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Supplemental material, sj-pdf-1-gqn-10.1177_23333936221094857 for Exploring Nurses’ Perceptions of Medication Error Risk Factors: Findings From a Sequential Qualitative Study by Georgios Savva, Evridiki Papastavrou, Andreas Charalambous, Stavros Vryonides and Anastasios Merkouris in Global Qualitative Nursing Research

Background: There is evidence that patient safety in nursing curriculums is not well incorporated. This does not to allow students to develop strong competences to support patient safety throughout their professional life. Aims: To explore the perspectives of undergraduate nursing students, among Greece and Cyprus populations, regarding their knowledge and attitudes on patient safetyrelated issues and missed care. Methods: A descriptive comparative study was conducted with third and fourth-year undergraduate nursing students from Cyprus (n=243) and Greece (n=481). All students were surveyed using the a) 34-item Health Professional Education Patient safety Survey (H-PEPSS) to describe students’ knowledge in the classroom and clinical setting and b) the 23-items Health Care Professionals Patient safety Assessment Curriculum survey (HPPSACS), which evaluates attitudes and c) a brief questionnaire to explore their understanding of missed care. Results: Students’ knowledge about patient safety was expressed significantly higher (p< 0.001) in classroom (mean=4.0), comparing to the clinical setting (3.7) (1-5 scale). The knowledge in the dimension “clinical aspects” was valued the highest and the dimension “Working in teams” was valued the lowest. Regarding the attitudes, the lower was reported in the topic “denial” (mean 2.1) (1-5 scale). Also, differences were recorded between countries with Cyprus reported higher level of knowledge than Greece students in most of dimensions. One third of all the students reported body hygiene as missed care incident Conclusions: The findings indicated the gap between theory and practice and the need of collaboration of the two settings. Also, the highest score in “Clinical aspects” (in both settings) reflect the fact the nursing education tend to cite on technical issues, whereas fewer tend to the more sociocultural aspects of patient safety. Relevance for nursing science in Europe: Under the absence of EU directives or curriculum guidelines on how patient safety training to be incorporated into the curriculum, study reveals important points, both theoretically and clinically, about patient safety training in two EU countries. Further research to define and update the syllabus is needed, to ensure pre-registration nursing students become engaged and therefore prepared to sustain a culture of safety.

Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-smo-10.1177_20503121211042211 for A pretest–posttest pilot study for the development and preliminary validation of a tool for the clinical assessment of radioiodine induced sialadenitis by Andri Christou, Evridiki Papastavrou, Anastasios Merkouris and Andreas Charalambous in SAGE Open Medicine

Incorporating patient safety principles into preregistration nursing curriculum is necessary to support widespread adoption of safe practice. Although patient safety has been discussed on a European and global level in emphasizing the importance of socio-cultural competencies, students’ perception and the extent to which patient safety elements are addressed in the curriculum is unclear and hidden. To understand the current status of patient safety awareness among pre-registration nursing students, in the classroom and clinical setting, a descriptive-comparative study was conducted with three and four-year undergraduate nursing students from Greece and Cyprus (n=485) during the 2017-2018 academic year. All students were surveyed using a 34-item Health Professional Education Patient safety Survey (H-PEPSS), (Likert scale 1=fully disagree to 5=fully agree), to assess students’ learning in both settings and how broader patient safety issues are addressed in the nursing curriculum. The results showed that students expressed the highest level of confidence in the classroom (mean=4) compared with the clinical setting (mean= 3.7). The clinical aspects exhibited the highest level of confidence in both settings while the least level of confidence expressed was in the topic “working in teams”. A statistically significant positive correlation was seen between the classroom and clinical settings for all seven patient safety topics. Students’ confidence in what they were learning regarding patient safety increase significantly from 3 year to 4 year students in the topics of “clinical aspects” and “managing safety risks”. The mean score for patient safety issues addressed was 3.6. The findings showed that deficits exist in adequately preparing undergraduate students with the skills related to patient safety issues. The study illustrated the value of collaboration between the two settings. The highest score in the topic of ‘’clinical safety’’ (in both settings) which was primarily on hand hygiene and infection control, may reflect the fact that nursing education tends to focus on clinical safety issues, rather than the more sociocultural aspects of patient safety

Ethical Climate is actually a dimension ofthe whole working environment and the theory suggests that the types of Ethical Climate that exist in an organization reflects the collective ethical behaviorofthe employees in this organization(Victor& Cullen, 1987).

The aim of this presentation is to present the results of a systematic review and a thematic synthesis of qualitative research studies that have revealed an ethical dimension of nursing care rationing. The Objectives of this thematic synthesis were to find out the deeper moral meaning of nursing care rationing (if any) by synthesizing studies that relate this phenomenon with the ethical perspectives of nursing.

To investigate and describe the types of ethical climate that may exist in the Public Hospitals ofthe republic of Cyprus, as they are perceived by Cypriot Nurses and the possible relationship that these types may have, with missed nursing care in these hospitals.

Missed nursing care is defined as "any aspect of required patient care that is omitted (either in part or in whole) or delayed", (Kalisch et al. 2009, p. 1509), it can occur at any stage of the nursing process and it is influenced by factors in the care environment such as the allocation of resources (material and labor), relationships and communication, that affect nurses’ internal processes (e.g. values, beliefs, collective team norms) and guide them in deciding which nursing activity should be completed, should be missed, or should be delayed (Kalisch et al. 2009). Ethical climate in hospitals reflects the collective behavior of health care employees, acts as a reference of behavior when nurses face ethical issues and has a great impact on their decision-making process and on the quality of patient care. Victor and Cullen (1987) defined ethical climate as “the shared perceptions of what is ethically correct behavior and how ethical issues should be handled in organizations’’. Five types appear frequently in healthcare organizations which are the Caring, the Instrumental, the Rules, the Law and Codes and the Independence. Research on the relationship of the types of ethical climate with missed nursing care is limited. Since the nurses' practice environment has been linked to missed nursing care and having in mind that the ethical climate is actually a dimension of the whole working environment, as well as, the results of a previous study (Vryonides et al. 2016) that had examined this relationship in cancer care units (only), the current study further explores this relationship.

Purpose. To systematically review clinical studies examining the effectiveness of nonpharmacological methods to prevent/minimize salivary gland damage due to radioiodine treatment of differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC). Methods. Reports on relevant trials were identified by searching the PubMed, CINHAL, Cochrane, and Scopus electronic databases covering the period 01/2000–10/2015. Inclusion/exclusion criteria were prespecified. Search yielded eight studies that were reviewed by four of the present authors. Results. Nonpharmacological methods used in trials may reduce salivary gland damage induced by radioiodine. Sialogogues such as lemon candy, vitamin E, lemon juice, and lemon slice reduced such damage significantly (p

A phenomenon investigated within the framework ofscarcity ofresources, costreductions and economic constraints. •Thedominating view is that when resources arenotsufficient toprovide necessary careto allpatients, nursesareforced to rationtheirattention acrosspatients byusingtheirclinicaljudgmentto prioritiseassessmentsand interventions whichmayincrease the riskofnegativepatientoutcomes(Schubertetal., 2008).

questionnaire and the sample consisted of a random sample of 324 patients from 5 public hospitals in Cyprus with at least 3 days of hospitalisation. Results: The sample consisted of 159 medical (49.1%) and 165 surgical patients (50.9%), the majority of the sample were male (200 - 61.7%) and the mean age was 57.6 years (SD=17.8 years). Overall, patients showed enthusiasm with the medical care provided (Mean=3.97, SD=0.65, R=1- 5). Particularly, patients were more satisfied with the technical aspect of care (Mean=4.20, SD=0.62) and less satisfied with the provision of information (Mean=3.71, SD=0.92) and hospitalisation (Mean=3.84, SD=0.70) and most particularly with food and resting time. There was no statistically significant difference in relation to the department (medical or surgical), sex, age, educational level and residency. Conclusions: Nurses need to show greater amount of interest to the information-giving process and the autonomy of the patients. Additionally, an effort should be made to improve hospitalisation services. Evaluating patients' satisfaction should be constant so as to reformulate the baseline and to be able to assess interventions and changes in nursing care provision. Introduction: Patient satisfaction has become an established outcome indicator of the quality and the efficiency of the health care systems. Patient satisfaction with nursing is considered the most important factor in the moulding of the overall patient satisfaction with hospital services. Aim of the study: To assess medical and surgical patient satisfaction with nursing care in the public hospitals of Cyprus and explore its possible correlation with background factors. Methods: An exploratory, descriptive design, with face-to-face semi-structured interview was employed. Data were collected by using MPSS.

Aim. This paper is a report of an international study of patients’ and nurses’ perceptions of nurse caring behaviours. Background. Current economic constraints on healthcare systems, demand to increase the quality of care and the incorporation of the consumers’ perspective into care, have created a need to develop a clear understanding of nursing behaviours which convey caring. Patients in different areas of the world report different expectations of nurses’ caring actions when compared to nurses’ views. Method. A descriptive comparative survey design was used to analyse a sample of surgical patients (n = 1659) and their nurses (n = 1195) in 88 wards of 34 hospitals in Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Finland, Greece, Hungary and Italy. Data were collected in autumn 2009 using the Caring Behaviours Inventory-24. Nurses’ and patients’ responses were compared using both inferential and descriptive statistics. Results. Independent samples t-tests showed important differences between nurses’ and patients’ views. Although both groups perceived knowledge and skill as being the most important sub-scale, the nurses’ responses were higher compared to patients (P < 0·05) with important differences in the ‘assurance of human presence’ (P < 0·001) and the ‘respectful deference to others’ (P < 0·001) sub-scales. Cross-country comparisons showed important differences between the nurses’ (F = 24·199, P < 0·001) and patients’ views on caring (F = 26·945, P < 0·001). Conclusions. Important differences were observed between patient–nurse perceptions in the participating countries. The results form a foundation for future research into the development of a common international perspective about caring behaviours between patients and their nurses.

Background: The association between individualised nursing care and patient satisfaction has been previously found. However, there is a lack of studies examining this association between individualised care and patient satisfaction in a cross-cultural study. Aims: This study examines the association between individualised care and patient satisfaction in a sample of general surgical patients from five European countries. Methods: A cross-sectional design and survey method were used to collect data from general surgical patients (N = 1315, response rate 78%) in 72 inpatient wards in 26 general acute hospitals’ in 2009 using self-completed questionnaires the Individualised Care Scale and the Patient Satisfaction Scale. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation coefficients and multiple stepwise regression analyses. Results: Surgical patients reported that the care they received was only moderately individualised overall, but individuality was taken into account well in patients’ clinical situation and decisional control over care. Patients were satisfied with their care, mostly with the technical aspects of care and least with the information given. There were between-country differences in patients’ perceptions of individuality in care and patient satisfaction. A positive correlation between the level of individualised care received and patient satisfaction was found, confirming that individualised nursing care delivery influences patients’ satisfaction with care and demonstrating that this quality of care indicator might be able to be used as a predictor of patient satisfaction, one outcome of care.Conclusion: The findings of this study strengthen previous results and further reporting the existence of a relationship and the positive correlation between individualised care and patient satisfaction. The results can inform administrative decisions and policy on introducing nursing approaches to care that would increase patient satisfaction.

Rationale Translation, adaptation and cross-cultural validation of instruments or scale to measure concepts of interest among different populations can facilitate sharing of knowledge and advance cross-cultural research globally, especially in countries with diverse populations. Aims and objectives This is a two-phase study aiming to: (1) translate, adapt and cross-validate the 24-item English version of Caring Behaviors Inventory into Greek; and (2) evaluate the psychometric properties of the Greek version (CBI-GR). Methods A descriptive correlational design was used to conduct the study. The procedure involved professional translators, committee approach, and a sample of nurses and patients. The psychometric evaluation of the CBI-GR used a sample of 245 Greek and Cypriot medical-surgical nurses. Data analyses comprised internal consistency reliability (Cronbach's alpha coefficient), stability (test–retest) reliability, item analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. Results The Cronbach's alpha for the overall CBI-GR was 0.92 and ranged from 0.76 to 0.87 for the subscales. Correlation coefficients between test and retest for the overall CBI-GR was r = 0.83 and ranged from r = 0.69 to 0.78 for its subscales. Confirmatory factor analysis of the scale supports its four-factor structure and the model indexes were adequate: X2 (239) = 515.54, P < 0.001; comparative fit index = 0.91; incremental fit index = 0.91; and Tucker Lewis index = 0.90; parsimony normed fit index = 0.73; parsimony comparative fit index = 0.79; and root mean square of approximation = 0.07. Conclusions The CBI-GR is comparable with the original 24-item English version of the CBI and it is suitable to measure nurse caring among Greek-speaking nurses. Further psychometric testing of the instrument among nurses and patients is warranted.

Standard Precautions have been introduced as a means to protect health professionals from exposure to pathogens. This study examines the extent of Cypriot nurses' compliance with the main aspects of Standard Precautions and explores the possible associations with the nurses' characteristics. Self-completed questionnaires that examined the frequency of the implementation of Standard Precautions were distributed to a convenience sample of 668 nurses. The response rate was 89.37%. The results showed inadequate compliance with Standard Precautions. Full compliance with all the main aspects of Standard Precautions was reported by only 9.1% of the participants. Male nurses and those who had not been exposed previously to pathogens reported better compliance, in comparison to female nurses and those who had been exposed previously. Nurses who had participated previously in an educational program about Standard Precautions reported a higher frequency of implementing them than those who had not participated. The nurses' age and frequency of the implementation of Standard Precautions were found to be significantly and positively correlated. The results can be used to enhance nurses' safety by focusing on areas of non-compliance

Εισαγωγή: Η διεθνής βιβλιογραφία παρουσιάζει σημαντικό κενό ως προς τη μελέτη της έννοιας της φροντίδας, όπως την αντιλαμβάνονται νοσηλευτές και ασθενείς. Το εν λόγω φαινόμενο επιβάλλει τη μελέτη της έννοιας της φροντίδας, όπως αυτή γίνεται αντιληπτή. Σκοπός: Η μελέτη της έννοιας της νοσηλευτικής φροντίδας ως γενικής και της εξατομικευμένης φροντίδας ως ειδικότερης έννοιας, όπως αυτές γίνονται αντιληπτές από τους ασθενείς και τους νοσηλευτές, καθώς και η καταγραφή της ικανοποίησης των ασθενών από την παρεχόμενη νοσηλευτική φροντίδα. Υλικό-Μέθοδος: Στην παρούσα έρευνα, η οποία αποτέλεσε το πιλο- τικό τμήμα μιας μεγαλύτερης σε έκταση ερευνητικής διαδικασίας, συμμετείχαν με τη μέθοδο της ευκαιριακής δειγματοληψίας 369 άτομα (182 νοσηλευτές και 187 ασθενείς) από έξι ευρωπαϊκές χώρες (Κύπρο, Ελλάδα, Φινλανδία, Ουγγαρία, Ιταλία, Τσεχία). Το ποσοστό ανταπόκρισης για τους νοσηλευτές ήταν 78,11% και για τους ασθενείς ανερχόταν στο 83,11%. Η συλλογή των δεδομένων επιτεύχθηκε σε τμήματα χειρουργικής κατεύθυνσης, το Μάιο του 2009, με τη βοήθεια τριών ερωτηματολογίων: (α) Κλίμακα συμπεριφορών φροντίδας (ΚΣΦ), (β) κλίμακα εξατομικευμένης φροντίδας (ΚΕΦ) σε δύο διαστάσεις (ΚΕΦ-Α υποστήριξη και ΚΕΦ-Β παροχή) και (γ) κλίμακα ικανοποίησης ασθενών (ΚΙΑ). Για την ανάλυση των δεδομένων χρησιμοποιήθηκε περιγραφική στατιστική, καθώς και οι στατιστικές δοκιμασίες ANOVA, t-test και x2. Το επίπεδο στατιστικής σημαντικότητας ορί- στηκε στo p

Cancer related fatigue has received limited clinical attention, although it is described as one of the most distressing symptoms children and adolescents are suffering during their treatment. AIM The aim of this study was (a) to assess the change in fatigue scores during cancer treatment according to children's and adolescents' perspectives, (b) to describe the possible causes of fatigue from children's and adolescents' view. MATERIAL-METHOD The present study was an ongoing prospective study. The research group consisted of 40 children aged 7-12 years and 29 adolescents with cancer who are followed up in an oncology clinic of a Greek children's hospital. After parental consent was obtained, data were collected using the Children's Fatigue Scale (CFS), Adolescents' Fatigue Scale (AFS) and a sociodemographic data form. RESULTS The children with cancer reported a statistically significant increase in fatigue scores during their treatment (z=-3.38, P=0.001). Similarly, adolescents' fatigue levels increased significantly during their treatment (z=-2.22, P=0.026). No other demographic factor, except gender in the children group (z=-2.04, P=0.042 for the beginning of treatment and t=2.43, P=0.02 for the end of treatment) found to increase significant the fatigue scores. CONCLUSIONS Cancer treatment was found to increase significant children's and adolescents' fatigue levels. Medical procedures and hospital environment seemed to be major causative factors for experiencing fatigue by the children and adolescents with cancer during their treatment.

Η βιβλιοθήκη Σχολής Επιστημών Υγείας διαθέτει αντίτυπο του βιβλίου σε έντυπη μορφή με ταξινομικό αριθμό: RT81.5 .M47 2008 Το βιβλίο αυτό απευθύνεται πρωτίστως σε νοσηλευτές, αλλά μπορεί να χρησιμοποιηθεί και από άλλους επαγγελματίες υγείας. Μπορεί να χρησιμοποιηθεί για το εισαγωγικό μάθημα της μεθοδολογίας της έρευνας ή ως βασική πηγή πληροφοριών για τον κλινικό νοσηλευτή ή τον επαγγελματία υγείας. Το βιβλίο διαιρείται σε έξι κεφάλαια. Το πρώτο κεφάλαιο περιλαμβάνει τους βασικούς ορισμούς, το σκοπό και τα είδη της νοσηλευτικής έρευνας, μια σύντομη περιγραφή της ερευνητικής διαδικασίας και την ιστορία της νοσηλευτικής έρευνας . Τα επόμενα πέντε κεφάλαια ακολουθούν την εξέλιξη της ερευνητικής διαδικασίας: α) Εννοιολογική Φάση β) Φάση Σχεδιασμού-Προγραμματισμού γ) Εμπειρική Φάση, δ) Αναλυτική Φάση, ε) Φάση Διάχυσης.

Η Bιβλιοθήκη Σχολής Επιστημών Υγείας διαθέτει αντίτυπα του βιβλίου σε έντυπη μορφή με ταξινομικό αριθμό: RA971.M47 2008 Το βιβλίο αυτό απευθύνεται σε φοιτητές, νοσηλευτές και γενικότερα σε επαγγελματίες υγείας και έχει ως κύριο σκοπό την εισαγωγή τους στην επιστήμη και την τέχνη της διοίκησης των νοσηλευτικών υπηρεσιών. Το βιβλίο διαιρείται σε τρία μέρη. Το πρώτο μέρος εστιάζει στη δομή και στα χαρακτηριστικά των οργανώσεων, καθώς και στους παράγοντες που τις επηρεάζουν. Το δεύτερο μέρος επικεντρώνεται στη συμπεριφορά ατόμων και ομάδων, καθώς και σε προβλήματα που προκύπτουν στην οργάνωση από τη συμπεριφορά αυτή. Τέλος, το τρίτο μέρος περιλαμβάνει σύγχρονα θέματα διοίκησης σε σχέση με την ποιότητα στον χώρο της υγείας.

Aim: To assess the level of knowledge of the nursing staff on Basic Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (B-CPR) according to the European Resuscitation Council guidelines (ERC 2000) and explore the correlation with demographic and other background factors. Material and method: The sample included 128 nurses and 107 assistant nurses from 13 hospitals in Attica and 3 hospitals in Crete. A questionnaire with 14 multiple choice questions which was developed for the specific purpose was used for data collection. Results: The results showed that nursing staff had a low level of knowledge on B-CPR (Mean.=5.88, SD=2.42). The vast majority of the participants (69.2%) did not know the exact rhythm of compression - ventilation. Only half of the sample (54,4%) has attended a Β-CPR seminar. Statistically significant differences were found for the geographical area, the type of department, the educational level, the participation in Β-CPR seminar and the time of the participation Conclusion: The results of this study showed the need for a systematic and continuous training on Β-CPR of all nurses, especially for the assistants and those who work in general departments.

Aim: The purpose of the present study is to investigate the attitude of Intensive Care Unit (ICU) nursing staff towards euthanasia of critically ill patients and the correlation of the findings with demographic and other factors. Material – Method: A self-completed questionnaire was distributed to the sample of the study which included 85 members of a general, an oncology and a pediatric hospital ICU nursing staff. Results: The results revealed that a 44.7% of the staff, is in favor of euthanasia but their knowledge is limited (5.9%), or very limited (32.9%), while the main source of information are the media and the magazines (52.9%). In the question that investigates will of participation, after the patient's demand and given law's permission, to stop or not even begin treatment in patients with end stage disease, 27.1% is opposite, 42.3% is in favor and 30.6% remains indecisive. 50.50% of the sample agrees to legislate late euthanasia under certain conditions, while the 22.4% of the sample remains indecisive. The most important factor in making the decision, was considered the incurable disease, while persistent demand of the family or psychiatric evaluation, were considered less important. Moreover, the staff of the ICU of the pediatric hospital was more positive, in participation in euthanasia under certain circumstances. Conclusion: The education and the information of the staff were considered of great importance in the sensitive issue of euthanasia, as well as a further exploration of the results of the present study.

Aim: To explore and compare the elderly and surgical patients' and mothers' and the corresponding nursing personnel's perceptions about the realization of patients' privacy in Greek hospitals. Material - Method: The study was comparative and the data have been collected from a convenience sample of 678 patients (251 mothers, 275 surgical and 152 elderly patients) and 587 nurses (221, 222 and 144) from the respective wards of 27 Greek hospitals. The questionnaire consisted of 11 items asking from the respondents to rate the frequency (Likert type scale. R=l-5) of the protection of patients' privacy by the nursing personnel during the performance of specific nursing interventions. Results: A difference was found between the perceptions of patients and nurses concerning the realization of privacy with patients to believe that their privacy had been protected less frequently than the nursing staff (Mean = 2.82-3.50 respectively, P

Aim: The investigation of patients' and nurses' perceptions on actualization of patients' autonomy in nursing interventions in maternity, surgical and elderly care. Material - Method: The sample consisted of 678 patients and 587 nurses/midwives from the corresponding wards. Two parallel questionnaires, developed by the researchers, were distributed for data collection. Results: Compared to nurses, patients perceived to receive less information (mean=2.34-3.13, p

The aim of this study was to assess the quality of life in elderly patients before and 4 months after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) operation in order to identify areas for interventions and further improvement of the provided care. This is part of a bigger project to assess the quality of life in CABG patients over time. The collection of data was based on interviews by using the MACNE.W heart disease health-related quality of life questionnaire. The study sample consisted of 120 cardiac artery bypass surgery patients (CABS) (100 men, 20 women) with a mean Age of 63.13 years (±8.55) and an average length of stay 14.2 days (±4.78). There was a significant improvement of the physical (+1.79, P

Aim: To explore and compare the elderly and surgical patients' and mothers' and the corresponding nursing personnel's perceptions about the realization of informed consent. Material - Method: The study was comparative and the data have been collected from a convenience sample of 678 patients (251 mothers, 275 surgical and 152 elderly patients) and 587 nurses (221, 222 and 144) from the respective wards of 27 Greek hospitals. The instrument consisted of 11 Likert type questions asking from the respondents to rate the frequency (R=l-5) the patients had been asked for informed consent as related to specific nursing interventions. Results: The perceptions of patients and nurses concerning the realisation of the informed consent were relatively low, with nurses to believe that patients' right of informed consent was protected during the hospital stay more often than the patients (Mean=2.51 - 1.63 respectively, p

Σκοπός: Σκοπός της παρούσας μελέτης ήταν η διερεύνηση των ελληνικών Μονάδων Εντατικής Θεραπείας Εμφραγματιών ως προς: (α) τη στελέχωση και οργάνωση της νοσηλευτικής φροντίδας, (β) τη συνεχιζόμενη εκπαίδευση των νοσηλευτών, (γ) τη συχνότητα διενέργειας συγκεκριμένων κλινικών παρεμβάσεων από νοσηλευτές, και (δ) τη συσχέτιση μεταξύ των ανωτέρω παραγόντων. Υλικό-Μέθοδος: Χρησιμοποιήθηκε περιγραφική μεθοδολογία με σχεδιασμό ανασκόπησης και συγχρονικές συγκρίσεις. Η συλλογή δεδομένων βασίστηκε σε ειδικά σταθμισμένο ερωτηματολόγιο με κλίμακα διαβάθμισης που απευθύνθηκε στους προϊσταμένους των μονάδων. Συμπεριλήφθηκαν 30 μονάδες εμφραγματιών από όλη την Ελλάδα (ανταπόκριση 67%). Αποτελέσματα: Η αναλογία προσωπικού ανά κλίνη ήταν 1,59 (SD=0,8, εύρος: 0,44―3,75), ενώ η αναλογία νοσηλευτών προς βοηθούς νοσηλευτών για το σύνολο του προσωπικού ήταν 1,58. Το 27,5% του νοσηλευτικού προσωπικού είχε τύχει ειδικής εκπαίδευσης πριν και το 30% μετά των ανάληψη καθηκόντων στη μονάδα. Πρόγραμμα ΚΑΡΠΑ είχαν μόνο 16,7% των μονάδων και πρωτόκολλο επειγουσών καταστάσεων το 36,7%. Oι δείκτες στελέχωσης ανά βάρδια παρουσίασαν στατιστικά σημαντική συσχέτιση με τα ποσοστά του νοσηλευτικού προσωπικού που συμμετείχαν σε πρόγραμμα εκπαίδευσης (Spearman’s rho [rho]=0,372, p=0,04). Η συχνότητα αυτόνομης διενέργειας συγκεκριμένων κλινικών παρεμβάσεων από νοσηλευτές παρουσίασε μεγάλη διακύμανση και σημαντική συσχέτιση με τους λόγους στελέχωσης και το ποσοστό των νοσηλευτών με ειδική εκπαίδευση (p

Aim: The aim of this study is to compare the quality of life of coronary artery bypass graft patients before and after the operation. This is a pilot project of a greater research effort whose main aim is to assess the quality of life of those patients over different times after the operation and also to explore the ability of preoperative variables to predict improved outcome. Material - Method: The collection of data was based on interviews with patients before and 4 months after the operation by using the MacNew Heart disease health-related quality of life questionnaire. The study sample consisted of 30 patients (25 men, 5 women) with mean age of 64.8 years (SD=8.54) and average length of stay 15.5 days (SD=5.78). The most frequent risk factors were the lack of exercise (90%) and smoking (66.7%) History of cardiovascular disease was reported by 11 patients (36.7%). Results: There was a significant improvement of the physical (+3.46 - P

Despite the rapid developments of Medical and Nursing science bedsores still remain a diachronic and critical problem. Aim: To investigate the problem of bedsores in a big public hospital and assess the validity of a methodology to identify the patients at high risk for bedsore development. Material - Method: For the purpose of the study two special protocols, one for patients with bedsores and one for the population at risk were developed by a group of experts. The first criterion for inclusion of the patients at the high risk group was the 15 days of bed rest and the second was the assessment using the Norton scale score (< 12). All the patients (N = 724) in medical, surgical and intensive care units at a specific point of time constituted the sample of the study. Results: From the sample. 23 patients (12 men and 11 women) were found having 59 bedsores. Among them 21 (91.3%) belonged to the population at risk and 12 (52.17%) had bedsores prior to hospitalization. Their mean age was 68 years and their average length of stay 44 days. The prevalence of bedsores was estimated to be 3.18% - 3.32% for medical, 1.31% for surgical, and 23.08% for the intensive care units. Initially. 112 patients (15,47%) were included in the population at risk. By adding the second criterion they came down to 34 (30.9%) with 21 (61.76%) of them having bedsores. The sensitivity of the two criteria in combination was 91% and the specificity 86%. Conclusions: The results are in agreement with previous studies conducted in the study site as well as in other Greek hospitals. The criteria of bed rest, age and Norton scale score can be combined in order to identify the population at high risk for bedsore development.

Rising health care costs and the need for enhancing the quality of health care are concerns of the hospitals throughout the world. Nursing documentation consumes excessive amounts of nursing time and influences directly the quality of clinical practice, research, administration and education. Recent developments in information technology have offered many alternatives to traditional systems of nursing process documentation. The main purpose of this article is to present the most widely accepted classification schemes, which can be used for the automation of the nursing process documentation in hospital settings, and discuss their implementation in our country.

Purpose: 1. To investigate the elderly and surgical patients' and mothers' and the corresponding nursing personnel's point of view about the concepts of autonomy, privacy and informed consent. 2. To develop an instrument for measuring patients' and nurses' perceptions on the implementation of these concepts in clinical practice. The study is a part of the project funded (1998-2001) by European Commission (BMH4-98-3555) and it is conducted in five European countries: Finland (coordinator), Germany, Greece, Spain, and UK. Methods: An extensive literature review was made for the content development of the tool followed by the quantification stage and the pilot study in 70 patients and mothers and 80 nurses in general and long term care institutions in Athens. Two parallel questionnaires were distributed for data collection. Results: The majority of patients and nurses were women. Concerning the definitions of the concepts 59% of the patients and 28% of the nurses did not answer at all or stated ignorance about informed consent (56% of the patients and 47% of the nurses about autonomy, and 46% of the patients and 47% of the nurses about privacy). Both groups found the questions very extended and difficult to comprehend, and most of the subjects did not relate the concepts to nursing interventions. Alpha values ranged for the patients' questionnaire from 0.76 to 0.84 and for the nurses' from 0.82 to 0.86. Conclusion: Both patients and nurses could not define the concepts and neither they relate them to nursing interventions. This indicates the need to enhance ethical knowledge base for nurses.

Aim: To assess the attitude of nurses towards computers and explore possible correlations with specific background factors. Material-Method: For collecting data, a questionnaire was developed for the specific purposes of the study, based on two dimensions: familiarity — confidence and usefulness of computers. The sample consisted of 650 nurses (364 returned, response rate = 56%) of one big general public hospital. Results: Only 87 subjects (23,9%) had participated in seminars of computers beyond the basic education. The nursing staff showed a moderate to positive attitude (Mean = 3.77. R = 1-5) by recognizing the usefulness of computers (Mean = 3.97) but showing lower confidence and familiarity with them (Mean = 3.36). Regarding the use of computers, almost the 2/3 of the subjects had never used computers. Those who had participated in seminars (Mean = 3.99-3.49, Ρ < 0.001), had computer at home (Mean = 3.91-3.51, Ρ < 0.001) and had used specific computer programs were more positive. The experience and the total attitude of the staff towards computers found to have a weak positive correlation (R = 0.12, Ρ < 0.05). Conclusions: The results can be used in planning and organizing successful computer seminars according to staff needs.