Giulia Venturini

The experience of quality of life for caregivers of people with Alzheimer's disease living in Sardinia, Italy.

Purpose:This study explored the meaning of quality of life (QOL) for Sardinian caregivers of people affected with Alzheimer’s disease and factors improving and worsening their QOL. Design: The phenomenological method was used to study 41 Alzheimer’s disease caregivers living on the western coast of Sardinia, Italy. Interviews were conducted and analyzed using Cohen, Kahn, and Steeves’s approach. Findings: Extracted themes were the following: unity and cooperation in the family; freedom/independence; having time for themselves; serenity/tranquility; and well-being and health. Caregivers identified factors that they believed worsened or improved their QOL. Family was particularly important for these caregivers. Discussion and Practice Implications: This study reinforces previous research about cultural influence on QOL and emphasizes the importance of nurses being culturally sensitive. Since Sardinia is a rural region, these findings may be useful for nurses working with caregivers in other rural settings.

Epidemiological aspects of urinary incontinence in a female population of an Italian region

Introduction and hypothesisThe purpose of this study is to assess the incidence of female urinary incontinence (UI), risk factors, severity, and functional limitation using a cross-sectional survey in an Italian region.MethodsThe method employed in this study was a questionnaire-based interview on non-institutionalized women. Outcomes were the UI prevalence, severity, associated factors, and functional limitation (ICIQ score).ResultsFrom October 2008 to February 2009, 1,346 women were interviewed and 15.3% were affected by UI. Univariate analysis found different risk factors, but multivariate analysis revealed only pelvic floor surgery, diabetes, vaginal deliveries, age, and educational level as significant. The involuntary loss of stools was more common in incontinent patients compared with healthy participants. The ICIQ values were significantly different between healthy and incontinent participants and a positive correlation existed with the estimated daily urine loss (r = 0.885, p < 0.001).ConclusionsSymptoms of UI affected a substantial proportion of the population investigated. Pelvic floor surgery, diabetes, and vaginal deliveries are the most significant risk factors implicated.

Tuning Nursing Educational in an Italian academic context.

BACKGROUND The European Union Bologna Process has laid the foundation for a common European competence-based educational framework. In many countries, nursing education is in transition from vocational to higher education, with many diverse systems. The competence-based approach provided by the project Tuning Educational Structures offers a common and coherent framework able to facilitate the implementation of the principles underpinning the Bologna Process reform. OBJECTIVES This study aimed to ascertain the relevance that Italian nursing university lecturers attributed to the 40 competences of the Italian version of the nursing Bachelors and Masters Degrees. These competences were developed through adoption of the Tuning Methodology in the nursing context. SETTING The study was conducted in the 4 universities of one region of Italy which offer nursing Bachelors and Masters Degrees. PARTICIPANTS A total of 164 Italian university nursing lecturers. METHODS Using a four point scale, a cross sectional survey was conducted from March 2011 to April 2012. Participants evaluated each competence according to its relevance for Bachelors or Masters Education. Frequency analysis was conducted. RESULTS The significance for each competence of Tuning was rated very high by Italian lecturers and appeared to overlap partially with the original European study. In Italy, the most relevant competences for Bachelors Degree were the skills associated with the use of appropriate interventions, activities and skills in nursing and the skills associated with nursing practice and clinical decision-making. For Masters Degree, leadership, management and team competences were the most important. CONCLUSIONS The Tuning Nursing Project was accepted by the Italian lecturers. The competence-based approach was considered by Italian lectures as a support enabling to reflect on the current Italian nursing education cycles of study and to ensure shared visions and common approaches between Italian and European lecturers.