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Aim: To explore the health beliefs of clinical and academic nurses from Japan, Australia and China regarding wearing paper masks to protect themselves and others, and to identify differences in participants' health beliefs regarding masks. Background: The correct use of face masks and consensus among health professionals across the globe is essential for containing pandemics, and nurses need to act according to policy to protect themselves, educate the public and preserve resources for frontline health workers. Paper masks are worn by health professionals and the general public to avoid the transmission of respiratory infections, such as COVID‐19, but there appear to be differences in health beliefs of nurses within and between countries regarding these. Methods: This qualitative descriptive study used content analysis with a framework approach. Findings: There were major differences in nurse participants' beliefs between and within countries, including how nurses use paper masks and their understanding of their efficacy. In addition, there were cultural differences in the way that nurses use masks in their daily lives and nursing practice contexts. Conclusion: Nurses from different working environments, countries and areas of practice hold a variety of health beliefs about mask wearing at the personal and professional level. Implications for nursing policy and health policy: The COVID‐19 pandemic has sparked much discussion about the critical importance of masks for the safety of health professionals, and there has been considerable discussion and disagreement about health policies regarding mask use by the general public. Improper use of masks may have a role in creating mask shortages or transmitting infections. An evidence‐based global policy on mask use for respiratory illnesses for health professionals, including nurses, and the general public needs to be adopted and supported by a wide‐reaching education campaign. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background As future health educators, nursing and physiotherapy students will play an essential role in the prevention of smoking. Aim To determine the prevalence of smoking among students and to analyse their knowledge of and attitudes towards smoking. Method This was a descriptive cross-sectional study using an anonymous questionnaire and conducted in a Spanish Faculty of Health Sciences in 2013. Findings 247 nursing and physiotherapy students (82.33%) participated in the study. The global prevalence of smoking (18.2%) was lower compare with the general population group of the same age. We have observed statistical significance in relation to previous studies. Nursing and physiotherapy students showed a low nicotine dependence. We found a lack of knowledge about the harmful effects of cigarette consumption on health. Statistically significant results were also found in relation to degree courses (p < 0.01) as regards students' opinions about their knowledge of strategies and methods to help patients stop smoking. Conclusion Most students started smoking before commencing their university studies; consequently, interventions should focus on cessation programmes. An analysis of university curricula leading to the award of a degree in the health sciences could serve to identify educational deficiencies in order to implement the necessary modifications. Implications for nursing and health policy This paper presents an update in tobacco use characteristics amongst nursing and physiotherapy students. Those results have showed a need to improve the curricula in order to develop specific programmes to improve knowledge, attitudes and beliefs. Measures to prevent smoking must be taken at school. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background National nursing workforce studies are important for evidence-based policymaking to improve nursing human resources globally. Survey instrument translation and contextual adaptation along with level of experience of the research team are key factors that will influence study implementation and results in countries new to health workforce studies. Aim This study's aim was to describe the pre-data collection instrument adaptation challenges when designing the first national nursing workforce study in Poland while participating in the Nurse Forecasting: Human Resources Planning in Nursing project. Methods A descriptive analysis of the pre-data collection phase of the study. Instrument adaptation was conducted through a two-phase content validity indexing process and pilot testing from 2009 to September 2010 in preparation for primary study implementation in December 2010. Means of both content validation phases were compared with pilot study results to assess for significant patterns in the data. Results The initial review demonstrated that the instrument had poor level of cross-cultural relevance and multiple translation issues. After revising the translation and re-evaluating using the same process, instrument scores improved significantly. Pilot study results showed floor and ceiling effects on relevance score correlations in each phase of the study. Limitations The cross-cultural adaptation process was developed specifically for this study and is, therefore, new. It may require additional replication to further enhance the method. Conclusions The approach used by the Polish team helped identify potential problems early in the study. The critical step improved the rigour of the results and improved comparability for between countries analyses, conserving both money and resources. This approach is advised for cross-cultural adaptation of instruments to be used in national nursing workforce studies. Implications for nursing and health policy Countries seeking to conduct national nursing workforce surveys to improve nursing human resources policies may find the insights provided by this paper useful to guide national level nursing workforce study implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Self-harm is a widespread behaviour among people with mental health problems. Although guidance on how to manage self-harm is offered, it is still a behaviour that is misunderstood by many nurses. Such misunderstanding is generally attributed to the perceived motives for self-harm and lack of specialized education to manage the behaviour. As a consequence, the care provided is usually inadequate and inappropriate. Yet, research concerning nurses' reasons of users' self-harming behaviours is limited. Aim This paper reports on a study that explores nurses' explanations of the motives for self-harm in a secure adolescent unit in England. Methods The study utilized a phenomenological methodology with semi-structured individual interviews ( n = 25). The data were analysed thematically using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Results The findings indicate that the behaviour of self-harm has multiple motives. Examples of these include affect regulation, coping with distress, averting death, regaining control and attention seeking. Discussion Self-harm is a complex behaviour commonly experienced in secure environments. Nurses assume that users who self-harm are motivated by a desire to seek attention and manipulate others. Users may find these beliefs humiliating. Such feelings may increase users' risks for further self-harm. Most adolescents who self-harm experience unbearable emotions because of their past sexual abusive encounters. They self-harm to regulate these emotions. These affect regulatory functions may act as reinforcers of self-harming behaviours. Conclusions Improved understanding of self-harm and its motives may result in improved nurse-user relationships and thus safer and more effective care provision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

THUPAYAGALE-TSHWENEAGAE G. & MOKOMANE Z. (2013) Needs of South African adolescents orphaned by AIDS: evidence from photography and photo-elicitation. International Nursing Review 60, 88-95 Background: Available evidence shows that over half of all orphans under the age of 18 years are adolescents aged between 12 and 17 years. Despite this, the needs of adolescents orphaned by AIDS are seldom recognized or adequately addressed in policy and programmes. Instead, the focus tends to be on the needs of orphans and vulnerable children. However, there are several factors that render adolescent-specific programmes important. Purpose: Using data from an urban area in South Africa, this paper illuminates the needs of adolescents orphaned by AIDS. Method: A phenomenological study using photography and photo-elicitation was used with 15 adolescents aged between 14 and 18 years orphaned by AIDS. Results: The study participants captured different objects that were grouped under six broad themes: symbols of death, nature, people, past life, children and hope. The photographic component of the study was followed by photo-elicitation. From the meanings the adolescents made of their images, the needs of adolescents orphaned by AIDS were discerned as love, care and acceptance, safety, and security and support. Conclusion: Overall, the results showed that adolescents orphaned by AIDS want to feel secure, safe, wanted by caregivers and to feel that caregivers support them in their grieving journey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CLEREHAN R., MCCALL L., MCKENNA L. & ALSHAHRANI K. (2012) Saudi Arabian nurses' experiences of studying Masters degrees in Australia. International Nursing Review 59, 215-221 Aim: This paper presents findings from a study which explored a group of Saudi Arabian nurses' experiences of studying for a Masters degree in Australia. Background: Arab states in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia in particular, have high expatriate nursing populations, and governments in the region have allocated considerable funding to up-skilling their health workforce, often at Western universities. However, there has been little research into the learning experiences of nursing students from Middle East nations. Methods: A descriptive qualitative study design was used. Middle Eastern students undertaking Masters courses in a School of Nursing and Midwifery at one Australian university were invited to participate in a semi-structured interview. Ten Saudi students participated and data were analysed using content analysis. Findings: Students experienced challenges related to the transition to very different forms of study; to managing relationships and family. They were resourceful, employing strategies to manage multiple demands, including differences in culture, and stressed the significance of strong personal relationships with staff. Students acknowledged being changed, even transformed, by their experience, and saw themselves as future change agents. Conclusion: Highly skilled local nursing professionals are being sought in many Middle Eastern countries and may undertake post-graduate studies in Western contexts quite different from their own. Students reported that, in spite of difficulties, their experience prompted transformational change: intellectually, psychologically and developmentally. It is necessary for staff to understand expectations and learning preferences of these students to ensure fruitful learning outcomes and benefits to nursing in their home countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MANZANO GARCÍA G. & AYALA CALVO J. C. (2011) Emotional exhaustion of nursing staff: influence of emotional annoyance and resilience. International Nursing Review 59, 101-107 Aim: This paper aimed to study the influence of emotional annoyance and resilience on the emotional exhaustion levels of nursing staff. Background: Emotional exhaustion is one of the key factors in understanding both the performance and the quality of care that nurses give to their patients. There is a considerable body of knowledge that has focused on the study of emotional exhaustion in relation to cynicism and professional efficiency. More recently emotional annoyance and resilience have been identified as variables that could help explain levels of emotional exhaustion. Methods: Nine hundred eighty-three nurses who work in five hospitals in the north of Spain were invited to participate in the study. Five hundred questionnaires were distributed, of which 200 were fully completed. The average response rate was 40%. A personal information form, and a questionnaire concerning nurses' emotional annoyance, resilience, professional efficiency and cynicism were used as data collection instruments. To estimate a path model with latent variables, partial least squares was used. Findings: Emotional annoyance and resilience contribute to a better understanding of emotional exhaustion levels of nursing staff. There was a significant association between emotional annoyance and emotional exhaustion (β = 0.26, P = 0.020), while resilience appeared to be protective against emotional exhaustion (β = −0.22, P = 0.004). Conclusion: A more complete explanation and understanding of emotional exhaustion in nursing is achieved when emotional annoyance and resilience is measured in addition elements of burnout, which include professional efficiency and cynicism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

GURKOVÁ E., ČÁP J., ŽIAKOVÁ K. & ĎURIŠKOVÁ M. (2011) Job satisfaction and emotional subjective well-being among Slovak nurses. International Nursing Review 59, 94-100 Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate job satisfaction and emotional subjective well-being and the correlations between these two constructs among Slovak nurses. Design: A cross-sectional survey was used to investigate this relationship among nurses ( n = 104) working in seven public hospitals in Slovakia. Methods: Data were collected using a set of questionnaires that included the questionnaire to measure job satisfaction, the Positive Affect Scale, the Negative Affect Scale and a demographics form. Findings: Findings of this study confirmed some general satisfying and dissatisfying elements for the nursing profession across different clinical specialties and different cultures. The results also indicate that there is a positive correlation between positive emotions and job satisfaction of Slovak nurses. Conclusion: The paper has drawn attention to the job satisfaction and emotional well-being among nurses. Further studies in this field, extended to different countries, work settings and nursing specialties, may help to improve subjective well-being of nurses. Study limitations: Participants came from a limited number of hospitals in Slovakia. A larger sample from different hospitals in Slovakia could have enhanced the generalizability of the results and increased the power of the study to detect significant differences and associations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

DOMAJNKO B. & PAHOR M. Mistrust of academic knowledge among nurses in Slovenia. International Nursing Review 57, 305–311 Aim: The paper discusses the negative attitudes of some nursing assistants in Slovenia towards higher nursing education and academic (theoretical and research based) knowledge. Background: The topic is discussed in the context of traditional hierarchical and patriarchal relations in the health-care sector, professionalization of nursing and the evidence-based debate in nursing. Methods: A secondary analysis of data gathered in 2005 was carried out. The topic of the original research was the interprofessional collaboration between medical and nursing care professionals in Slovenia. The secondary study looked closely into the relations within nursing care. Specifically it focused on the nursing assistants' perspective. Five hundred ninety-two answer to two open-end questions (307 from nurses and 285 from nursing assistants) and five semi-structured interviews (with three nurses and two nursing assistants) were re-analyzed (with the new focus), applying inductive qualitative content analysis and the pragmatic approach to interpretation. Findings: In nursing assistants' view, the difference between themselves and graduate nurses was described in terms of the distinction ‘work – non-work’. Higher education was associated primarily with striving for higher social status. Academic knowledge was not perceived to include the right competencies for either practising or improving the quality of nursing care. Conclusions: The mistrust of the academic nurse on the part of some nursing assistants is interpreted as a barrier to full professionalization of nursing care and also interprofessional collaboration in the health-care sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]