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Aim: To explore nurses' perceptions of their practice environment in acute care hospitals in Sharjah and North Emirates in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Background: The health of the environment in which registered nurses' work is critical to nursing outcomes. The interest to examine the practice environment extended to the Gulf area which has a complex healthcare system including the UAE. Methods: The study used an exploratory descriptive designwith a qualitative part using two focus group interviews. The sample sizewas 450 nurses selected through a random sampling method. A self-administered questionnaire including the Practice Environment Scale of NursingWork Index (PES-NWI) was used. In addition, semi-structured interviews for two focus groups were done. Results: The results showed that UAE practicing nurses reported favorable perceptions of most aspects of their practice environment. Unfavorable perceptions were only reported for Staffing and Resource Adequacy. The analysis of focus group discussions resulted in different emerged themes such as Lack of Recognition and Career Promotion, and Nurses' Workload due to Paper and AdministrativeWork. Conclusions: The findings of this study suggest that strategic interventions are needed to secure adequate staff and resources and implement an effective system for evaluation of performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Nurses make up the majority of the healthcare workforce. They contribute to the development of healthcare systems and the provision of high‐quality, effective, and patient‐centered healthcare services. However, nurses need good mental and emotional well‐being to provide adequate care and the necessary physical and mental health support for their clients. This study aimed to determine the level of generalized psychological distress among nurses in the United Arab Emirates. As this study was initiated before the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic, we were able to compare data gathered before and during the pandemic. Method: This study used a cross‐sectional correlational design. The Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10) was used to measure generalized psychological distress. Nurses' distress levels were measured and compared before and during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Results: In total, 988 participants completed the questionnaire. The majority (n = 629, 63.7%) were employed in hospitals and the remainder worked in primary healthcare settings (n = 359, 36.3%). The mean distress score was 27.1 ± 13.7; 42.1% (n = 416) of participants had a severe level of distress, and only 36.4% (n = 360) reported no distress. More participants had severe stress levels before COVID‐19 (59.5%, n = 386) compared with during COVID‐19 (10.9%, n = 30). Conclusions: Participants' K10 scores suggest that nurses experience significant distress, which may compromise their ability to care for their clients. This study emphasizes the importance of supporting nurses as a preliminary step to improving patient care. Despite the pressure of working during the COVID‐19 pandemic, participants' general distress scores were lower during than before the pandemic. Organizational, governmental, and global support and appreciation may have contributed to relieving the distress nurses experienced. This may be a useful ongoing approach for enhancing healthcare systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The aim of this work is to examine the effect of multicomponent interventions on enhancing the level of confidence of staff nurses with evidence‐based practice in an acute care hospital in the United Arab Emirates. Background: Evidence‐based practice is one of the strategic pillars of nursing practice and a key to organizational success. To effectively implement and sustain evidence‐based practice programmes in clinical sites, well‐designed implementations can promote staff attitude, knowledge, skills, and confidence in translating research evidence into optimal patient care. Methods: Experienced and bachelor prepared nurse managers in collaboration with the clinical resource nurse undertook condensed staff training and interventions for the evidence‐based practice programme, where 70 registered nurses participated. The intervention was conducted over a period of time extending from December 2019 until December 2020. The study design is quasi‐experimental using the pre‐ and post‐Self Efficacy Assessment tool to gauge the nurses' confidence in evidence‐based practice. Also, SPSS software was used to explore the effect of the programme. Results: Higher significant score on the evidence‐based nursing practice self‐efficacy scale postprogramme was noted (t = −7.667 and p value <.001). Conclusion: Participating in a well‐structured evidence‐based practice programme would positively enhance the nurse's confidence in the programme implementation and promote an evidence‐based practice culture in clinical settings. Implications for Nursing Managers: Nurse managers must recognize their critical role in promoting evidence‐based practice among nurses. A focused and well‐designed intervention may assist in establishing a culture of evidence‐based practice to ensure the best patient outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The aim of this study is to evaluate health care professionals' perceived organizational support and its effect on their compassion, resilience and turnover intention in the United Arab Emirates. Background: The COVID‐19 pandemic exerted unprecedented pressure on health care systems, professionals and management systems. Health care organizations begin to explore their roles and function in relation to risks and resilience, in addition to ascertain what level of organization support they are providing to their workers. Methods: A cross‐sectional study was conducted with a questionnaire administered to 538 health care workers, to examine their personal resources and organizational support during the pandemic. Results: A total of 37.7% of nurses were found to have a moderate level of resilience, logistic regression showed that being married is a protective factor against resigning from the profession (OR = 0.462, P =.012, 95% CI: 0.254–0.842), and health care workers who perceived higher organizational support were approximately 50% less likely to have a turnover intention (OR = 0.506, P =.009, 95% CI: 0.303–0.845). Multiple linear regression model indicated significantly higher resilience among physicians (β = 0.12, P <.05) and allied health care practitioners (β = 0.12, P =.022). Organizational support had a significant positive relationship with resilience scores (β = 0.20, P <.001); adequate training was significantly related to higher compassion levels (β = 0.11, P <.05) and high organizational support scores were associated with increased compassion scores (β = 0.27, P <.001). Conclusions: Front‐line health care workers reported moderate organizational support during the pandemic, commensurately reflected in moderate levels of personal resilience and self‐compassion. Continued and better support is vital for employee sustainability and the increased health system performance, including quality of care and patient outcomes. Implications for nursing management: Nurse managers should help health care workers improve self‐care strategies by strengthening personal resources, including shortened duty hours, offering adequate break time, providing a safe work climate and purveying adequate personal protective equipment and supplies to combat infections. They should build an empathetic work environment through understanding the needs of staff, helping tackle their work stress and sustaining cultures of compassion through promoting rewarding and flexibility strategies. Moreover, policymakers and nurse mangers should create a rewarding culture for nurses and other health care workers to increase their commitment to their jobs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Studies with experimental designs in which the association between participants' subjective well‐being and their use of social media is studied remain rare. This study tested the effect of abstaining from social media use on participants' well‐being, affect, perceived stress, and sense of perceived loneliness. Design and Methods: Randomized, controlled design. Sixty‐eight participants were randomized to one of two conditions. Findings: Those who abstained from social media use, compared with those in the control group, evidenced a decline in life satisfaction, an increase in negative affect, and an increase in loneliness. Practice Implications: Excessive social media use poses deleterious consequences for users, but abstinence may not necessarily exact positive changes; this outcome is dependent on the functions for which social media are used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]