptation results showed that the Turkish version of the scale is adequate for linguistic and content validation. The Turkish adaptation’s original scale of 20 items was reduced to 18. As in the original scale, all items were combined under a single dimension in the Turkish adaptation. Modified CFA indicated a well-fitting model. PNCQS-T explained 42.1% of the total variance. Cronbach’s alpha value was 0.92. The lowest score obtained from the scale is 18; the highest score is 90. Higher scores indicated that the palliative care provided by nurses was of good quality.

The Turkish version of the PNCQS-T is reliable for assessing the quality of palliative care provided by nurses in Turkey.

What do patients talk during a clinic evaluation? What do they report besides referring physical complaints? It is crucial to value ’hidden’ symbolic issues under a conversation between patient and his/her doctors and nurses. Elderly people are at increased risk of developing Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) that requires the management of associated emotions. In advanced stages, they need to use Long-term Home Oxygen Therapy (LTOT) as part of treatment. Patients perceive difficulties with its use, generating anguish.

To explore meanings of emotional experiences as reported by patients regarding LTOT, seen in a public university outpatient service.

Qualitative design. Semi-directed interviews with open-ended questions were carried out with seven elderly patients at Pulmonology Outpatient Clinic at General Hospital at University of Campinas, diagnosed with COPD and using LTOT in period 2019 to 2020. Data were analyzed using Content Analysis with the support of Webqda software. COREQ checklist was used.

Three categories emerged from interviews: (1) Changes of self-image perception with great dissatisfaction in not recognizing their selves physically. (2) Sadness with social isolation and feelings of awkwardness regarding themselves. (3) Affective aspects bringing the need to re-mean old family supports.

Simply listening to reports of emotional complaints implies only a description of a clinical condition of the psychic sphere. Elderly patients with COPD bring psychological representations of their clinical condition that call for a symbolic interpretation. If such patients become aware of hidden meanings, they can better manage their fears and other uncomfortable feelings.

No significant relationships.

Evacuations of neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) in emergency situations pose specialized challenges given their population of critically-ill neonates. Most of the literature on this topic describes planned evacuations and simulations due to natural disasters, usually involving only NICU staff. This study examines a unique emergent NICU evacuation simulation involving multiple responders occurring on a citywide scale.

A simulated evacuation in response to a fire was conducted in 6 different NICUs in El Paso, Texas. The exercise utilized response from NICU staff and first responders. A standardized tool, by independent evaluators, was used to evaluate staff competencies while reactions were assessed using post-exercise surveys.

This city-wide multidisciplinary simulation improved NICU personnel skills in evacuation and also introduced first responders to this specialized patient population. Areas of strength across all NICUs included teamwork, knowledge of evacuation equipment, and patient tracking. Areas for improvement included lack of adequate equipment for post-evacuation care, understanding implications of smoke exposure, alternative evacuation routes, incident command structure, and unified communication.

This successful, citywide NICU evacuation simulation improved knowledge among participants, introduced first responders to a specialized patient population, and provided valuable lessons on neonate-specific themes that can be incorporated to improve citywide emergency preparedness.

CHD was the most prevalent congenital anomaly (60.9 per 10,000, 95% CI 59.0–62.8) in England in 2018, with 1767 babies born with severe cardiac defects. The 30-day survival rates for complex procedures continue to improve; however despite care advances, the early post-operative period and first year of life remain a critical time for these infants. The Congenital Heart Assessment Tool was developed to support parental decision-making, standardise care provision, improve communication, and the safety and quality of care.

To further evaluate the Congenital Heart Assessment Tool.

A four centre collaborative mixed-methods quality improvement project funded by The Health Foundation, involving eight phases conducted during 2016–2018. Phases six to eight (clinical simulation exercise, parent workshop, and updated tool) are reported in this paper.

Four themes emerged from the clinical simulation exercise (phase six) including: improving documentation; preparation of parents; preparation of health care professionals; and communication. One main theme emerged from the parent workshop (phase seven): “what parents know versus what professionals know [about CHD]”.

These phases further validated the effectiveness of the CHATm in terms of triggering amber and red indicators and demonstrated parents’ ability to identify deterioration in their infant’s clinical condition. Recommendations arising from the quality improvement project enabled the project team to create an updated version of the Congenital Heart Assessment Tool, CHAT2.

To investigate whether district nurses (DNs) can identify factors related to the quality and safety of medication use among older patients via a clinical decision support system (CDSS) for medication and an instrument for assessing the safety of drug use [the Safe Medication Assessment tool (SMA)]. A secondary aim was to describe patients’ experiences of the assessment.

DNs in Stockholm County have the opportunity to establish special units at primary health care centers (PHCCs) for patients aged 75 years and older. The units conduct drug utilization reviews and create care plans for older adults.

Nine DNs at 7 PHCCs in Stockholm County used the tools with 45 patients aged 75 years and older who used one or more drugs. Outcome measures were the number of drugs, potential drug-related problems, nursing interventions, and patient satisfaction. Prevalences of drug-related problems and nursing interventions were calculated. Eleven patients answered a telephone questionnaire on their experiences of the assessment.

DNs identified factors indicative of drug-related problems, including polypharmacy (9.8 drugs per person), potential drug–drug interactions (prevalence 40%), potential adverse drug reactions (2.7 per person), and prescribers from more than two medical units (60%). DNs used several nursing interventions to improve the safety of medication use (e.g., patient education, initiating a pharmaceutical review). The patients thought it was meaningful to receive information about their drug use and important to identify potential drug-related problems. With the support of the CDSS and the SMA tool, the DNs could identify several factors related to inappropriate or unsafe medication and initiated a number of interventions to improve medication use. The patients were positive toward the assessments. Using these tools, the DNs may help promote safe medication use in older patients.

The aim of this study was to explore how nurses can support patients who are crying in a palliative home care context.

In palliative care the nurse has a central role in the team whose duty it is to create a sense of security and trust, as well as to give comfort and support the patients. The nurse’s responsibility is to identify different needs of the patients for support and develop a relationship with them. Patients may express their pain, anxiety, fear and suffering by crying. No studies have been found which focus on how nurses can support patients who are crying in different ways and crying for different reasons.

A qualitative explorative study was performed. Semi-structured interviews were held with eight nurses aged 32–63 years (Median 40) working in Swedish palliative home care. The data were analysed using Qualitative Content analysis.

It was reported that the nurse should meet and confirm the patient during different types of crying episodes and should also be able to alternate between being close and physically touching the in such close contact with the patients, the nurse can provide emotional support by showing empathy, merely being present and letting the patients cry as much as they want. When the crying finally stops, the nurse can support the person by speaking with them, showing sensitivity, humility and respect for the patient’s wishes. A few examples of the patients’ need for information or practical support emerged. The nurse can emotionally support the person who is crying by just being present, confirming, showing empathy, offering a chance to talk and showing respect for their individual needs and the different ways they may cry.

The objective of this study was to enhance the depth of existing knowledge about meanings and experiential outcomes of bodily care in the context of an inpatient specialist palliative setting.

Interpretative phenomenology was chosen as the study sought to explore individuals' lived experiences related to bodily care. Nine participants (five women, four men) of various ages and with various metastasized cancers and bodily-care needs, all from one specialist palliative care ward, participated. Data were collected with repeated narrative interviews and supplementary participating observations. Analysis was informed by van Manen's approach.

The following meanings and experiential outcomes of bodily care were revealed by our study: maintaining and losing body capability, breaching borders of bodily integrity, being comforted and relieved in bodily-care situations, and being left in distress with unmet needs. These meanings overlap and shape the nature of each other and involve comforting and distressing experiences related to what can be described as conditional dimensions: the particular situation, one's own experiences of the body, and healthcare professionals' approaches.

The results, based on specialist palliative care patients' experiences, outline the meanings and outcomes that relate to the quintessence and complexity of palliative care, deriving from dying persons' blend of both basic and symptom-oriented bodily-care needs. Moreover, the results outline how these two dimensions of care equally influence whether comfort and well-being are facilitated or not. Considering this, specialist palliative care may consider how to best integrate and acknowledge the value of skilled basic nursing care as part of and complementary to expertise in symptom relief during the trajectories of illness and dying.

Increasing awareness of well-being aspects of physical touch has spurred the appreciation for soft tissue massage (STM) as part of palliative care. Educational programs are available but with no specific focus on utilization for this kind of care. The aim was to study the feasibility of a 1-day course in STM in clarifying nursing staff's experiences and opinions, but also to shed light on their motivation and ability to employ STM in the care of dying cancer patients.

In all, 135 nursing staff participated. The course consisted of theory and hands-on training (hand-foot-, back massage). Focus-groups with 30/135 randomly chosen participants were conducted 4 weeks after the intervention. This study engaged a qualitative approach using content analysis.

The overall opinion of the 1-day course was positive. The majority experienced the contents of the course to be adequate and sufficient for clinical care. They emphasized the pedagogical expertise as valuable for the learning process. The majority of nurses shared the opinion that their extended knowledge clarified their attitudes on STM as a complement in palliative care. Still, a few found it to be too basic and/or intimate. Three categories emerged during the analysis: experiences of and attitudes toward the education, experiences of implementing the skills in every-day care situations, and attitudes to the physical body in nursing care.

The approach to learning and the pedagogical skills of the teacher proved to be of importance for how new knowledge was perceived among nurses. The findings may encourage hospital organizations to introduce short courses in STM as an alternative to more extensive education.