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Background: Nurse managers play an important role in coordinating the multidisciplinary teamwork, which is specifically important in emergency and crises situations like the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this qualitative study is twofold: (1) to explore the experiences of the Intensive care units (ICU) nurse managers regarding their work during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, and (2) to analyse what implications might be provided based on experiences of nurse managers for future possible epidemiological crises. Methods: In-depth phone interviews were conducted to explore the experiences of ward managers–nurses (n = 15) working in different hospitals across Poland. Interviews were taped and transcribed verbatim, and then qualitatively analysed. Results: Three main categories were identified: (1) Challenge of working with the unknown, (2) Nurse managers' expectations, and (3) Methods of coping and received support. The COVID-19 pandemic strongly affected the work of ICU nurse managers and uncovered the malfunctioning of the healthcare system. Conclusion: It is important to improve the knowledge and competence of hospital management personnel through exercises and in-service training on how to handle emergencies in order to improve the management of healthcare facilities, increase the safety of patients and employees, and the quality of healthcare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The hospital ethical climate affects the quality of nursing care. A positive ethical climate is likely to reduce the proportion of those who consider leaving the profession, so it is necessary to develop tools which will enable assessment and analysis of the hospital ethical climate. The aim of this study was to examine selected psychometric properties of the Polish version of the Hospital Ethical Climate Survey, assess the hospital ethical climate perceived by nurses and midwives from Polish hospitals, and to determine its correlations with job-related variables. Methods: A cross-sectional study among 558 nurses and midwives working in hospitals in Poland. Results: The 21-item model showed acceptable model fitness between the hypothetical model of ethical climate and the data in the study. Five items with low factor loadings were removed from the study. The internal consistency was satisfactory (0.93). The mean score for the overall hospital ethical climate was 3.62. The highest mean score of hospital ethical climate in the present study was found in the "peers" subscale and the lowest in the "physicians" subscale. A positive correlation was found between overall hospital ethical climate and respondents' satisfaction with work, salary, and working time. The hospital ethical climate was associated with problems found in nurses and midwives' work, such as: limited time for direct face-to-face care, the lack of equipment and resources to provide high-quality health care, strained relations with hospital managers and other health care professionals, limitations to one's own competences or those of other medical professionals, moral dilemmas related to patient care, the low prestige of nurses'/midwives' work, physical and mental burden, and the risk of making a mistake. Conclusion: The Polish 21-item version of the Hospital Ethical Climate Survey is a reliable tool. Correlations revealed that relationships with managers and physicians, and working conditions should be improved in order for the hospital ethical climate to improve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Providing effective spiritual nursing care requires development of professional competence which, when regularly evaluated, allows one to direct undergraduate and postgraduate nursing education in order to develop knowledge, skills and attitudes of nurses in the scope of spiritual care. Aim: The aim of this study was to analyse the level of spiritual competence of professionally active nurses in Poland and, additionally, to analyse the psychometric properties of the Spiritual Care Competence Scale (SCCS). Methods: A cross-sectional study among Polish nurses (n = 343) was performed in accordance with the STrengthening the Reporting of OBservational studies in Epidemiology guidelines. Results: An exploratory factor analysis identified five factors with 27 items explaining a total variance of 64.75%. Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the subscales ranged from 0.70 for 'Attitude toward the patient's spirituality' to 0.92 for 'Professionalisation and improving the quality of spiritual care'. Nurses reported a high level of spiritual competence (104.39 points) with better results in 'Attitude toward the patient's spirituality' and 'Communication, personal support and patient counselling' than in the 'Assessment and implementation of spiritual care', 'Professionalisation and improving the quality of spiritual care', and 'Referral, consultation and spiritual care'. Significant correlation was found between nurses' age, job seniority and spiritual competence, and between religiosity and spiritual competence. Conclusions: The study showed satisfactory psychometric properties of the Polish version of the Spiritual Care Competence Scale, confirming its potential to measure the level of spiritual competence of nurses, both in education and research processes. SCCS-PL revealed five-factor structure with good internal consistency. The findings highlight the importance of providing professional education in respect of spiritual nursing care, especially in its practical dimension regarding skills development in which nurses obtained lower scores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this prospective cohort study was to assess the maximum intensity of postoperative pain at rest in 620 adults after an elective surgery as well as to determine demographic and clinical predictors of pain. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale was used to evaluate the preoperative mental condition of the patient. Preoperative and postoperative pain were assessed at rest based on the Numeric Rating Scale (range: 0–10). The total median maximum intensity of pain was 3 (interquartile range: 1–5). The linear regression model for the maximum intensity of postoperative pain was statistically significant and very well fitted – the coefficient of determination was 62%. Preoperative anxiety, pain, cancer, a medical history of thyroid (vs abdominal) surgery, and an operation resulting in major (vs moderate) tissue injury have a positive impact on the maximum intensity of postoperative pain. Eye surgery and lower limb operations gave lower scores than abdominal surgery. The early identification of these predictors in patients at risk for postoperative pain will help in preparing an individual pain management plan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: Despite the fact that vaccines save many lives worldwide, in many countries, including Poland, the percentage of unvaccinated children is constantly growing. The main reasons for low immunisation coverage include parents' concerns about the safety of vaccines, their fears related to possible adverse events following vaccination, and the increasingly powerful activity of anti-vaccine movements. It is necessary to monitor the public's attitudes to vaccination in order to implement appropriate solutions to prevent a resurgence of epidemics. The aim of the study was to assess Polish parents' opinions about and awareness of immunisation-related issues. Methods: The study, based on an online survey, investigated Polish mothers' attitudes towards the use of vaccines, their opinions regarding the sanctions for a failure to vaccinate a child, and the correlations between the result and the socio-demographic characteristics. Results: A total of 646 responses were collected, including 593 from mothers from general-interest groups and 53 from anti-vax groups. Differences were identified in vaccination coverage among children of respondents from general-interest groups and anti-vax groups. The findings show that the respondents from anti-vax groups stopped vaccinating more often due to vaccine adverse events and inadequate response from doctors. Conclusion: Most of the respondents are aware of anti-vaccine movements and have a negative attitude to them, but these movements still influence the public. Also, the findings show a correlation between the level of education and a general attitude to immunisation – people with higher education more often have a negative opinion on this matter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. In 2018, another update of the Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Prevention and Management of Pain, Agitation/Sedation, Delirium, Immobilization and Sleep Disorders in Adult Patients Treated in Intensive Care Units (ICUs) was released. Aim. The study is aimed at presenting current recommendations concerning pain management in patients treated in ICU, and presenting the algorithm of pain assessment and monitoring in patients treated in ICU, using a Polish version of the BPS (Behavioural Pain Scale). The guidelines were prepared based on a systematic review of the literature published in the years 2013-2018. Material and methods. The search for scientific publications was carried out using electronic databases in English and Polish. The following keywords and their combinations were used in the searches: pain, assessment, monitoring, nurse, intensive care, adult patient, unable to communicate. Initially, 758 papers were identified with the use of keywords. After excluding duplicates and preliminary checking and selecting the titles of publications and abstracts, 85 papers were qualified for the analysis of full text. Conclusions. Access to effective pain treatment is a fundamental human right. Recommendations of the Polish Association of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Nurses, concerning pain monitoring in ICU using a Polish version of the Behavioural Pain Scale (BPS), developed by the Task Force for Practice, are intended to provide a specific guideline for developing effective local pain management strategies in ICU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of KONTAKT - Journal of Nursing & Social Sciences related to Health & Illness is the property of University of South Bohemia in Ceske Budejovice, Faculty of Health & Social Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Introduction. The nursing profession in Poland is subject to continuous transformations, but it should follow the directions based on the common framework for the development of specialist nursing, drawn up by international specialist nurses associations in Europe. A change in the nursing education system in Poland has provided an opportunity for progress based on consistent framework. Summary. Nurse education organised in a system of first cycle and second cycle university courses was a milestone towards improving the status of the nursing profession. The improved position of Polish nurses paved the way for further advancements in this profession and in the related scientific research, which in the past was rarely conducted by Polish nurses; today more and more research teams are launched and operate both at universities and in nurses' scientific associations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Clinical Learning Environment, Supervision and Nurse Teacher Scale (CLES+T) instrument is internationally used for the evaluation of clinical learning environment in undergraduate nursing education. However, no evidence is available on the possible applications of this instrument in the context of postgraduate nursing education. Purpose: To examine the basic psychometric properties of CLES+T in the context of clinical postgraduate nursing education in Poland. Methods: Study among a sample of 417 nurses participating in the clinical postgraduate training in Poland. Results: Cronbach's alpha for the total scale was 0.97. A five-factor structure was confirmed in accordance with the assumptions adopted by the authors of the original version of the scale. Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the Polish version of the CLES+T subscales ranged from 0.83 (Nursing care on the ward) to 0.95 (The content of supervisory relationship). The mean results for individual subscales ranged from 4.52 ± 0.63 for nursing care on the ward to 4.73 ± 0.45 for role of the nurse teacher. Conclusions: Having shown satisfactory psychometric properties, CLES+T can be considered a useful instrument to assess those elements of clinical learning environment which are important for the assurance of education quality at the postgraduate level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Scientific research and public opinion polls indicate that the majority of patients and their families believe that members of the patients' family should be offered the opportunity to be present during CPR, at the moment of their loved one's death, and throughout all aspects of emergency care. The study was designed to analyse the experiences and opinions of patients and family members towards Family Presence During Resuscitation (FPDR) in hospitals in Poland. Patients and Methods: We conducted a survey related to FPDR among patients and their families during 5 months in 2017. That was preceded by a pilot study. We asked the patients and the people accompanying them to complete the questionnaire during admission to the hospital; 1000 questionnaires (500 patient responses and 500 family responses) were included in the analysis. Results: Patients and their relatives more often wanted to be present during resuscitation of a loved one than they agreed to the presence of the family during their resuscitation. The vast majority of patients did not know the patient's rights regarding FPDR. 24.2% of patients and 29.2% of their relatives participated in the discussions on FPDR. The interest in FPDR indicated 29.0% of patients and 27.6% of family members. Conclusion: In our survey study, both patients and their family members had a negative attitude towards FPDR. Respondents (both patients and family members) had a low level of awareness that their potential to be present during CPR was included in the patient's rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: CRT Survey II was initiated by the European Heart Rhythm Association and the Heart Failure Association, to explore everyday implantation practice of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) devices in a broad spectrum of hospitals in European Society of Cardiology (ESC) member countries. Aim: To compare Polish and European procedural practice. Material and methods: Procedural details of Polish patients collected in 37 Polish centres (n = 1241 - Poland group) were compared to the patients enrolled throughout Europe (n = 9847 - CRT II Survey group). Results: There were significant differences in: successful implantation (96.1% vs. 97.4%), type of device implanted (for CRT-D: 87% vs. 67.6%), implanting physician subspecialty (for electrophysiologist: 69.2% vs. 79.8%), type of location of procedure (for operating room: 19.4% vs. 8.9%), duration of procedure (117.8 ±44 vs. 97.5 ±46.1 min), left ventricle lead type (for multipolar lead: 50% vs. 57.9%), coronary sinus venogram with occlusion rate (41.4% vs. 47.9%) and peri-procedural complication rate (7.5% vs. 5.3%) between Poland and CRT II Survey groups, respectively. Conclusions: This study provides important information describing current differences in Polish procedural routines in relation to ESC member countries. Heterogeneous CRT implantation practices across European countries still exist. However, it may be related to different clinical profile of patients qualified for CRT implantation in Poland as well as organization of care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. Research demonstrates that nursing documentation is a condition for the continuity of patient care and for their safety. The objective of the article is to present the existing knowledge on anaesthesiology nursing documentation and to specify its essential elements. Material and methods. A literature review was performed with a systematic literature search. The content of the included studies was analysed in terms of its content and relevance. The materials was gathered through electronic database search. Results. It was found that the key elements of the documentation-related practice of anaesthesiology nurses were as follows: the record-keeping tool should be adjusted to the clinical practice, the documentation for nurses should take into consideration the patient safety aspect and protect nurses from legal consequences; also, the documentation should comply with the current legal regulations and be regularly updated. Conclusions. Anaesthesiology nurses who keep their documentation contribute to improving the safety of patients and themselves. With observations and taking notes on all performed interventions, it is possible to prevent errors and track changes in the patient's condition reflected in their medical record. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The presence of families of intensive care unit (ICU) patients during therapeutic and nursing procedures is often a source of stress both for the family and medical personnel. Throughout the years, there was a practice of minimising the time the families spent with patients during hospitalisation. Modern approach to nursing is based on holistic treatment and includes the patient as well as his/her family. Our aim is to combine both worlds - medicine and patient's environment into one entity to minimise the stress of the family during the patient's stay in ICU. Working Group on practice of Polish Society of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Nursing commenced research: "Habits, attitudes and experience of nurses in anaesthesia and intensive care considering presence of patients' families in ICU". Within the research, a questionnaire has been developed to recognise the phenomenon itself and the aim of the project is to analyse attitudes and experience of medical personnel considering presence of patients' families in ICU as well as an attempt to prevent post-intensive care syndrome family (PICS-F). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Nursing in the 21st Century is the property of Sciendo and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

ABSTRACT: Introduction Because the largest group of intensive care units (ICU) patients are unconscious and require mechanical ventilation of the lungs, hospitalization at ICU carries the risk of dangerous infections. Many invasive procedures can lead to complications, for example ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). Aim The aim of this study was to assess the level of knowledge that ICU nurses have on VAP and their role of VAP prevention. Material and methods The pilot study was carried out during a period of 60 days (from June 1st 2013 to July 31st 2013). 131 ICU nurses working at 7 different ICUs located around the Podkarpackie voivode- ship were enrolled into the study. The study was based on a survey prepared by the authors. Results The study demonstrated a correlation between prevention of VAP and the knowledge that nurses possessed. The older the nurses were and the more senior position they held, the more knowledge they possessed. Respondents with less experience, possessed less knowledge on the subject. Nurses involved in the study usually improved their qualifications through participation in specialized workshops and courses. Conclusions Nurses require regular training in accordance with current standards and guidelines. Unification of guidelines and protocols for VAP will contribute to the reduction in the risk of mechanical ventilation complications in patients treated in the ICU. Recommendations and guidelines for oral care and bronchial toilet need to be strictly followed. Developing and implementing uniform medical documentation standards for all ICUs in Poland would play a major role in the prevention of nosocomial infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As determining the probability of the exceedance of maximum precipitation over a specified duration is critical to hydrotechnical design, particularly in the context of climate change, a model was developed to perform a frequency analysis of maximum precipitation of a specified duration. The PMAXΤP model (Precipitation MAXimum Time (duration) Probability) harbors a pair of computational modules fulfilling different roles: (i) statistical analysis of precipitation series, and (ii) estimation of maximum precipitation for a specified duration and its probability of exceedance. The input data consist of homogeneous 30-element series of precipitation values for 16 different durations: 5, 10, 15, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120, 180, 360, 720, 1080, 1440, 2160, 2880, and 4320 min, obtained through Annual Maximum Precipitation (AMP) and Peaks-Over-Threshold (POT) approaches. The statistical analysis of the precipitation series includes: (i) detecting outliers using the Grubbs-Beck test; (ii) checking for the random variable's independence using the Wald-Wolfowitz test and the Anderson serial correlation coefficient test; (iii) checking the random variable's stationarity using nonparametric tests, e.g., the Kruskal-Wallis test and Spearman rank correlation coefficient test for trends of mean and variance; (iv) identifying the trend of the random variables using correlation and regression analysis, including an evaluation of the form of the trend function; and (v) checking for the internal correlation of the random variables using the Anderson autocorrelation coefficient test. To estimate maximum precipitations of a specified duration and with a specified probability of exceedance, three-parameter theoretical probability distributions were used: a shifted gamma distribution (Pearson type III), a log-normal distribution, a Weibull distribution (Fisher-Tippett type III), a log-gamma distribution, as well as a two-parameter Gumbel distribution. The best distribution was selected by: (i) maximum likelihood estimation of parameters; (ii) tests of the hypothesis of goodness of fit of the theoretical probability distribution function with the empirical distribution using Pearson's χ2 test; (iii) selection of the best-fitting function within each type according to the criterion of minimum Kolmogorov distance; (iv) selection of the most credible probability distribution function from the set of various types of best-fitting functions according to the Akaike information criterion; and (v) verification of the most credible function using single-dimensional tests of goodness of fit: the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, the Anderson-Darling test, the Liao-Shimokawa test, and Kuiper's test. The PMAXTP model was tested on data from two meteorological stations in northern Poland (Chojnice and Bialystok) drawn from a digital database of high-resolution precipitation records for the period of 1986 to 2015, available for 100 stations in Poland (i.e., the Polish Atlas of Rainfall Intensities (PANDa)). Values of maximum precipitation with a specified probability of exceedance obtained from the PMAXTP model were compared with values obtained from the probabilistic Bogdanowicz-Stachý model. The comparative analysis was based on the standard error of fit, graphs of the density function for the probability of exceedance, and estimated quantile errors. The errors of fit were lower for the PMAXTP compared to the Bogdanowicz-Stachý model. For both stations, the smallest errors were obtained for the quantiles determined on the basis of maximum precipitation POT using PMAXTP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the birth of the newborn, the therapeutic team is obliged to provide them with basic activities, i.e. maintaining normothermia. One way to objectively determine body temperature is by measuring it with a thermometer, but we are still struggling with the difficult task of providing the right temperature for premature newborns. Hypothermia found within the first 12 hours of birth significantly increases the likelihood of morbidity and mortality in both premature and timely newborns. The World Health Organization recommends that the newborn's body temperature should remain within 36.5-37.5°C. Temperature 36.0-36.4°C is called thermal stress or mild hypothermia, temperature limits 32.0-35.9°C as moderate hypothermia, while temperatures below 32.0°C as severe hypothermia. After the birth of a child, most newborns are given to the mother's chest to ensure skin-to-skin contact. Research indicates that newborns located immediately after birth on hot mother's skin quickly reach the appropriate level of adaptation in terms of thermoregulation after leaving the womb. A newborn loses body temperature through mechanisms such as convection, radiation, evaporation, conduction. The newborn does not have protective mechanisms and acquires thermal energy from brown adipose tissue. A baby born at a time has 5-10% of body weight, while premature babies born below 26 weeks of pregnacy have only 1%. Exposure of the newborn to cold causes an increase in the secretion of noradrenaline, which stimulates the breakdown of brown tissue. Hypothermia impairs respiratory function, delays the production and action of endogenous surfactant. In addition, thermal stress increases metabolic acidosis, increases the likelihood of kernicterus, and predisposes to hypoxia and hyperkalemia. This results in a small weight gain of the newborn. The aim of the thesis is to educate medical personnel about newborn thermoregulation, ways to provide normothermia, to present the effects of hypothermia and hyperthermia, and perinatal recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An implementation of bias correction and data assimilation using the ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) as a procedure, dynamically coupled with the conceptual rainfall-runoff Hydrologiska Byråns Vattenbalansavdelning (HBV) model, was assessed for the hydrological modeling of seasonal hydrographs. The enhanced HBV model generated ensemble hydrographs and an average stream-flow simulation. The proposed approach was developed to examine the possibility of using data (e.g., precipitation and soil moisture) from the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) Satellite Application Facility for Support to Operational Hydrology and Water Management (H-SAF), and to explore its usefulness in improving model updating and forecasting. Data from the Sola mountain catchment in southern Poland between 1 January 2008 and 31 July 2014 were used to calibrate the HBV model, while data from 1 August 2014 to 30 April 2015 were used for validation. A bias correction algorithm for a distribution-derived transformation method was developed by exploring generalized exponential (GE) theoretical distributions, along with gamma (GA) and Weibull (WE) distributions for the different data used in this study. When using the ensemble Kalman filter, the stochastically-generated ensemble of the model states generally induced bias in the estimation of non-linear hydrologic processes, thus influencing the accuracy of the Kalman analysis. In order to reduce the bias produced by the assimilation procedure, a post-processing bias correction (BC) procedure was coupled with the ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF), resulting in an ensemble Kalman filter with bias correction (EnKF-BC). The EnKF-BC, dynamically coupled with the HBV model for the assimilation of the satellite soil moisture observations, improved the accuracy of the simulated hydrographs significantly in the summer season, whereas, a positive effect from bias corrected (BC) satellite precipitation, as forcing data, was observed in the winter. Ensemble forecasts generated from the assimilation procedure are shown to be less uncertain. In future studies, the EnKF-BC algorithm proposed in the current study could be applied to a diverse array of practical forecasting problems (e.g., an operational assimilation of snowpack and snow water equivalent in forecasting models). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shortly after birth, a majority of newborns undergo numerous medical procedures which check the functioning of their body. Some of these procedures are invasive and involve breaking the continuity of the child's tissues, which leads to pain and discomfort. Until the 1990s, it was believed that newborns do not feel pain and do not require treatment of pain. Many painful medical procedures were performed on newborns including surgery without pharmacological and nonpharmacolo-gical pain management. Nowadays, medical staff are aware that the youngest patients also respond to pain and should have knowledge about pain prophylaxis. Analyses carried out at neonatal departments and a review of the literature showed that pain management still causes many problems, as there are no clear guidelines. The most common pain reliever used in newborns is oral administration of glucose. Its mechanism of action remains unclear however it is thought to have a calming effect and reduce behavioral pain indices. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends administering an appropriate dose of sucrose suitable for the gestational age of the newborn up to three times, however concerns are raised regarding the long-term use of this preventive agent, especially in premature newborns which are at a higher risk of hyperglycaemia and nervous system disorders. The aim of this paper is to promote knowledge among medical personnel about the route of administration, duration of treatment and dose of glucose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]