Search

INTRODUCTION: In Flanders, Belgium, 78.2% of the women exclusively breastfeed their babies following birth. However, after three months just one third of those babies is breastfed exclusively. This is in contrast with the WHO recommendations of a minimum of six months. Studies reveal that women are not always satisfied with the breastfeeding support they receive from their midwives, which can lead to early cessation of breastfeeding. The general aim of this study is to gain an in-depth understanding of the supporting role of midwives in breastfeeding support during the first two weeks after birth and compare it to the needs of the breastfeeding women. METHODS: A qualitative approach was used with an observational design and a focus group study. Two researchers performed non-participative observations in both hospital and primary healthcare settings. Midwife-mother interactions during breastfeeding support (midwives, n = 21; mothers, n = 59) were observed. Analysis of the data gathered from two focus groups with midwives (n = 10) and two focus groups with mothers (n = 9) provides an in-depth understanding of the supporting role of midwives during breastfeeding and helps to investigate whether that role corresponds to the mothers' needs both from the mothers' and the midwives' perspective. Observations and focus groups were analyzed using thematic analysis. FINDINGS: The analysis showed that both midwives and mothers want the breastfeeding to be a success. Generally, the production of breastmilk is a priority, for both the midwives and the mothers. Overall a hands-on approach regarding breastfeeding support was observed, mainly in the hospital settings when compared with the findings from the primary healthcare settings. A hands-on approach often occurs without asking the mother's consent. During the breastfeeding support, a professional relationship between the midwife and the mother is fostered. In primary healthcare there is one - to - one support which is contrary to hospital care, resulting in a personalized relationship. Breastfeeding support is influenced by personal (e.g. negative belief in breastfeeding policies) and external context factors (e.g. time restraints). CONCLUSION: The research data revealed three topics on breastfeeding support by the midwife which were the focus, the approach and the relationship between the midwife and the mothers. The way the midwife provides this support varies due to the setting (hospital or primary health care) and due to personal convictions of midwives and mothers. The study shows the importance of providing breastfeeding support which is tailored to individual needs of the mother. ispartof: Midwifery vol:78 pages:50-57 ispartof: location:Scotland status: Published online

As euthanasia has become a widely debated issue in many Western countries, hospitals and nursing homes especially are increasingly being confronted with this ethically sensitive societal issue. The focus of this paper is how healthcare institutions can deal with euthanasia requests on an organizational level by means of a written institutional ethics policy. The general aim is to make a critical analysis whether these policies can be considered as organizational-ethical instruments that support healthcare institutions to take their institutional responsibility for dealing with euthanasia requests. By means of an interpretative analysis, we conducted a process of reinterpretation of results of former Belgian empirical studies on written institutional ethics policies on euthanasia in dialogue with the existing international literature. The study findings revealed that legal regulations, ethical and care-oriented aspects strongly affected the development, the content, and the impact of written institutional ethics policies on euthanasia. Hence, these three cornerstones-law, care and ethics-constituted the basis for the empirical-based organizational-ethical framework for written institutional ethics policies on euthanasia that is presented in this paper. However, having a euthanasia policy does not automatically lead to more legal transparency, or to a more professional and ethical care practice. The study findings suggest that the development and implementation of an ethics policy on euthanasia as an organizational-ethical instrument should be considered as a dynamic process. Administrators and ethics committees must take responsibility to actively create an ethical climate supporting care providers who have to deal with ethical dilemmas in their practice.

INTRODUCTION: In 2003 the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended that infants should be fed exclusively with breast milk until the age of six months. However, breast feeding rates remain lower than recommended. The crucial period for breast feeding support is the first two weeks after birth. During this period breast feeding support from the midwife is needed. The aim of this paper is to gain an in-depth understanding of the role of midwives in their support of breast-feeding women, from their own perspective. METHODS: Two researchers independently conducted a systematic and comprehensive literature search. Studies needed an empirical qualitative research design (1), had to focus on the role of the midwife in the support of the breast-feeding woman from the midwife's perspective (2), and had to be published between January 2005 and December 2014 (3) in order to be included. Language restrictions were English, Dutch, German and French. Eight qualitative research studies were included, using mainly focus group and in-depth interview studies, which were reported in 11 papers representing 231 midwives and 24 maternity nurses. All but one study concerned midwives working in hospital settings. A critical appraisal was performed of each study. FINDINGS: Midwives value breast feeding education and breast feeding support as a significant part of their role as a postnatal midwife. However, the ways in which a midwife approaches and supports the breast-feeding woman vary. We distinguished two perspectives: 'the midwife as technical expert' and 'the midwife as a skilled companion'. The 'technical expert' midwife is mainly breast centred, focuses on techniques, uses the hands on approach and sees a woman as a novice. The 'skilled companion' midwife is woman centred, focuses on the mother - infant relationship and uses a hands off approach during the breast feeding support. The midwives working in a hospital setting face many barriers when performing breast feeding support, such as time restraints, which makes it difficult for them to carry out their preferred role as a 'skilled companion'. These barriers can influence the breast feeding support negatively. Supporting factors, such as evidence based breast feeding guidelines, have a positive influence on the breast feeding support. CONCLUSION: On the basis of findings of a synthesis of qualitative research studies, we conclude that the majority of the midwives provide breast feeding support as a technical expert and a minority as a skilled companion. Midwives prefer to be a skilled companion but face many barriers in their working contexts. publisher: Elsevier articletitle: Supporting breast-feeding women from the perspective of the midwife: A systematic review of the literature journaltitle: Midwifery articlelink: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.midw.2016.02.016 content_type: article copyright: © 2016 Published by Elsevier Ltd. ispartof: Midwifery vol:37 pages:32-40 ispartof: location:Scotland status: published

Euthanasia decision making is a complex process for physicians and nurses that involves clinical, legal, ethical, and personal–emotional aspects. In this respect, attention has been given to hospitals’ written ethics policies on euthanasia. The aim of our study was to explore the impact of a written ethics policy on euthanasia, as experienced by physicians and nurses involved in euthanasia care processes. A qualitative multiple case study in three selected general hospitals was conducted. Grounded theory methodology was used to guide data collection and analysis. The purposive sample resulted in 23 in-depth interviews with physicians (n = 11) and nurses (n = 12). The euthanasia policy gave the care providers a sense of being supported throughout the euthanasia care process. While care providers mainly feel the influence of a euthanasia policy on practical and professional levels of providing care, the influence of a policy on the providers’ ethical reflection and practice is less clear. The study raises q...

Objectives To describe the form and content of ethics policies on euthanasia in Flemish nursing homes and to determine the possible influence of religious affiliation on policy content. Methods Content analysis of euthanasia policy documents. Results Of the 737 nursing homes we contacted, 612 (83%) completed and returned the questionnaire. Of 92 (15%) nursing homes that reported to have a euthanasia policy, 85 (92%) provided a copy of their policy. Nursing homes applied the euthanasia law with additional palliative procedures and interdisciplinary deliberations. More Catholic nursing homes compared to non-Catholic nursing homes did not permit euthanasia. Policies described several phases of the euthanasia care process as well as involvement of caregivers, patients, and relatives; ethical issues; support for caregivers; reporting; and procedures for handling advance directives. Conclusion Our study revealed that euthanasia requests from patients are seriously considered in euthanasia policies of nursing homes, with great attention for palliative care and interdisciplinary cooperation.

Objective To describe the form and content of ethics policies on euthanasia in Flemish hospitals and the possible influence of religious affiliation on policy content. Methods Content analysis of policy documents. Results Forty-two documents were analyzed. All policies contained procedures; 57% included the position paper on which the hospital's stance on euthanasia was based. All policies described their hospital's stance on euthanasia in competent terminally ill patients (n = 42); 10 and 4 policies, respectively, did not describe their stance in incompetent terminally and non-terminally ill patients. Catholic hospitals restrictively applied the euthanasia law with palliative procedures and interdisciplinary deliberations. The policies described several phases of the euthanasia care process – confrontation with euthanasia request (93%), decision-making process (95%), care process in cases of no-euthanasia decision (38%), preparation and performance of euthanasia (79%), and aftercare (81%) – as well as involvement of caregivers, patients, and relatives; ethical issues; support for caregivers; reporting; and practical examples of professional attitudes and communication skills. Conclusion Euthanasia policies go beyond summarizing the euthanasia law by addressing the importance of the euthanasia care process, in which palliative care and interdisciplinary cooperation are important factors. Practice implications Euthanasia policies provide tangible guidance for physicians and nurses on handling euthanasia requests.

Objective To describe whether and how Catholic hospitals and nursing homes in Belgium (Flanders) have developed written ethics policies on euthanasia and communicated these policies to their employees, patients, and patient's relatives. Methods A cross-sectional mail survey of general directors of Catholic hospitals and nursing homes in Belgium (Flanders). Results Of the 298 targeted institutions, 81% of hospitals and 62% of nursing homes returned complete questionnaires. A high percentage of Catholic hospitals (79%) and a moderate percentage of nursing homes (30%) had written ethics policies on euthanasia. Both caregivers and healthcare administrators were involved in the development and approval of these policies. Physicians and nurses were best informed about the policies. More than half of the nursing homes (57%) took the initiative to inform both residents and relatives about the policies, while only one hospital did so. Conclusion The high prevalence of written ethics policies on euthanasia in Flemish Catholic hospitals may reflect the concern of healthcare administrators to maintain the quality of care for patients requesting euthanasia. However, the true contribution of these policies to quality end-of-life care and to supporting caregivers remains unknown and needs further research. Practice implications Legislation and centrally developed guidelines might influence healthcare institutions to develop ethics policies.

The aim of this study was to explore how Belgian nurses view issues related to the development, dissemination and implementation of a code of ethics for nurses. Fifty nurses took part in eight focus groups. The participants stated that, on the whole, a code of ethics for nurses would be useful. They stressed that a code should be a practical and useful instrument developed by nurses for nurses, and that it should be formulated and presented in a practical way, just as educational courses dealing specifically with codes of ethics require a practical approach to be effective. They emphasized that the development of a code should be an ongoing process, enabling nurses to provide input as they reflect on the ethical issues dealt with in the code and apply the code in their practice. Finally, they stressed the need for support at institutional level for the effective implementation of a code.

Background Euthanasia is performed worldwide, regardless of the existence of laws governing it. Belgium became the second country in the world to enact a law on euthanasia in 2002. Healthcare institutions bear responsibility for guaranteeing the quality of care for patients at the end of life, and for ensuring support for caregivers involved. Therefore, institutional ethics policies on end-of-life decision-making, especially on euthanasia, may be useful. Methods A cross-sectional mail survey of general directors of Catholic hospitals and nursing homes in Belgium was used to describe the prevalence and content of written ethics policies for competent terminally ill, incompetent terminally ill, and non-terminally ill patients. Results Of the 298 targeted institutions, 81% of hospitals and 62% of nursing homes returned complete questionnaires. Of these, 79% of hospitals and 30% of nursing homes had a written ethics policy on euthanasia. Of hospitals 83% and of nursing homes 85% permitted euthanasia for competent terminally ill patients only in exceptional cases in accordance with legal due care criteria and provisions outlined by the palliative filter procedure. Euthanasia for incompetent terminally ill patients was prohibited by 27% of the hospitals and by 60% of the nursing homes. For non-terminally ill patients, these figures were 43 and 64%, respectively. Conclusions Catholic healthcare institutions in Belgium (Flanders) made great efforts to develop written ethics policies on euthanasia. Only a small group of institutions completely prohibited euthanasia. Most of the institutions considered euthanasia to be an option if all possible alternatives (e.g., palliative filter procedure, which contains more rigorous criteria than those in the Belgian Euthanasia Act), have been thoroughly investigated.

A prospective, descriptive study was used to assess the diagnostic validity of the Confusion Assessment Method (CAM) administered at the bedside by nurses in daily practice. Two different scoring methods of the CAM (the specific (SPEC) and sensitive (SENS) methods) were compared with a criterion standard (CAM completed by trained research nurses). During a 5-month period, all patients consecutively admitted to an acute geriatric ward of the University Hospitals of Leuven (Belgium) were enrolled in the study. The 258 elderly inpatients who were included underwent 641 paired but independent ratings of delirium by bedside and trained research nurses. Delirium was identified in 36 of the 258 patients (14%) or in 42 of the 641 paired observations (6.5%). The SENS method of the CAM algorithm as administered by bedside nurses had the greatest diagnostic accuracy, with 66.7% sensitivity and 90.7% specificity; the SPEC method had 23.8% sensitivity and 97.7% specificity. Bedside nurses had difficulties recognizing the features of acute onset, fluctuation, and altered level of consciousness. For both scoring methods, bedside nurses had difficulties with the identification of elderly patients with delirium but succeeded in diagnosing correctly those patients without delirium in more than 90% of observations. Given these results, additional education about delirium with special attention to guided training of bedside nurses in the use of an assessment strategy such as the CAM for the recognition of delirium symptoms is warranted.

Background/Objective: Delirium is a common clinical problem in elderly patients. We aim to investigate whether anaemia is a risk factor for delirium in a hospitalized geriatric population. Methods: During a 5-month prospective study, we investigated 190 elderly patients aged 70 years and older with a baseline Mini-Mental State Examination (short version), Confusion Assessment Method, demographic, clinical and laboratory data. Results: Thirty-four patients were identified as delirious and 95 as anaemic according to the WHO criteria. Stepwise logistic regression revealed that anaemia (haemoglobin level Conclusion: Anaemia is an independent risk factor for delirium and adds valuable information to previously validated predictive models in men but not in women and lower haemoglobin levels were associated with higher risk levels.

Aim. The aim of this systematic review was to determine the characteristics and efficacy of various multicomponent intervention strategies for delirium in hospitalized older people. Background. Delirium is a common accompaniment to acute illness in hospitalized older people and has greater costs of care concurrent as well as greater morbidity and mortality. Methods. A comprehensive search was undertaken involving all major databases (including the Cochrane Library, Medline, Cumulative Index for Nursing and Allied Health Literature and Invert) and reference lists of all relevant papers. Selection criteria were: evaluation of a multicomponent intervention for delirium, inclusion of an operational definition for delirium consistent with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-criteria, randomized controlled trials, studies with a quasi-experimental design and reporting on primary data. To generate a description of the characteristics of these multicomponent strategies, the components of these programmes were identified and categorized. Effects on incidence of delirium, cognitive functioning, duration and severity of delirium, functional status, hospital length of stay, and mortality were analysed. Findings. Three randomized controlled trials, three controlled studies and one before–after study were identified. Intervention strategies to prevent delirium proved to be the most efficacious in reducing its incidence, both with surgical and medical patients. Some additional positive effects of preventive strategies were found on the duration and severity of delirium, and functional status. Conversely, strategies to treat delirium were rather ineffective in older people admitted to medical services. In a population of older people admitted for surgery, however, a shorter duration and a diminished severity of delirium were demonstrated. None of intervention strategies produced beneficial effects on length of stay or mortality. Conclusion. Multicomponent interventions to prevent delirium are the most effective and should be implemented through synergistic cooperation between the various healthcare disciplines. Nurses should play a pivotal role in prevention, early recognition and treatment.

In verscheidene Europese landen is een maatschappelijke discussie gaande over de acceptatie en regulering van euthanasie en andere medische besluiten rond het levenseinde. In 2002 werd Belgie het tweede land na Nederland waar een wet werd aangenomen waarmee euthanasie onder strikte voorwaarden was toegestaan. In Belgie en Nederland was respectievelijk 1,2% en 1,7% van alle sterfgevallen het resultaat van euthanasie; tussen januari 2004 en december 2005 werd 54% van alle geregistreerde euthanasiegevallen in Belgie in ziekenhuizen uitgevoerd.

To describe the form and content of ethics policies on euthanasia in Flemish hospitals and the possible influence of religious affiliation on policy content.Content analysis of policy documents.Forty-two documents were analyzed. All policies contained procedures; 57% included the position paper on which the hospital's stance on euthanasia was based. All policies described their hospital's stance on euthanasia in competent terminally ill patients (n=42); 10 and 4 policies, respectively, did not describe their stance in incompetent terminally and non-terminally ill patients. Catholic hospitals restrictively applied the euthanasia law with palliative procedures and interdisciplinary deliberations. The policies described several phases of the euthanasia care process--confrontation with euthanasia request (93%), decision-making process (95%), care process in cases of no-euthanasia decision (38%), preparation and performance of euthanasia (79%), and aftercare (81%)--as well as involvement of caregivers, patients, and relatives; ethical issues; support for caregivers; reporting; and practical examples of professional attitudes and communication skills.Euthanasia policies go beyond summarizing the euthanasia law by addressing the importance of the euthanasia care process, in which palliative care and interdisciplinary cooperation are important factors.Euthanasia policies provide tangible guidance for physicians and nurses on handling euthanasia requests.

In many European countries there is a public debate about the acceptability and regulation of euthanasia. In 2002, Belgium became the second country after the Netherlands to enact a law on euthanasia. Although euthanasia rarely occurs, the complexity of the clinical-ethical decision making surrounding euthanasia requests and the need for adequate support reported by caregivers, means that healthcare institutions increasingly need to consider how to responsibly handle euthanasia requests. The development of written ethics policies on euthanasia may be important to guarantee and maintain the quality of care for patients requesting euthanasia. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence, development, position, and communication of written ethics policies on euthanasia in Flemish nursing homes. Data were obtained through a cross-sectional mail survey of general directors of all Catholic nursing homes in Flanders, Belgium. Of the 737 nursing homes invited to participate, 612 (83%) completed the questionnaire. Of these, only 15% had a written ethics policy on euthanasia. Presence of an ethics committee and membership of an umbrella organization were independent predictors of whether a nursing home had such a written ethics policy. The Act on Euthanasia and euthanasia guidelines advanced by professional organizations were the most frequent reasons (76% and 56%, respectively) and reference sources (92% and 64%, respectively) for developing ethics policies on euthanasia. Development of ethics policies occurred within a multidisciplinary context. In general, Flemish nursing homes applied the Act on Euthanasia restrictively by introducing palliative procedures in addition to legal due care criteria. The policy was communicated to the consulting general practitioner and nurses in 74% and 89% of nursing homes, respectively. Although the overall prevalence of ethics policies on euthanasia was low in Flemish nursing homes, institution administrators displayed growing awareness of bearing responsibility for stimulating dialogue and reflection about how to deal with euthanasia requests within their institution.

A prospective, descriptive study was used to assess the diagnostic validity of the Confusion Assessment Method (CAM) administered at the bedside by nurses in daily practice. Two different scoring methods of the CAM (the specific (SPEC) and sensitive (SENS) methods) were compared with a criterion standard (CAM completed by trained research nurses). During a 5-month period, all patients consecutively admitted to an acute geriatric ward of the University Hospitals of Leuven (Belgium) were enrolled in the study. The 258 elderly inpatients who were included underwent 641 paired but independent ratings of delirium by bedside and trained research nurses. Delirium was identified in 36 of the 258 patients (14%) or in 42 of the 641 paired observations (6.5%). The SENS method of the CAM algorithm as administered by bedside nurses had the greatest diagnostic accuracy, with 66.7% sensitivity and 90.7% specificity; the SPEC method had 23.8% sensitivity and 97.7% specificity. Bedside nurses had difficulties recognizing the features of acute onset, fluctuation, and altered level of consciousness. For both scoring methods, bedside nurses had difficulties with the identification of elderly patients with delirium but succeeded in diagnosing correctly those patients without delirium in more than 90% of observations. Given these results, additional education about delirium with special attention to guided training of bedside nurses in the use of an assessment strategy such as the CAM for the recognition of delirium symptoms is warranted.

Aim. This paper reports the findings of a survey that investigated whether Flemish Catholic hospitals and nursing homes had developed written ethics policies on euthanasia and how the role of nurses was described in these policies. Background. International research shows undeniably that nurses are confronted with patients requesting euthanasia. Euthanasia has been legal in Belgium since 2002 and in Holland since 2001. Because of the vagueness in formal documents and policies on the role of nurses in euthanasia, there is an increasing need to establish institutional ethics policies that clearly describe the role of nurses in the euthanasia process. Methods. We used a cross-sectional descriptive mail questionnaire to survey the general directors of Catholic hospitals and nursing homes in Belgium (Flanders). Data were collected between October 2003 and February 2004. Results. Of the 298 institutions targeted for survey, 81% of hospitals, 62% of nursing homes returned completed questionnaires. Of these, 79% of the hospitals and 30% of the nursing homes had a written ethics policy on euthanasia. The ethics policies of 87% of the hospitals and 77% of the nursing homes explicitly addressed the role of nurses in the euthanasia process. In the majority of hospitals and nursing homes, the ethics policies addressed the conscientious objections of nurses to euthanasia. Most hospitals and nursing homes voluntarily communicated their ethics policies to the nurses they employed. Conclusion. The written ethics policies of most Catholic healthcare institutions give explicit attention to the role of nurses in the euthanasia process. However, the meaning and content of the role of nurses, as indicated in these ethics policies, continue to be an issue. Further research is needed to verify how these policies are actually implemented within the institutions and whether they contribute to better support for nurses and to ethical care for patients.