Felicity Astin

Frequency of anxiety after stroke: a systematic review and meta‐analysis of observational studies

Background and purpose Negative psychological outcomes occur frequently after stroke; however, there is uncertainty regarding the occurrence of anxiety disorders and anxiety symptoms after stroke. A systematic review of observational studies was conducted that assessed the frequency of anxiety in stroke patients using a diagnostic or screening tool. Summary of review Databases were searched up to March 2011. A random effects model was used to summarize the pooled estimate. Statistical heterogeneity was assessed using the I2 statistic. Forty-four published studies comprising 5760 stroke patients were included. The overall pooled estimate of anxiety disorders assessed by clinical interview was 18% (95%confidence interval 8–29%, I2 = 97%) and was 25% (95% confidence interval 21–28%, I2 = 90%) for anxiety assessed by rating scale. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale-Anxiety subscale ‘probable’ and ‘possible’ cutoff scores were the most widely used assessment criteria. The combined rate of anxiety by time after stroke was: 20% (95% confidence interval 13–27%, I2 = 96%) within one-month of stroke; 23% (95% confidence interval 19–27%, I2 = 84%) one to five-months after stroke; and 24% (95% confidence interval 19–29%, I2 = 89%) six-months or more after stroke. Conclusion Anxiety after stroke occurs frequently although methodological limitations in the primary studies may limit generalizability. Given the association between prevalence rates and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale-Anxiety cutoff used in studies, reported rates could in fact underrepresent the extent of the problem. Additionally, risk factors for anxiety, its impact on patient outcomes, and effects in tangent with depression remain unclear.

Motivational interviewing: a useful approach to improving cardiovascular health?

AIM To review and synthesise, systematically, the research findings regarding motivational interviewing and to inform education, research and practice in relation to cardiovascular health. BACKGROUND Motivational interviewing is designed to engage ambivalent or resistant clients in the process of health behaviour change, and it has been widely used in different clinical conditions such as substance abuse, dietary adherence and smoking cessation. Motivational interviewing has also been proposed as a method for improving modifiable coronary heart disease risk factors of patients. DESIGN Systematic review. METHOD Eligible studies published in 1999-2009 were identified from the following databases: CINAHL, Medline, PsycINFO, Cochrane Library, EBSCO, Web of Science, Embase and British Nursing Index. A manual search was conducted of bibliographies of the identified studies and relevant journals. Two researchers independently reviewed the studies. RESULTS Four meta-analyses, one systematic review and three literature reviews of motivational interviewing and five primary studies of motivational interviewing pertaining to cardiovascular health were identified. Despite a dearth of primary studies in cardiovascular health settings, there appears to be strong evidence that motivational interviewing is an effective approach focusing on eliciting the persons intrinsic motivation for change of behaviour. CONCLUSION Motivational interviewing is an effective approach to changing behaviour. It offers promise in improving cardiovascular health status. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE This review indicates that motivational interviewing is a useful method to help nurses improve health behaviour in people with coronary risk factors.

Causal attributions, lifestyle change, and coronary heart disease: Illness beliefs of patients of South Asian and European origin living in the United Kingdom

OBJECTIVE We examined and compared the illness beliefs of South Asian and European patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) about causal attributions and lifestyle change. METHODS This was a qualitative study that used framework analysis to examine in-depth interviews. SAMPLE The study comprised 65 subjects (20 Pakistani-Muslim, 13 Indian-Hindu, 12 Indian-Sikh, and 20 Europeans) admitted to one of three UK sites within the previous year with unstable angina or myocardial infarction, or to undergo coronary artery bypass surgery. RESULTS Beliefs about CHD cause varied considerably. Pakistani-Muslim participants were the least likely to report that they knew what had caused their CHD. Stress and lifestyle factors were the most frequently cited causes for CHD irrespective of ethnic grouping, although family history was frequently cited by older European participants. South Asian patients were more likely to stop smoking than their European counterparts but less likely to use audiotape stress-relaxation techniques. South Asian patients found it particularly difficult to make dietary changes. Some female South Asians developed innovative indoor exercise regimens to overcome obstacles to regular exercise. CONCLUSION Misconceptions about the cause of CHD and a lack of understanding about appropriate lifestyle changes were evident across ethnic groups in this study. The provision of information and advice relating to cardiac rehabilitation must be better tailored to the context of the specific needs, beliefs, and circumstances of patients with CHD, regardless of their ethnicity.

Family Support and Cardiac Rehabilitation: A Comparative Study of the Experiences of South Asian and White-European Patients and Their Carer's Living in the United Kingdom:

Background: Effective lifestyle modification facilitated by cardiac rehabilitation is known to reduce the occurrence of adverse coronary events and mortality. South Asians have poorer outcomes after a myocardial infarction than the general UK population, but little is known about their experiences of family support, cardiac rehabilitation and lifestyle change. Aims: To explore the nature of family support available to a sample of South Asian and White-European cardiac patients and to highlight similarities and differences between these groups with regard to cardiac rehabilitation and lifestyle modification. Methods: Using a qualitative approach, semi-structured interviews (in 1 of 6 languages) were conducted by researchers with; 45 South Asian patients and 37 carers and 20 White-European patients and 17 carers. Interviews were conducted in a home setting, up to eighteen months after discharge from hospital following myocardial infarction, coronary artery bypass surgery or unstable angina. Results: The main themes that emerged related to the provision of advice and information, family support and burden, dietary change and exercise regimes. Conclusions: Several cultural and ethnic differences were identified between patients and their families alongside similarities, irrespective of ethnicity. These may represent generic characteristics of recovery after a cardiac event. Health professionals should develop a cultural repertoire to engage with diversity and difference. Not every difficulty a person encounters as they try to access appropriate service delivery can be attributed to ethnic background. By improving services generally, support for South Asian populations can be improved. The challenge is to know when ethnicity makes a difference and mediates a persons relationship with service support and when it does not.

Registered nurses' expectations and experiences of first year students' clinical skills and knowledge.

Abstract Background: Clinical education is a fundamental component of nurse education. In theory, this aspect involves integrated input from registered nurses, clinical educators and university lecturers. Registered nurses are important contributors to this process and play a major role in influencing and shaping undergraduate nursing students’ early clinical experiences. Despite this important function, their voice has been somewhat neglected. Little is known about registered nurses’ expectations and experiences of first year undergraduate nursing students undertaking their first clinical placement. Aim: The aim of this study was to explore registered nurses’ expectations and experiences of first year undergraduate students’ levels of knowledge and clinical skills. Method: Three consecutive focus groups were conducted with a purposive sample of 16 registered nurses. Interviews were audiotaped and transcribed and thematic analysis applied to the data to identify themes imbedded in the data sets. Findings: Three main themes emerged: (1) Clinical nursing skills (2) Knowledge requirements and (3) Experiences of reality shock. The findings highlight that registered nurses’ expectations of first year students’ clinical skills and knowledge were not consistently met. Registered nurses placed significant emphasis upon a range of basic skills, but acknowledged that some aspects of nursing knowledge can only be learned through experience. Furthermore, they demonstrated a considerable degree of empathy surrounding the reality shock that students might experience during early clinical placement. Conclusion: Findings from this study suggest that registered nurses and academics differ in their perceptions surrounding the level of clinical skills first year students should have during their first clinical placement. There appears to be a two way theory practice gap between registered nurses in clinical practice and academics in tertiary institutions. Improved communication between registered nurses and providers of nurse education may assist in addressing some of the issues raised by this study and reduce the theory practice gap, which remains ‘alive and well’.

Managing lifestyle change to reduce coronary risk: a synthesis of qualitative research on peoples’ experiences

BackgroundCoronary heart disease is an incurable condition. The only approach known to slow its progression is healthy lifestyle change and concordance with cardio-protective medicines. Few people fully succeed in these daily activities so potential health improvements are not fully realised. Little is known about peoples’ experiences of managing lifestyle change. The aim of this study was to synthesise qualitative research to explain how participants make lifestyle change after a cardiac event and explore this within the wider illness experience.MethodsA qualitative synthesis was conducted drawing upon the principles of meta-ethnography. Qualitative studies were identified through a systematic search of 7 databases using explicit criteria. Key concepts were identified and translated across studies. Findings were discussed and diagrammed during a series of audiotaped meetings.ResultsThe final synthesis is grounded in findings from 27 studies, with over 500 participants (56% male) across 8 countries. All participants experienced a change in their self-identity from what was ‘familiar’ to ‘unfamiliar’. The transition process involved ‘finding new limits and a life worth living’ , ‘finding support for self’ and ‘finding a new normal’. Analyses of these concepts led to the generation of a third order construct, namely an ongoing process of ‘reassessing past, present and future lives’ as participants considered their changed identity. Participants experienced a strong urge to get back to ‘normal’. Support from family and friends could enable or constrain life change and lifestyle changes. Lifestyle change was but one small part of a wider ‘life’ change that occurred.ConclusionsThe final synthesis presents an interpretation, not evident in the primary studies, of a person-centred model to explain how lifestyle change is situated within ‘wider’ life changes. The magnitude of individual responses to a changed health status varied. Participants experienced distress as their notion of self identity shifted and emotions that reflected the various stages of the grief process were evident in participants’ accounts. The process of self-managing lifestyle took place through experiential learning; the level of engagement with lifestyle change reflected an individual’s unique view of the balance needed to manage ‘realistic change’ whilst leading to a life that was perceived as ‘worth living’. Findings highlight the importance of providing person centred care that aligns with both psychological and physical dimensions of recovery which are inextricably linked.

A core curriculum for the continuing professional development of nurses: Developed by the Education Committee on behalf of the Council on Cardiovascular Nursing and Allied Professions of the ESC

Background: The European Society of Cardiology and the Council on Cardiovascular Nursing and Allied Professions share a vision; to decrease the burden of cardiovascular disease in Europe. Nurses represent the largest sector of the health professional workforce and have a significant contribution to make, which has not yet been fully realised. Recent evidence highlights an association between the level of nurse education and inpatient mortality making this an important topic, particularly as the provision of nurse education in Europe is variable. Aim: To develop a core curriculum to inform the education of nurses following initial qualification for work in cardiovascular settings. Method: A syllabus was developed using published literature, policy documents and existing curricula with expert input from service users, specialist nurses, cardiologists, educationalists and academics. The syllabus formed the framework for the development of the core curriculum. Results: Eight key themes characterise the core curriculum which are presented together with an account of the development process. While the curriculum is not intended to cover all aspects of the highly complex role of the cardiovascular nurse, the themes do exemplify the science and art of nursing and are transferable across different levels of clinical practice and settings. The curriculum functions both as a ‘map’, which identifies key themes to include in nurse education, and as a ‘tool’ to inform educational provision that bridges’ the gap between initial nurse education and advanced specialist practice. Content can be adapted for use to fit the national context and reflects the specific needs, health priorities, legislative and regulatory standards that govern safe nursing practice across different countries. Conclusion: The core curriculum can be used as a learning framework to guide nurse education, in particular the continuing professional education of post-qualifying nurses working in cardiovascular settings. This represents a significant step towards streamlining cardiovascular nurse education in Europe.

Education for nurses working in cardiovascular care: A European survey

Background: Nurses represent the largest sector of the workforce caring for people with cardiovascular disease in Europe. Little is known about the post-registration education provided to nurses working within this specialty. The aim of this descriptive cross sectional survey was to describe the structure, content, teaching, learning, assessment and evaluation methods used in post-registration cardiovascular nurse education programmes in Europe. Method: A 24-item researcher generated electronic questionnaire was sent to nurse representatives from 23 European countries. Items included questions about cardiovascular registered nurse education programmes. Results: Forty-nine respondents from 17 European countries completed questionnaires. Respondents were typically female (74%) and educated at Masters (50%) or doctoral (39%) level. Fifty-one percent of the cardiovascular nursing education programmes were offered by universities either at bachelor or masters level. The most frequently reported programme content included cardiac arrhythmias (93%), heart failure (85%) and ischaemic heart disease (83%). The most common teaching mode was face-to-face lectures (85%) and/or seminars (77%). A variety of assessment methods were used with an exam or knowledge test being the most frequent. Programme evaluation was typically conducted through student feedback (95%). Conclusion: There is variability in the content, teaching, learning and evaluation methods in post-registration cardiovascular nurse education programmes in Europe. Cardiovascular nurse education would be strengthened with a stronger focus upon content that reflects current health challenges faced in Europe. A broader view of cardiovascular disease to include stroke and peripheral vascular disease is recommended with greater emphasis on prevention, rehabilitation and the impact of health inequalities.

A review of health-related quality of life patient-reported outcome measures in cardiovascular nursing

Background: The traditional use of physically focused outcome measures fails to capture holistic, quality of life issues of importance to patients. The relatively recent, rapidly growing interest in patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) attests to this and clinicians are faced with difficult decisions regarding their choice and use. Aims: The purpose of this review was to identify and synthesise the literature pertaining to the concept of quality of life and the main PROMs used to measure this in the cardiovascular field. Methods: A review of the recent literature was undertaken on commonly used cardiovascular health-related quality of life (HRQoL) PROMs. Results: Two types of HRQoL PROMs are available: disease-specific and generic. Both have limitations, and in many instances there is merit in using a combination, depending on the medical condition and treatment. In addition to psychometric considerations such as reliability, validity and responsiveness, the choice of a PROM will depend on factors such as the patient/investigator burden its use may impose, resources, costs, intellectual property and copyright issues. A new ‘hybrid’ HRQoL PROM for use in patients across the main cardiovascular disease presentations – angina, myocardial infarction and heart failure – appears to show promise. Conclusions: Cardiovascular HRQoL PROMs have a wide variety of uses and can help clinicians, researchers, managers and policy makers in decision making and provide indicators of clinical and institutional quality and outcomes. New HRQoL PROMs are emerging and their choice and use should be determined by a host of issues, including psychometric properties, acceptability, feasibility and cost.

Patient-centred care: reality or rhetoric?

The delivery of patient-centred care is central to current policy, both national and international (Department of Health, 2000, 2004; WHO, 2005). As health professionals we are told to empower our patients as part of developing a therapeutic nurse/patient relationship. This is because a patientcentered approach fosters autonomy, patient participation, planning with patients, and most importantly care is derived from needs explicated by patients rather than health professionals (Skelton, 2001). Consensus has not been reached on a definition of ‘patient-centred care’. Stewart’s (2001) suggestion that ‘patient-centred care’ is best recognized by what it is not seems apt! In other words, it is not hospital centred, technology centred, disease centred and health professional centred. Most nurses would probably consider that accepting this definition proves a challenge as critical care environments, by their nature are technocratic. However if we are to imitate nursing leaders like Virginia Henderson, who called for us to preserve ’the essence of nursing in a technological age’ (Henderson, 1979), we need to consider how patient centredness can be achieved. A closer look at the suggested components of patient-centred care may guide us further in the critical care environment. Irwin and Richardson (2006) outline the three ’C’s’ of patient-centred care as communication, continuity of care and concordance (finding something in common or finding agreement). These characteristics of care will be examined separately and their usefulness in practice considered.