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Aims and objectives: To describe individuals' with type 2 diabetes mellitus sense‐making of blood glucose data and other influences impacting self‐management behaviour. Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus prevalence is increasing globally. Adherence to effective diabetes self‐management regimens is an ongoing healthcare challenge. Examining individuals' sense‐making processes can advance staff knowledge of and improve diabetes self‐management behaviour. Design: A qualitative exploratory design examining how individuals make sense of blood glucose data and symptoms, and the influence on self‐management decisions. Methods: Sixteen one‐on‐one interviews with adults diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus using a semi‐structured interview guide were conducted from March–May 2018. An inductive–deductive thematic analysis of data using the Sensemaking Framework for Chronic Disease Self‐Management was used. The consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research (COREQ) checklist were used in completing this paper. Results: Three main themes described participants' type 2 diabetes mellitus sense‐making and influences on self‐management decisions: classifying blood glucose data, building mental models and making self‐management decisions. Participants classified glucose levels based on prior personal experiences. Participants learned about diabetes from classes, personal experience, health information technology and their social network. Seven participants expressed a need for periodic refreshing of diabetes knowledge. Conclusion: Individuals use self‐monitored glucose values and/or HbA1C values to evaluate glucose control. When using glucose values, they analyse the context in which the value was obtained through the lens of personal parameters and expectations. Understanding how individuals make sense of glycaemic data and influences on diabetes self‐management behaviour with periodic reassessment of this understanding can guide the healthcare team in optimising collaborative individualised care plans. Relevance to clinical practice: Nurses must assess sense‐making processes in self‐management decisions. Periodic "refresher" diabetes education may be needed for individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To examine medical‐surgical nurses' capacity and tendency to perceive cues indicating clinical deterioration and nursing characteristics influencing deterioration cue perception. Design: Cross‐sectional, explorative study design. Methods: Data were collected over 10 weeks between September–November 2017. Medical‐surgical nurses completed an online survey consisting of a demographic questionnaire, the Occupational Fatigue, Exhaustion Recovery scale and 50 detection trials. Descriptive statistics and statistical tests were used to describe and interpret data. Findings: A significant association was found between nurses' capacity and tendency to perceive deterioration cues. As nurses' capacity to perceive deterioration cues increased, nurses were more likely to classify patient cues as indicators of deterioration. Fatigue, education, and certification were not identified as characteristics associated with deterioration cue perception. However, experience was observed to significantly influence nurses' capacity to perceive deterioration cues based on levels of skills acquisition. Conclusion: Study findings imply that future research should be directed at determining whether other individual factors and organizational system dynamics influence deterioration cue perception. Impact: To better understand how nurses perceive deterioration cues, this study integrated concepts from the Situation Awareness model and Signal Detection Theory. Novice, advanced beginner and competent nurses were found to have a lower capacity to perceive deterioration cues compared with proficient and expert nurses. With simulation increasingly being used as a primary teaching modality in nursing, the development of a simulation‐based signal detection training intervention may be beneficial in enhancing deterioration cue perception. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

despins l.a., scott-cawiezell j. & rouder j.n. (2010) Detection of patient risk by nurses: a theoretical framework. Journal of Advanced Nursing 66(2), 465–474. Title. Detection of patient risk by nurses: a theoretical framework. Aim. This paper is a description of a theoretical framework of how nurses detect and interpret patient risk signals in the context of organizational attitudes and procedures related to patient safety. Background. The ability to detect when patients are at increased risk for harm is a challenge faced by nurses worldwide. How nurses are able to discriminate patient risk warning signals from background noise is not well understood. Also, the impact of system-level factors on nurses’ signal detection capabilities has not been investigated. Data sources. Computerized database searches were used to identify nursing, organizational science, and cognitive psychology literature from 1964 to 2009 pertinent to the framework. Discussion. The patient risk detection theory synthesizes concepts of signal detection theory and high reliability theory. Signal detection theory explains the decision-making processes of nurses as they scan for signals of potential patient harm. High reliability theory explains how nurses’ signal detection capacities are facilitated when healthcare settings operate as high reliability organizations making patient safety the top priority. Conclusion. The patient risk detection theory facilitates understanding of both individual and organizational factors that influence nurses’ ability to detect risk in complex healthcare settings. It can be used to guide research on interventions to enhance signal detection by nurses and increase patient safety in today’s complex care environments. The theory can also be used to guide design of training programmes that permit nurses to develop practical skills in signal detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]