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Aim: To investigate the relationship between physical activity (PA) and measures of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and hospital admissions in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) following pulmonary rehabilitation (PR). Method: CINAHL, Medline, PubMed, AMED, PsycINFO and Cochrane Library (database inception to July 2014) were searched. Relevant outcomes included relationships between PA and HRQoL, lung function (forced expiratory volume in one second, FEV1) and/or hospital admission. Six quantitative and 11 qualitative studies were included and Harden's method of data synthesis in a mixed-methods systematic review was applied. Results: Six months following PR, increase activity levels was associated with improvement of 62m in 6MWD, 2.31 and 15.55 points increase in SGRQ and CRDQ total scores, respectively, 1.3% FEV1 and reduced dyspnoea. No study reported on hospital admission. Reported relationships were facilitated by healthcare professionals, social supporters, motivation and encouragement, reduced fear and seeing benefits and hindered by changing physical health, environment, lack of motivation, fear and social isolation. Conclusion: The associations between increased levels of PA and quality of life, respiratory function and dyspnoea are largely based on 6MWD and PA questionnaires. Objective measurement of free living activity in exercise maintenance phase is required along with participants' views. Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is a non-therapeutic intervention in which a team of multidisciplinary health care professionals use individually tailored supervised exercise training, self-management education, psychological and social support to optimize the physical and social performance and autonomy of patients with chronic respiratory impairment. Initial benefits from PR decline after program completion. Clinical guidelines advocate increase exercise and activity in sustaining initial benefits of PR. Following PR, increased levels of physical activity in people with COPD undertaking exercise maintenance programmes are positively related with improvements in exercise capacity, quality of life and dyspnoea. Barriers to activity participation in exercise maintenance programmes, which need to be overcome, are fear, lack of motivation, environmental factors, such as social isolation and changes in physical health. Rehabilitation professionals and social supporters can make rehabilitation more long-lasting and facilitate people with COPD to participate in activity by motivating and encouraging them, reducing their fears and reinforcing the benefits of activity participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim To explore the perceptions of early career nursing academics on leadership in academia. Background There is growing emphasis on leadership capacity building across all domains of nursing. However, there is limited evidence on leadership capacity in early career academics. This study tested an intervention to develop leadership capacity amongst early career nursing academics in two Australian universities. Methods A sequential mixed methods design, using online surveys and semi-structured interviews, was used to collect data. Results Twenty-three early career nursing academics participated. Most had experience of formal leadership roles and were aware of its importance to them as they developed their academic careers. Participants were able to discuss their own views of themselves as leaders; their perceptions of their own needs for leadership development, and ways in which they could seek to develop further as leaders. Conclusion There is a need to provide initial and ongoing opportunities for leadership development amongst nurse academics. These opportunities should be contextualised and recognise factors such as gender, and the effects of structural oppression. Implications for nursing management Nurse academics are involved in the preparation of the next generation of clinical leaders and it is imperative that they are able to articulate a clear view of leadership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims and objectives To examine nursing, midwifery and allied healthcare students' self-efficacy for science, perceived relevance of bioscience to their studies and expectations for academic success and the changes that occur after completing first-year introductory bioscience subjects. Background Bioscience is a foundation subject that underpins nursing, midwifery and other allied health courses. Bioscience subjects continue to be source of anxiety for students in those courses. Raising students' self-efficacy and perceptions of the importance and utility of bioscience to practice may be a way of ameliorating students' expectations and confidence in this subject area. Design A prospective correlational survey design. Methods Students were surveyed in the first semester of first year and the commencement of the second year. Students were drawn from nursing, midwifery, public health and allied health courses. The surveys contained scales for self-efficacy for science, perceived relevance of bioscience to their course and personal expectations for success in their bioscience subject. Results Ninety-seven and 82 students completed survey 1 and 2 respectively. Twenty-six surveys could be matched. Self-efficacy increased from survey 1 to survey 2, but expectations for academic success and task value, a measure for relevance, were lower. This was statistically significant for the matched pair sample. Using a mean split, students with high self-efficacy valued science more and had higher expectations for success in their bioscience courses than those with low self-efficacy. Conclusion Academic success in bioscience, confidence undertaking science tasks and perceiving bioscience as relevant to their course are interwoven concepts that are important for nursing, midwifery and applied healthcare students and ultimately for their professional practice. Relevance to clinical practice Literature indicates practitioners may not feel confident in their bioscience knowledge. Assisting undergraduate students to develop confidence in and perceive the relevance of bioscience to their discipline may ultimately impact on clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study explores the experiences and perceptions of academic nurse mentors supporting early career nurse academics (ECNAs). Methods: Interviews were undertaken with mentors following a mentoring partnership with ECNAs. Data were transcribed verbatim and analysed using a process of thematic analysis. Findings: Four themes emerged from the data, namely; motivation for mentoring; constructing the relationship; establishing safe boundaries and managing expectations. Conclusions: This study provides a unique insight into the experiences of mentoring within the context of an academic leadership programme for nurses. Such insights highlight the issues facing academics from professional disciplines and can inform strategies to support their career development. Clinical relevance: A sustainable academic nursing workforce is crucial to ensure that effective preparation of future generations of expert clinical nurses. Therefore, it is important to consider strategies that could strengthen the academic nursing workforce. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study reports patient satisfaction with the nursing care on a neurosurgical critical care unit. A modified version of the Ludwig-Beymer Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire (PSQ-7) was used, and included structured items and semi-structured interview questions. Data were collected from 149 patients. Participants rated their satisfaction as high (Mean = 25.14; SD = 2.96). The distribution of scores was skewed and every item demonstrated a ceiling effect. Principal com-ponent analysis yielded a one-component solution which explained 48% of the variance. NVivo® was used to match PSQ-7 scores with qualitative data. Participants' comments were categorised as positive, negative or 'yes, but'. Just over half the patients made positive comments and 29% of patients in the low group made negative comments. Three categories: 'communication', 'nursing care delivery' and 'the hospital environment' emerged from the qualitative data. A mixed method approach enables researchers to move beyond the ceiling effect of quantitative measures of patient satisfaction and to gain a more mean-ingful explanation of patient satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sessional teachers are taking an increasing role in classroom teaching in Schools of Nursing. However, there is a paucity of literature reporting the experiences of, and impact on, career academics working with or alongside the burgeoning numbers of sessional teachers. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to explore the experiences of continuing academics working with sessional teachers. This qualitative study used purposive sampling to recruit nurse academics and collect narrative data related to their experiences of working with sessional teachers. Four major themes emerged from the data, namely: They have got real credibility -- perceptions of clinical currency, We've got people who are very good clinically, but don't know how to teach - lacking skills and confidence, No allegiance to the school or the students -- perceived lack of commitment and accountability, and A terrible burden -- workload implications for continuing academics. The development and implementation of standards for the recruitment and employment of sessional teachers would benefit both continuing academics and sessional teachers, and assist in the delivery of quality teaching and learning to nursing students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports a study aiming to present and describe the effects of whistleblowing episodes on nurses' workplace relationships. Eighteen participants with direct experience of whistleblowing were recruited into the study, which was informed by a qualitative narrative inquiry design. Findings were clustered into four main themes, namely: Leaving and returning to work--The staff don't like you; Spoiled collegial relationships--Barriers between me and my colleagues; Bullying and excluding--They've just closed ranks; and, Damaged inter-professional relationships--I did lose trust in doctors after that. Findings suggest a need to facilitate a climate in which it is safe for nurses (and others) to raise concerns about patient care or organisational wrongdoing, and to eliminate the existing belief that whistleblowing is a negative act fuelled by revenge or sedition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of mixed methods research is growing in popularity in a range of disciplines, although the literature provides few descriptions of the practical aspects of mixing qualitative and quantitative data in the one study. Perhaps the greatest complexity in mixed method research is achieving integration of qualitative and quantitative data. This paper explores how NVivo Version 2.0 was used to facilitate data analysis in a mixed methods study of student attrition and retention in a Bachelor of Nursing program. Quantitative data was initially entered into Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS™) Version 13.0 and the qualitative data was imported into NVivo. In the next stage attribute data for each participant was imported from SPSS™ into NVivo. The coded qualitative data were then explored for relationships with participants' attribute profile (marital status, family support). The use of NVivo software proved to be beneficial in facilitating the synthesis of the mixed methods data and enriched the findings of the study by adding another dimension to the data. The lessons learnt from this experience will assist other researchers in investigating alternative tools for integrating mixed methods data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Background: Nursing students in higher education are spending more time in paid employment despite evidence that this can impact negatively on academic performance. Objectives: To examine the effect of paid work on academic performance in undergraduate nursing students. Design: Descriptive, correlational survey with longitudinal follow-up. Participants: Nursing students in metropolitan Sydney, Australia. Methods: First year nursing students surveyed at baseline were followed up at the end of the final year of their nursing program to examine factors influencing academic performance. Results: Of the 566 Year 1 nursing students who were surveyed in the second semester of their Bachelor of Nursing program, 182 students (32%) completed the follow-up survey in Year 3. The percentage of students engaging in paid work during term-time had increased (p <0.001), from 70% in Year 1 to 84% in Year 3. There was an inverse relationship between mean hours in paid work during term-time and nursing students’ GPA in their final year. Taking into account demographic factors, the mean hours spent in paid work during term-time had a negative impact on nursing students’ GPA (p <0.001). Conclusion: In view of these findings, we suggest that new models of undergraduate nursing education be explored to include faculty approved nursing-related employment with defined opportunities for learning. This would accommodate the dual roles of undergraduate nursing students as students and employees and therefore not endanger their academic performance. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Background: An individual''s perception of the risk of, and their susceptibility to, future cardiovascular events is crucial in engaging in effective secondary prevention. Aim: To investigate the perception of a cardiovascular event by examining the level of agreement between individuals with CHD views of their actual and perceived risk. Methods: This study examined the individual''s perception of the risk of a subsequent cardiac event among 220 patients hospitalised for a percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) at a metropolitan, tertiary referral hospital in Sydney, Australia. Baseline clinical and demographic characteristics were collected, and actual risk (Personal Risk Score) calculated based on the presence or absence of nine cardiovascular risk factors: diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, cigarette smoking, previous history of CHD, family history of CHD, depression, overweight or obesity, and physical inactivity. Perception of risk was determined using an investigator-developed 4-item, 11-point Likert scale instrument (Perceived Heart Risk Questionnaire – PHRQ) which measured two dimensions of health threat: perceived seriousness, and perceived susceptibility. The correlation between the Personal Risk Score and the PHRQ was assessed using the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient. Results: The calculated mean Personal Risk Score was 4.63±1.71 and the PHRQ was 25.5±7.04. The correlation between the Personal Risk Score (actual risk) and the PHRQ (perceived risk) was r =0.26 (p <0.01). Conclusions: The weak relationship between actual and perceived risk is of concern, particularly in a population at higher risk for future cardiovascular events. Implementing strategies to personalise risk should be explored to improve the accuracy of risk perception, and facilitate tailoring of behaviour change strategies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]