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Ventilator-associated pneumonia is a hospital-acquired infection of the lungs occurring in mechanically ventilated patients. An active risk management approach can prevent the occurrence of the disease and promote positive organizational changes, subsequently decreasing mortality and hospitalization costs. Using scientific and clinical practice knowledge, a risk evaluation model was developed to identify patients more at risk of developing the disease. For this purpose, a Decision Expert qualitative multi-criteria decision method was used, in which alternatives are evaluated according to predetermined hierarchically arranged criteria. Characteristics of each evaluated alternative are described by the members of an interdisciplinary expert team and are represented by the values of the basic criteria. Values of hierarchically higher aggregated criteria are computed in an upwards fashion according to utility functions, which are defined as simple logical rules. This method is integrated into a software solution, DEXi. The approach is applicable to vastly diverse decision problems and has been successfully used before for health-related decision support. The designed model was tested using actual clinical data. Evaluations of alternatives that most distinctly demonstrated the functionality of the evaluation model were selected and are presented in the results. The evaluation model is intended to assist a holistic evaluation of the risk of developing ventilator-associated pneumonia, by considering patient-related risk factors and the use of preventive measures. The model incorporates nursing-specific data that have hitherto been poorly utilized in preventing ventilator-associated pneumonia and promotes the active engagement of nurses in confronting this interdisciplinary healthcare problem, which has gained more prominence with the onset of COVID-19 disease.

Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) bring new challenges for the healthcare sector, demanding a paradigm shift on healthcare deliverance. In this sense, information and communication technologies (ICTs) are being more and more used, implying a change in educational programs of nursing schools. The application of ICTs in healthcare is often linked with concepts like ‘patient engagement’ or ‘patient empowerment’, implying an active participation of the patient in the therapeutic process. Although coaching in a context where NCDs are present is well studies, nursing curricula seems to lack consistent content for future nurses. This study aims to develop a tool to explore nursing student’s perceived easiness of use and perceived utility of potential ICTs in the coaching of people with chronic diseases. The scale’s items list (n = 45) emerged from a recent study published in the nursing students’ digital competencies area. The scale was developed based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and other conceptual models. The scale was reviewed and discussed by a panel of experts and then translated into four languages (Portuguese, Slovenian, Flemish, and Finnish). The scale was applied to undergraduate nursing students from five universities from Portugal, Finland, Belgium and Slovenia. A total of 874 students were enrolled, with a mean age of 22.38 years (SD = 5.49), being 621 (71.1%) females. The most significant dimensions were Professional Performance, Relationship and Patient Empowerment. DTS-NCD constitutes a good tool to explore nursing student’s perceptions relating the use of ICTs.

Introduction: The importance of community health nursing is increasing due to the development of primary healthcare, illness prevention and making healthcare a part of an integrated care for patients and their families within local communities. The aim of the research was to establish the purpose of the research conducted by community nursing providers and the main issues and problems faced in the field of community nursing in Slovenia. Methods: A systematic literature review was performed by collecting scientific and professional literature from the COBIB.SI bibliographic/catalog database from January to May 2017. The literature was searched by the root of the Slovenian keyword patronaž*. The initial criteria for thematic content analysis were met by 144 references. 45 were included on the empirical data list. The PRISMA method was used to present the review and to decide on the usefulness of the references included in the research. Results: The literature review found the following research areas in community nursing care in Slovenia: improvement of quality, safety and condition at work, patient empowerment and integrated and holistic patient treatment. Publication accessibility issues and the quality of research plans and research methods have been identified. During the last three years of the period studied the dominant source of information in the research have been community nurses themselves. Discussion and conclusion: Targeted action, increased interest and knowledge of community health nurses related to research are necessary. In order to better identify their role in primary health care activities and strengthen interdisciplinary research at the micro, mezzo and macro level of the health care system, it is necessary to introduce more complex research plans.

Health documentation is a prerequisite for good and sustainable health and social care. It is especially important for patient involvement and their empowerment. A transition from paper to e-documentation together with the electronic patient record should be based on thorough knowledge of the current state of documentation and its usages. The main objective of this paper was to analyse which documents and work methods of documenting processes within nursing are being used within different environments. Furthermore, what are the main reasons for their discrepancies from theoretical approaches and best practices. The analysis is based on a survey carried out on all three levels of healthcare. The survey questionnaire consisted of 12 questions to which responded 286 nursing teams from community health centres, hospitals and retirement homes in Slovenia. The results point to diversity in documenting as well as lack of interoperability. This is reflected in a great number of different documents. All phases of the nursing process were being documented in only 31.8 % of cases. The main reasons for this can be attributed to work organisation, different definitions of data-set requirements and inadequate knowledge by nurses. Survey results pointed out a need for the renewal of nursing documentation towards a more uniform system based on contemporary health technologies.