Search

Background: Involvement in research activities is complex in pediatric nursing and allied health professionals (AHPs). It is important to understand which individual factors are associated with it to inform policy makers in promoting research. Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted to describe the level of participation in research activities over the last ten years of nurses and AHPs working in a tertiary pediatric hospital. A large sample of nurses and AHPs working in an Italian academic tertiary pediatric hospital completed an online self-report questionnaire between June and December 2018. Three multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to predict participation in research projects, speaking at conferences, and writing scientific articles. Results: Overall, data from 921 health professionals were analyzed (response rate = 66%), of which about 21% (n = 196) reported participating in a research project, while 33% (n = 297) had attended a scientific conference as a speaker, and 11% (n = 94) had written at least one scientific paper. Having a Master or a Regional Advanced Course, working as an AHP or a ward manager, as well as regularly reading scientific journals and participation in an internal hospital research group or attendance in a specific course about research in the hospital, significantly predicted participation in research projects, speaking at conferences and writing scientific papers. It is important to foster research interest and competencies among health professionals to improve participation in research projects, speaking at conferences, and writing scientific papers. Conclusions: Overall, we found a good level of attendance at conferences as speakers (33%), a moderate level of participation in research (21%), and low levels for writing scientific papers (11%). Our study highlighted the need to support participation in research activities among nurses and AHPs. Policymakers should identify strategies to promote research among nurses and AHPs, such as protected rewarded time for research, specific education, strengthened collaboration with academics, and financial support. Moreover, hospital managers should promote the development of research culture among health professionals, to improve their research competencies and evidence-based practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Whereas ample information describes medication errors (MEs) in children or in mixed pediatric and adult populations discharged with acute or chronic diseases from hospital to community settings, little is known about MEs in children and adolescents with chronic diseases discharged home, a major concern. To promote home medication safety, we trained parents of children discharged with chronic diseases to record ME with a tailored cell-phone eHealth app. Methods: In a 1-year prospective study, we used the app to monitor ME in patients with chronic diseases discharged home from a tertiary hospital in Rome, Italy. Univariate and multivariate analyses detected the ME incidence rate ratio (IRR). Results: Of the 310 parents enrolled, 194 used the app. The 41 MEs involved all drug management phases. The ME IRR was 0.46 errors per child. Children <1 year had the highest ME risk (1.69 vs. 0.35, p  = 0.002). Children discharged from the cardiology unit had a statistically higher ME IRR than others (3.66, 95% confidence interval: 1.01-13.23%). Conclusions: The highest ME risk at home involves children with chronic diseases <1 year old. A significant ME IRR at home concerns children with heart diseases of any age. Parents find a tailored eHealth app for monitoring and reporting ME at home easy to use. At discharge, clinical teams need to identify age-related and disease-residual risks to target additional actions for monitoring ME, thus increasing medication safety at home.