Anne-Marie Boström

Factors associated with evidence-based practice among registered nurses in Sweden: a national cross-sectional study

BackgroundEvidence-based practice (EBP) is emphasized to increase the quality of care and patient safety. EBP is often described as a process consisting of distinct activities including, formulating questions, searching for information, compiling the appraised information, implementing evidence, and evaluating the resulting practice. To increase registered nurses’ (RNs’) practice of EBP, variables associated with such activities need to be explored. The aim of the study was to examine individual and organizational factors associated with EBP activities among RNs 2 years post graduation.MethodsA cross-sectional design based on a national sample of RNs was used. Data were collected in 2007 from a cohort of RNs, included in the Swedish Longitudinal Analyses of Nursing Education/Employment study. The sample consisted of 1256 RNs (response rate 76%). Of these 987 RNs worked in healthcare at the time of the data collection. Data was self-reported and collected through annual postal surveys. EBP activities were measured using six single items along with instruments measuring individual and work-related variables. Data were analyzed using logistic regression models.ResultsAssociated factors were identified for all six EBP activities. Capability beliefs regarding EBP was a significant factor for all six activities (OR = 2.6 - 7.3). Working in the care of older people was associated with a high extent of practicing four activities (OR = 1.7 - 2.2). Supportive leadership and high collective efficacy were associated with practicing three activities (OR = 1.4 - 2.0).ConclusionsTo be successful in enhancing EBP among newly graduated RNs, strategies need to incorporate both individually and organizationally directed factors.

Research use in the care of older people: a survey among healthcare staff

Background.  Sweden has one of the largest proportions of older people in the world. To manage the healthcare needs of an aging population, there has been an alteration from hospital care to community-based care. In these settings, the majority of staff is enrolled nurses (EN) and nurse aides (NA) without university education. Aim and design.  The overall aim of this cross-sectional survey was to explore staff perceptions of factors related to research utilization in the care of older people. Method.  Questionnaires covering research utilization and demographics were sent to all staff (n = 132) working in seven units in older people care. The response rate was 67% (n = 89). The respondents consisted of ENs/NAs (n = 63), Registered Nurses (RN) and rehabilitation professionals (RP) as physiotherapists and occupational therapists (RN/RP n = 26). Results.  Most of staff reported positive attitudes towards research. The RNs/RPs stated more often than the ENs/NAs that they wanted to base their practice on research (81% vs. 25%; P = 0.001). The RNs/RPs also reported a greater extent of research use in daily practice (54% vs. 17%; P = 0.001). Support from colleagues (77% vs. 22%; P < 0.001) and unit managers (73% vs. 10%; P < 0.001) for implementing research findings was also more frequently reported by the RNs/RPs compared with the ENs/NAs. The majority of the ENs/NAs stated Do not know on many items concerning attitudes towards research, support for research utilization and actual use of research. Conclusions.  Despite overall positive attitudes towards research, the majority of staff did not use research findings in daily practice. This was particularly valid for the EN/NA group. Relevance to clinical practice.  There is an urgent need for managers and others in the care of older people to develop strategies for implementing evidence-based practice that involves the EN/NA group.

The care unit in nursing home research: Evidence in support of a definition

BackgroundDefining what constitutes a resident care unit in nursing home research is both a conceptual and practical challenge. The aim of this paper is to provide evidence in support of a definition of care unit in nursing homes by demonstrating: (1) its feasibility for use in data collection, (2) the acceptability of aggregating individual responses to the unit level, and (3) the benefit of including unit level data in explanatory models.MethodsAn observational study design was used. Research (project) managers, healthcare aides, care managers, nursing home administrators and directors of care from thirty-six nursing homes in the Canadian prairie provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba provided data for the study. A definition of care unit was developed and applied in data collection and analyses. A debriefing session was held with research managers to investigate their experiences with using the care unit definition. In addition, survey responses from 1258 healthcare aides in 25 of the 36 nursing homes in the study, that had more than one care unit, were analyzed using a multi-level modeling approach. Trained field workers administered the Alberta Context Tool (ACT), a 58-item self-report survey reflecting 10 organizational context concepts, to healthcare aides using computer assisted personal interviews. To assess the appropriateness of obtaining unit level scores, we assessed aggregation statistics (ICC(1), ICC(2), η2, and ω2), and to assess the value of using the definition of unit in explanatory models, we performed multi-level modeling.ResultsIn 10 of the 36 nursing homes, the care unit definition developed was used to align the survey data (for analytic purposes) to specific care units as designated by our definition, from that reported by the facility administrator. The aggregation statistics supported aggregating the healthcare aide responses on the ACT to the realigned unit level. Findings from the multi-level modeling further supported unit level aggregation. A significantly higher percentage of variance was explained in the ACT concepts at the unit level compared to the individual and/or nursing home levels.ConclusionsThe statistical results support the use of our definition of care unit in nursing home research in the Canadian prairie provinces. Beyond research convenience however, the results also support the resident unit as an important Clinical Microsystem to which future interventions designed to improve resident quality of care and staff (healthcare aide) worklife should be targeted.

Progress of unit based quality improvement: an evaluation of a support strategy

Objective: To evaluate a strategy for supporting nurses to work with quality improvement (QI). Design: Post-intervention evaluation. Study participants and intervention: 240 nurses participated in a uniformly designed 4 day basic training course in applying a model for QI. Of these, 156 nurses from over 50 healthcare institutions constituted the generic education (GE) group while 84 nurses from 42 neonatal units took part in a project to develop national guidelines, constituting the targeted intervention (TI) group. Method: Postal questionnaire 4 years after the training courses. Results: The response rate was 80% in the TI group and 64% in the GE group. Nurses in the TI group had a significantly higher rate in completing all phases of the QI cycle (p=0.0002). With no differences between the groups, 39% of all nurses were still involved in QI work 4 years after the training courses. Three factors were significantly related to nurses continuing their involvement in QI projects: remaining employed on the same unit (OR 11.3), taking courses in nursing science (OR 4.1), and maintenance of the same QI model (OR 3.1). Reported motives for remaining active in QI work were the enhancement of knowledge, influence over clinical practice, and development as a nurse. Reasons for discontinuation were organisational restructuring, a lack of facilitation and knowledge, and change of workplace. Conclusions: Participation in a national guideline project, including a common focus for improvement, facilitation and opportunities for networking, seems to have enhanced the ability to carry out the process of QI, but not to sustain the QI work over a longer period.

A model for implementing guidelines for person-centered care in a nursing home setting

BACKGROUND Systematic evaluations of knowledge translation interventions in nursing homes to improve practice are scarce. There is also a lack of studies focusing on creating sustainable evidence-based practice in the setting of residential dementia care. METHODS The aim of this paper is to describe a model for implementing national evidence-based guidelines for care of persons with dementia in nursing homes. The secondary aim is to outline the nursing home staff experiences during the first year of the implementation process. The intervention had a participatory action research approach. This included educational activities such as: (i) thematic seminars introducing national guidelines for dementia care, (ii) regular unit-based seminars; and (iii) later dissemination of information in reflective seminars and several days of poster-exhibitions. Areas of practice development were selected on each of the 24 units, based on unit-specific needs, and a quality improvement strategy was applied and evaluated. Each unit met ten times during a period of eight months. Data for this study were extracted from the reflective seminars and poster presentations, analyzed using a qualitative content analysis. RESULTS Findings showed that implementation of guidelines were perceived by staff as beneficial for both staff and the residents. However, barriers to identification of relevant sources of evidence and barriers to sustainable implementation were experienced. CONCLUSIONS One of our assumptions was that dementia nursing homes can benefit from becoming knowledge driven, with care practices founded in evidence-based sources. Our findings show that to be partly true, even though most staff units found their efforts to pursue and utilize knowledge adversely impacted by time-logistics and practical workload challenges.

What effect does breastfeeding have on coeliac disease? A systematic review update

Objective To update the evidence published in a previous systematic review and meta-analysis that compared the effect of breastfeeding on risk of coeliac disease (CD). Material and methods A systematic review of observational studies published between 1966 and May 2004 on the subject was conducted in 2005. This update is a systematic review of observational studies published between June 2004 and April 2011. Pubmed, EMBASE and Cinahl were searched for published studies that examined the association between breastfeeding and CD. Results After duplicates were removed 90 citations were screened. Four observational studies were included in the review. Two of three studies which had examined the duration of breastfeeding and CD reported significant associations between longer duration of breastfeeding and later onset of CD (OR ranged from 0.18 to 0.665). Breastfeeding during the introduction of gluten to the infant was reported to have a protective effect in two studies. Conclusions Our findings support previous published findings that breastfeeding seems to offer a protection against the development of CD in predisposed infants. Breastfeeding at time of gluten introduction is the most significant variable in reducing the risk. Timing of gluten introduction may also be a factor in the development of CD.

Meanings of at‐homeness at end‐of‐life among older people

Maintaining the well-being of older people who are approaching the end-of-life has been recognised as a significant aspect of well-being in general. However, there are few studies that have explicitly focused on at-homeness among older people. This study aims to illuminate meanings of at-homeness among older people with advancing illnesses. Twenty men and women, aged 85 or older, with advancing illnesses and who lived in their own homes, in nursing homes or in short-term nursing homes in three urban areas of Sweden were strategically sampled in the study. Data were generated in narrative interviews, and the analysis was based on a phenomenological hermeneutical method. After obtaining a naïve understanding and conducting structural analyses, two aspects of the phenomenon were revealed: at-homeness as being oneself and at-homeness as being connected. At-homeness as being oneself meant being able to manage ordinary everyday life as well as being beneficial to ones life. At-homeness as being connected meant being close to significant others, being in affirming friendships and being in safe dependency. Here, at-homeness is seen as a twofold phenomenon, where being oneself and being connected are interrelated aspects. Being oneself and being connected are further interpreted by means of the concepts of agency and communion, which have been theorised as two main forces of the human being.

Job strain: a cross-sectional survey of dementia care specialists and other staff in Swedish home care services

Introduction An increasing number of older persons worldwide live at home with various functional limitations such as dementia. So, home care staff meet older persons with extensive, complex needs. The staff’s well-being is crucial because it can affect the quality of their work, although literature on job strain among home care staff is limited. Aim To describe perceived job strain among home care staff and to examine correlations between job strain, personal factors, and organizational factors. Methods The study applied a cross-sectional survey design. Participants were dementia care specialists who work in home care (n=34) and other home care staff who are not specialized in dementia care (n=35). The Strain in Dementia Care Scale (SDCS) and Creative Climate Questionnaire instruments and demographic variables were used. Descriptive and inferential statistics (including regression modeling) were applied. The regional ethical review board approved the study. Results Home care staff perceived job strain – particularly because they could not provide what they perceived to be necessary care. Dementia care specialists ranked job strain higher (m=5.71) than other staff members (m=4.71; p=0.04). Job strain (for total score and for all five SDCS factors) correlated with being a dementia care specialist. Correlations also occurred between job strain for SDCS factor 2 (difficulties understanding and interpreting) and not having Swedish as first language and SDCS factor 5 (lack of recognition) and stagnated organizational climate. Conclusion The study indicates that home care staff and particularly dementia care specialists perceived high job strain. Future studies are needed to confirm or reject findings from this study.

Methods for objectively assessing clinical masticatory performance: protocol for a systematic review

BackgroundChewing and masticatory function constitutes one of the most important oral health factors that affect quality of life, especially in older individuals. Little consensus currently exists regarding ways to objectively assess clinical masticatory performance (in this context, performance refers an individual’s objective ability to mix or comminute food bolus). That said, many methods were developed to assess masticatory performance. Consequently, systematic review of the literature would be of great value when it comes to identifying various methods for objectively assessing clinical masticatory performance and for evaluating these methods.DesignThis study protocol describes a systematic review that intends to (i) identify methods to objectively assess clinical masticatory performance and (ii) evaluate psychometric properties (such as validity and reliability) of the identified methods. A systematic literature search is required to do so in these sources: MEDLINE (Ovid), Embase (embase.com), Web of Science Core Collection (Thomson Reuters), Cochrane (Wiley), and Cinahl (Ebsco).Inclusion criteria: studies in scientific, full-text articles; development articles; validation articles; studies of the general adult population, ages ≥18. Exclusion criteria: topics and article types that cover interview methods and self-reported questionnaires; methods/instruments that measure subjective masticatory performance; qualitative studies and case studies; opinion and editorial pieces; animal studies; studies of humans with severe oral health complications.DiscussionThis systematic review will result in a comprehensive assessment of various methods designed to objectively measure clinical masticatory performance. This systematic review will rate these methods, assess their reliability and validity, and identify one or more methods that can be recommended for use in clinical and scientific environments. From what is currently known, no systematic evaluation of various methods for objectively assessing clinical masticatory performance has been published.Systematic review registrationPROSPERO CRD42016037700

Commentary on Brown CE, Ecoff L, Kim SC, Wickline MA, Rose B, Klimpel K and Glaser D (2010) Multi-institutional study of barriers to research utilisation and evidence-based practice among hospital nurses. Journal of Clinical Nursing 19, 1944-1951.

Commentary on Brown CE, Ecoff L, Kim SC, Wickline MA, Rose B, Klimpel K and Glaser D (2010) Multi-institutional study of barriers to research utilisation and evidence-based practice among hospital nurses. Journal of Clinical Nursing 19, 1944-1951.