Senay Karadag Arli

Patients' experience of pain after cardiac surgery

Abstract Pain after Cardiac Surgery (CS) is the most common patient complaint. However the first 48 h after surgery, when patients’ pain is the most severe, is generally spent in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). It is almost impossible for patients to report their pain because of their inadequate level of consciousness in the ICU. Many factors alter verbal communication with patients, such as administration of sedative medications, mechanical ventilation, and patients’ changed level of consciousness. This descriptive study was conducted for the purpose of describing the experience of pain in CS patients in the ICU and determining situations that affect their pain. This research was conducted with 300 adult patients at a Ministry of Health Hospital who stayed in a cardiac surgery ICU post-operatively for a minimum of 48 h, had a sternal incision, chest tube, and required mechanical ventilation. The data were collected from the patients in face-to-face interviews by the researchers following transfer from the ICU to the surgical ward within 48 h of transfer. Most patients described their pain as aching (n = 177) and throbbing (n = 154). The presence of chest tubes (n = 95), endotracheal tube suctioning (n = 47), change of dressings (n = 27) and the use of air mattresses (n = 20) were also identified as painful experiences for patients. Based on these results it can be said that CS patients experience pain in the ICU, however they verbalized it with different words and identified different situations that decreased or increased their pain, which shows the subjective and complex nature of pain.

An Investigation of the Relationship Between Nurses’ Views on Spirituality and Spiritual Care and Their Level of Burnout

Purpose: This study aims to evaluate the relationship between nurses’ views on spirituality and spiritual care and their level of burnout. Method: This cross-sectional study used a convenience sample that comprised 118 nurses from one state hospital in eastern Turkey. The data were collected through questionnaires that were filled by the nurses individually, using a sociodemographic characteristics form, the Spirituality and Spiritual Care Rating Scale, and the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Results: A statistically significant relationship was found between subscale scores of Maslach Burnout Inventory and total score of Spirituality and Spiritual Care Rating Scale. With the increase in nurses’ spiritual care mean scores, there was an increase in the mean scores of the Emotional Exhaustion, Depersonalization, and Personal Accomplishment subscales. Conclusions: Nurses’ burnout levels increased with the increase in their spirituality and spiritual care mean scores. This situation can be associated with the fact that providing spiritual care increases nurses’ workload. Therefore, similar studies are recommended to be conducted with wider groups of participants.

WITHDRAWN: Patient Complaints in the Emergency Department.

Methods: This study, designed as a descriptive and analytic type of research, was conducted between December 9, 2006, and June 30, 2007, with 1514 patients in the emergency department of a private hospital in Istanbul. Data collected consisted of 3 measures: (1) a 13-question “Individual Characteristics Form”; (2) a 35-item “Evaluation of Patient Complaints Form,” which utilized a face-to-face interview method; and (3) a “Triage Categories Form,” a 5-tier triage tool used by the emergency department where this study took place.

Comparison of Attitudes Toward Death Between University Students Who Receive Nursing Education and Who Receive Religious Education

This study aims to compare attitudes toward death between university students who receive nursing education and who receive religious education. This study is cross-sectional in nature. It was conducted with the participation of 197 university students in a university located in the Eastern part of Turkey between June and August, 2017. Data were collected using the socio-demographic form and Turkish form of Death Attitudes Profile-Revised. Of all the students participating in the study, 52.8% received nursing education and 47.2% received religious education. It was found that majority of both groups had no education about death, or found the education they received insufficient. Besides, no significant differences were found between the students who received nursing education and who received religious education in terms of their attitudes toward death (p > 0.05). Results showed that students who received nursing education and who received religious education had similar attitudes toward death. In conclusion, the education given to students about the religious or health aspects of death in accordance with the curriculum seemed to have no effects on students’ developing positive attitudes toward death.

Investigation of pain and life satisfaction in older adults: Pain and life satisfaction

The present study aimed to investigate pain and life satisfaction in older adults.

Identification of nursing students’ attitudes toward older people

Objectives: The present study aims to identify nursing students’ attitudes toward older people. Methods: This descriptive study was conducted with 166 nursing department students enrolled in a four-year undergraduate programme in a university located in Eastern Turkey. The participants were chosen using convenience sampling method, and data were collected through the Descriptive Characteristics Form and Turkish version of Kogan’s Attitudes toward Older People Scale (KAOPS). Results: It was found that the students participating in the study had positive attitudes toward older people, and the mean scores of those who wanted to work with older people after graduation were significantly high (p < 0.05). Scale mean scores according to receiving gerontology nursing course showed that there were no significant differences between the groups who received gerontology nursing course and who did not. Conclusions: This study found that nursing students’ attitudes toward older people were positive. Cultural features of the region where the study was conducted are considered to have effects on this result. Impact statement: As nursing students will provide care to older people in the future, it is important to know and assess their attitudes towards the older.