Search

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic exerts a considerable impact on the healthcare setting and healthcare provider's personal and social life. Adjusting to an entirely new working environment may have added challenges for the nurses without having infectious disease expertise. The study aimed to understand and describe the experiences of nurses taking care of COVID-19 patients in a tertiary care Hospital., Materials and Methods: The study was conducted in a tertiary care multispecialty hospital of Udupi District, Karnataka, India. A qualitative research approach with thematic analysis was used in this study. The inclusion criteria were staff nurses caring for COVID-19 patients for a minimum of 1 week. Samples were selected by purposive sampling technique, and the data saturation was achieved with 12 participants. Data were collected through in-depth, face-to-face interviews directed by a semi-structured interview guide. The interviews were audio-recorded and then transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis derived from participant's responses. Data collection and data analysis were performed simultaneously. The data were analyzed using Kiger and Vapiro's six-step process of thematic analysis of qualitative data., Results: Ten subthemes were grouped from the three major themes under "working in COVID-19 facility: A "challenging experience", "adaptive coping strategies", and "support during a pandemic" emerged based on the experiences of staff nurses working with the COVID-19 patients., Conclusion: Staff nurses in this study had challenging experiences attributed to several factors at the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, strategies to confront the difficulties were adopted by them to improve their well-being., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright: © 2024 Journal of Education and Health Promotion.)

Introduction: This study addresses the imperative in contemporary nursing education to prepare students for diverse healthcare settings by exploring nursing students' expectations and perceptions of preceptorship programs, emphasizing the role of evidence-based educational strategies. The research aims to bridge the existing literature gap and contribute valuable insights into strategically designing preceptorship programs aligned with nursing students' needs, preferences, and aspirations, ultimately enhancing precepting practices and relationships within nursing education., Methods: Employing a sequential explanatory mixed method, 140 nursing students, from various colleges in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) participated in the study. A structured questionnaire, encompassing demographic information, a need assessment survey, and a survey on expectations on preceptors was administered. A focus group discussion was conducted to identify perceived barriers to the utilization of preceptorship practices in nursing colleges. Data analysis involved descriptive statistics, the chi-square test, exploratory factor analysis, and content analysis of the focus group discussion., Results: The majority of participants expressed a high need for a preceptorship program, providing empirical evidence to support the development of a nurse educator preceptorship program in colleges and institutes. Preceptorship was identified as a significant contributor to career growth and achievement for nursing students, serving as a valuable tool to establish professional competency throughout their careers., Conclusion: There is a complex demand and high expectations for the core role of nurse educators as preceptors in the field of nursing education. This pioneering study sheds light on the need and perception of nursing students for a preceptorship program in the nursing curriculum., Competing Interests: The authors declared no conflict of interest., (©2024 The Author(s).)

Aim and Background: Optimal feeding strategy for critically ill patients of intensive care unit (ICU) is often a matter of debate as patients admitted to ICU are highly catabolic and reduction in muscle mass is very common. We aimed at early achievement of nutritional goals in preventing skeletal muscle breakdown and improving clinical outcomes among critically ill patients with high risk of malnutrition., Materials and Methods: Nutrition risk in the critically ill (mNUTRIC) Score was used to identify the risk of malnutrition within 24 hours of admission. Quadriceps muscle mass index was measured within 24 hours of admission to ICU and repeated on 7th day. Enteral feeding was monitored by the nutrition expert as part of routine patient care and clinical outcomes were monitored., Results: A total of 287 patients admitted in ICU were screened for malnutrition and 60 (20.9%) of them had high score (>5). There was no statistically significant reduction in the quadriceps muscle mass index ( p < 0.05) ( t = 0.601) measured within 24 hours of admission and on the 7th day of ICU stay, signifying that the nutritional prescription and monitoring may be useful in preserving the muscle mass. This study did not find statistically significant association between the high mNUTRIC score on admission and the clinical outcomes, such as 28 days mortality, incidence of pressure ulcers, length of ICU stay, and hospital-acquired infection ( p > 0.05)., Conclusion: Early initiation and maintenance of enteral nutrition is essential for meeting target calories and protein requirements. It may help to preserve muscle mass in critically ill patients who are otherwise at high risk of malnutrition., How to Cite This Article: Sharon T, Nayak SG, Shanbhag V, Hebbar S. An Observational Study of Nutritional Assessment, Prescription, Practices, and Its Outcome among Critically Ill Patients Admitted to an Intensive Care Unit. Indian J Crit Care Med 2024;28(4):364-368., Competing Interests: Source of support: Nil Conflict of interest: None, (Copyright © 2024; The Author(s).)

Purpose: The study aimed at evaluating the Effectiveness of Comprehensive Intervention Programme (CIP) on Quality of life (QOL), fatigue, self-efficacy, and psychosocial distress among Head and Neck Cancer (HNC) patients receiving radiotherapy treatment., Methods: Single-centre non-RCT time series study was conducted among 134 HNC patients (67 observed, followed by 67 subjected to CIP). FACT- H&N, FACT-F, Cancer Behavior Inventory and psychosocial distress scales were used to assess QOL, fatigue, self-efficacy, and psychosocial distress respectively. CIP was provided to the intervention arm twice a week during the course of radiation therapy along with the standard care; the control arm received only standard care. Data were collected before commencing radiotherapy, and post-test assessments were carried out at the end of radiotherapy treatment, and at 3 and 6 months after completion of radiotherapy., Results: Repeated measures ANOVA revealed a statistically significant improvement with CIP in QOL (F (1.917) = 454.103, p = 0.001), fatigue (F (2.106) = 183.775, p = 0.001), self-efficacy (F (2.429) = 190.861, p = 0.001), and psychosocial distress (F (2.288) = 290.105, p = 0.001) in the intervention arm., Conclusion: The CIP implemented to address multitude of issues in HNC patients receiving radiotherapy, proved to be effective in reducing the impact of treatment on QOL, fatigue, self-efficacy and psychosocial distress in HNC patients receiving radiotherapy., (© 2024. The Author(s).)