Ahmad Saifan

Families' Stressors and Needs at Time of Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation: A Jordanian Perspective

Background: During cardio-pulmonary resuscitation, family members, in some hospitals, are usually pushed to stay out of the resuscitation room. However, growing literature implies that family presence during resuscitation could be beneficial. Previous literature shows controversial belief whether or not a family member should be present during resuscitation of their relative. Some worldwide association such as the American Heart Association supports family-witnessed resuscitation and urge hospitals to develop policies to ease this process. The opinions on family-witnessed resuscitation vary widely among various cultures, and some hospitals are not applying such polices yet. This study explores family members’ needs during resuscitation in adult critical care settings. Methods: This is a part of larger study. The study was conducted in six hospitals in two major Jordanian cities. A purposive sample of seven family members, who had experience of having a resuscitated relative, was recruited over a period of six months. Semi-structured interview was utilised as the main data collection method in the study. Findings: The study findings revealed three main categories: families’ need for reassurance; families’ need for proximity; and families’ need for support. The need for information about patient’s condition was the most important need. Updating family members about patient’s condition would reduce their tension and improve their acceptance for the end result of resuscitation. All interviewed family members wanted the option to stay beside their loved one at end stage of their life. Distinctively, most of family members want this option for some religious and cultural reasons such as praying and supplicating to support their loved one. Conclusions: This study emphasizes the importance of considering the cultural and religious dimensions in any family-witnessed resuscitation programs. The study recommends that family members of resuscitated patients should be treated properly by professional communication and involving them in the treatment process. The implications concentrate on producing specific guidelines for allowing family-witnessed resuscitation in the Jordanian context. Finally, attaining these needs will in turn decrease stress of those witnessing resuscitation of their relative.

Patient- and Family Caregiver-Related Barriers to Effective Cancer Pain Control

Cancer is a worldwide health problem. In Jordan, cancer is the second leading cause of death. Approximately 2,000 people die from cancer every year, 70% of them experiencing varying high levels of pain as a result of ineffective pain relief. The purpose of this study was to identify the attitudinal barriers to effective cancer pain relief in patients and their family caregivers in Jordan. A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was used. A convenience sample of 300 cancer patients and 246 family caregivers were recruited from four different Jordanian hospitals between August 2009 and May 2010. Patients completed the Arabic version of the Barriers Questionnaire II (ABQ-II), the Arabic Brief Pain Inventory (A-BPI), and a demographic questionnaire. Family caregivers completed the ABQ-II and a demographic questionnaire. The A-BPI results identified that more than 70% of cancer patients in localized stage and more than 90% of patients with advanced cancer experienced substantial pain. Four major barriers to pain control were highlighted: fears related to addiction, side effects, communication concerns, and fatalistic beliefs. This study provides baseline information about the barriers to effective cancer pain control in Jordan.

Health-Related Quality of Life in Heart Failure in Jordan from Patients perspectives

Background: Heart failure is a global burden and a major public health issue, especially in developing countries, including Jordan. Most related research was conducted in Western cultures and may have limited applicability for individuals in Jordan. Aim: To explore the quality of life of patients with heart failure in Jordan from their perspectives. Methods: A qualitative descriptive design was adopted. Semi-structured interviews with 25 heart failure patients were undertaken. Results: Analysis of transcripts identified three major themes. The first theme described the awareness of health related quality of life (HRQoL) concept and perceptions of patients about heart failure (HF). The second theme described the influence of HF on patients in terms of physical ability, psychosocial life, spirituality, economic status and cognitive aspects. The third theme showed different steps to improve HRQoL from patients’ perspectives. Conclusion: HRQoL is a multidimensional, subjective concept that is affected by a variety of factors. Heart failure had negative impacts on the patients’ HRQoL, especially in the physical domain.

Quality of Life among Patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome

Objectives: The purposes of this study were to describe the quality of life for patients with acute coronary syndrome in Jordan, identify the mostly affected quality of life domains and if there was an association between quality of life socio-demographic and clinical characteristics. Methods: A non-experimental descriptive cross-sectional correlational design was used with a convenience sample of 372 patients with acute coronary syndrome. Data were collected from six different hospitals in Amman city by a self-reported questionnaire. Results: Overall, the patients’ quality of life mean score for all domains was low (4.06 ± 1.16). The physical domain was the most affected (3.87 ± 1.28), followed by the emotional (4.21 ± 1.18) and lastly is the social domain (4.26 ± 1.25). There were statistically significant differences in quality of life scores according to gender, level of education, employment status, physically activity, history of dyslipidemia and medical diagnosis. Conclusion: The results of this study indicated that Jordanian patients with acute coronary syndrome have poor quality of life especially in the physical domain. Social domain of their quality of life was the least affected indicating that there is a strong family support and relation. Different treatments to improve quality of life for those patients are warranted.

459 Nurses’ perceptions about child abuse

Background Despite the efforts to protect children around the world, child abuse and neglect remain serious and global problems. In Palestine, child abuse is hidden under the community culture, does not appear in the Ministry of Health official reports, and little is known about nurses’ perceptions towards this phenomenon. The aim of this study was to identify nurses’ perceptions about child abuse definition, whether they faced such cases during their work, and how they managed them. Methods Data were collected using descriptive survey (exploratory) approach. A total of 84 nurses from a major hospital in Ramallah city in Palestine were surveyed. Results Only 33% of the participants intend to use referral system in co-operation with the Ministry of Social Affairs, child protection organisations, or the police in Palestine to deal with child abuse cases. The most seen abuse case was neglect (79%), followed by psycho-logical abuse (61%), then physical abuse (57%) and the least seen was sexual abuse (27%). Conclusions Most of the participants do not know how to deal with child abuse effectively. This research provides baseline information for understanding nurses’ practice in the ground, and it helps in presenting the appropriate conditions that enable nurses to fully practice their role toward such cases.