Search

Rationale: Hypothesis testing is integral to health research and is commonly completed through frequentist statistics focused on computing p values. p Values have been long criticized for offering limited information about the relationship of variables and strength of evidence concerning the plausibility, presence and certainty of associations among variables. Bayesian statistics is a potential alternative for inference‐making. Despite emerging discussion on Bayesian statistics across various disciplines, the uptake of Bayesian statistics in health research is still limited. Aim: To offer a primer on Bayesian statistics and Bayes factors for health researchers to gain preliminary knowledge of its use, application and interpretation in health research. Methods: Theoretical and empirical literature on Bayesian statistics and methods were used to develop this methodological primer. Conclusions: Using Bayesian statistics in health research without a careful and complete understanding of its underlying philosophy and differences from frequentist testing, estimation and interpretation methods can result in similar ritualistic use as done for p values. Implications: Health researchers should supplement frequentists statistics with Bayesian statistics when analysing research data. The overreliance on p values for clinical decisions making should be avoided. Bayes factors offer a more intuitive measure of assessing the strength of evidence for null and alternative hypothesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mixed methods research (MMR) is suitable for studying research problems that cannot be adequately investigated through qualitative and quantitative methods alone. Nevertheless, the MMR literature offers a very limited discussion about "research problems." To address this gap, this paper uses Elliott's conceptual framework to offer guidance on how to identify and formulate research problems in MMR and understand their nature. This article contributes to the field of MMR by reframing the concept of research problems in this type of research and offering a conceptual and methodological approach to describing and characterizing research problems for investigation in social and cultural contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite a greater percentage of women in the healthcare workforce, women are underrepresented in leadership positions. Researchers have examined the influence of gender on women involvement in policy‐making and leadership in male‐dominated professions. However, no research has explored nurses' perspectives about the role of gender in impacting their involvement in health policymaking in female‐dominant profession. This study explores nurse leaders' perspectives on how gender can influence their involvement in health policymaking in Pakistan. Eleven nurse leaders with at least 1 year of experience in policymaking participated in semi‐structured interviews. The data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Four themes emerged: Patriarchy Permeates Health Policymaking; Women's Social Status and Nurses' Involvement in Policymaking; Intentionally Disregarding Nurses' Insights on Policy Forums; Condescending Attitudes Towards Women Nurses on Policy Forums. The underrepresentation of nurses in health policymaking is influenced by gender and social biases and stereotypes against women and the negative social image of the nursing profession. Health‐care organizations must play an active role and develop policies to combat gender‐based discrimination and curb the underrepresentation of nurses in healthcare policymaking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate what the most common types of articles that nursing journals purport to publish are and what they actually publish. And to investigate the extent to which academic nursing journals listed by Clarivate track alternative metrics.

Background: The growth of international migration and globalization has increasingly diversified patient populations, emphasizing the need for nursing students to provide competent spiritual care. Purpose: To understand the teaching and learning strategies used to prepare undergraduate nursing students for spiritual care. Methods: An integrative review with deductive data analysis was used to evaluate, analyze, and synthesize diverse research methodologies. Results: Three educational approaches were identified, including passive, reflective, and combinatory approaches. The combinatory approach appears most appropriate for diverse learning styles within a student group. Conclusions: No one strategy is best, but any combination of educational strategies can positively impact spiritual care competency within clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although integration is a crucial element of mixed methods research (MMR), most MMR quality frameworks have not comprehensively addressed integration in their criteria. These frameworks tend to focus on whether integration is present, without considering important aspects such as the rigor of the integration processes used or their consistency with the other components of the MMR study. This paper presents the Mixed Methods Integration Quality Framework (MMIQF), which was developed based on a methodological review of the literature on integration in MMR. The proposed framework is intended to be useful to authors and readers of MMR studies who wish to ensure and appraise the appropriate implementation of integration in the design, conduct, and reporting of MMR studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims This study aims to (i) test the validity and reliability of the Care Dependency Scale (CDS) for patients with heart failure (HF) and (ii) test the validity and reliability of the proxy version of the CDS assessing informal caregivers' perception of the dependency level of individuals with HF. Methods and results Secondary data analysis was conducted of transnational multicentre cross-sectional design study. A convenience sample comprised of HF patients–informal caregivers' dyads in three European countries. The CDS was administered to patients and the proxy version to informal caregivers. Factorial validity was tested for each scale using confirmatory factor analysis. Reliability was evaluated with the composite coefficient and Cronbach's alpha. Construct validity was tested via known group differences. Measurement error was tested to assess responsiveness to changes. A total of 229 patients and 208 caregivers were recruited. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the two-factor structure (Physical Care Dependency and Psychosocial Care Dependency) of the CDS in both HF patients and their caregiver. Reliability estimates were adequate for all reliability coefficients. Construct validity was supported. The measurement error was adequate. Conclusion The scale shows acceptable validity and reliability and can be useful for care dependency assessment of patients with HF and their informal caregivers. Further research is needed for assessing the validity and reliability in other cross-cultural settings. The use of the CDS has the potential to effectively enable the development of pertinent care plans, taking dependency into consideration including the perspective of both members of the dyad as a whole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individuals' coping differs based on sociocultural determinants and the nature of illness. This study developed a coping typology for South Asians with chronic illnesses and differentiated the coping profiles based on sociocultural determinants. Individuals (n = 384) with chronic illness were recruited. The Brief COPE scale was used for data collection and latent profile analysis for typology development. The class differences were examined in terms of age, gender, socioeconomic status, education, type of family, smoking, primary decision maker in the family, type of community, number of years living with chronic illness and type of health care services used. Latent profile analysis supported four class model: Avoider‐Emotion (n = 34, 9%), Problem‐Emotion (n = 128, 33.9%), Problem‐Avoider (n = 55, 14.6%) and Emotion‐Avoider (n = 161, 42.6%) copers. Comparison of classes across chronic illness showed that individuals with chronic respiratory disorders were Emotion‐Avoider and Avoider‐Emotion copers, those with cardiac problems were Problem‐Emotional and Problem‐Avoiders copers, those with renal problems were Emotional‐Avoiders and Problem‐Emotions copers, and individuals with mental health issues were mainly Problem‐Emotional and Emotion‐Avoider copers. These class differences were statistically different (χ2 = 134, df = 18, p < .001). The findings can be useful for developing coping programmes for South Asian populations in low‐ and middle‐income countries and South Asian immigrants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Expedited implementation of evidence into practice and policymaking is critical to ensure the delivery of effective care and improve health-care outcomes. Implementation science deals with the designing of methods and strategies for increasing and facilitating the uptake of evidence into practice and policymaking. Nevertheless, the process of designing and selecting methods and strategies for implementing evidence is complicated because of the complexity of health-care settings where implementation is desired. Artificial intelligence (AI) has revolutionized a range of fields, including genomics, education, drug trials, research, and health care. This commentary discusses how AI can be leveraged to expedite implementation science efforts for transforming health-care practice. Four key aspects of AI use in implementation science are highlighted: (a) AI for implementation planning (e.g., needs assessment, predictive analytics, and data management), (b) AI for developing implementation tools and guidelines, (c) AI for designing and applying implementation strategies, and (d) AI for monitoring and evaluating implementation outcomes. Use of AI along the implementation continuum from planning to delivery and evaluation can enable more precise and accurate implementation of evidence into practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Individuals living with multimorbidity and/or mental health issues, low education, socioeconomic status, and polypharmacy are often called complex patients. The complexity of their health and social care needs can make them prone to disease burden and suffering. Therefore, they frequently access health care services to seek guidance for managing their illness and suffering. Aims: The aim of this research was to describe the approaches used by nurses to alleviate the suffering of individuals with multimorbidity and complex needs in acute care settings. Research Design: A qualitative descriptive approach. Participants and Research Context: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 19 nurses working in general, medical-surgical, specialized, and intensive care settings across five hospitals in Pakistan. Reflexive thematic analysis was used for analysis. Ethical Considerations: Ethical approval was obtained from the Ethical Committee of Al-Nafees Medical College Islamabad, Pakistan. Findings: Four themes were generated: Deeper Exploration of Patients' Health-Illness Situation and Complexity, Prioritizing Patient Psychosocial and Emotional Needs, Instilling Hope and Encouragement in Patients, and Creating a Comforting Environment to Foster Sharing of felt needs. Discussion: Nurses emphasized the need of deeper inquiry into patients illness situation and complexity to discern the impact of determinants on their well-being and develop care plans that are tailored to address psychosocial, emotional, and physical suffering of this patient population. Conclusions: Alleviation of patient suffering is integral to compassionate nursing care. Nurses use a multifaceted approach entailing sensitive understanding, recognizing sociocultural and structural determinants impact on patient situation, and individual and interdisciplinary altruistic actions to alleviate patient suffering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Premature closure of analysis refers to finishing data analysis too early, leading to underdeveloped qualitative findings. It is a critical issue in qualitative research affecting the rigor and trustworthiness of qualitative findings. While much has been written about how to conduct rigorous data analysis across a range of qualitative approaches, there has been no discussion of the features of premature closure of analysis and strategies for addressing it. The purpose of this paper is to outline how to spot premature closure of analysis and to describe strategies to mitigate this issue. Three identifying features of premature analysis are: providing thin descriptions with loaded participant quotes, presenting conventional concepts as themes, and using topic summaries as themes. Using a First Approach to qualitative analysis, working in segments to generate a wholistic thematic output, and critical reflection and examination before finalizing the thematic output can be useful strategies to mitigate premature closure of analysis. Themes and patterns that are too vague and meaningless to provide a comprehensive account of the studied phenomenon are a threat to the validity of the study and a waste of researchers' effort and time. Premature closure of analysis is one of the most common problems affecting the quality of thematic outputs in quality studies. Therefore, researchers should be mindful and critical in their analytical decision-making to prevent this problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease experience suffering that affects their families and community relationships. However, no studies provide an explicit account of social suffering among these individuals. This secondary analysis was conducted to understand the lived experiences of social suffering in individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The theory of social suffering guided the analysis of an interpretative phenomenological study. Thirteen individuals were recruited using purposive sampling. Data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Three themes were generated: a) prevailing hopelessness and burden, b) progressing relational adversities, and c) struggling with co-dependency. Social suffering is a complex entity experienced by the patients and the family caregivers. For enhanced caregiving, health professionals could prepare patients to tackle the suffering through collective actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Domestic violence and abuse (DVA) is a major health problem that affects individuals across the world. Nurses, midwives and healthcare providers need to be confident and competent in identifying and responding to DVA. Aims: To measure current levels of knowledge, opinions and preparedness towards DVA and how it is managed by registered nurses and midwives residing in Australia and the UK. Methods: A cross‐sectional study design was used. Data were collected using the Physician Readiness to Manage Intimate Partner Violence Survey (PREMIS) measuring the perceived preparation and knowledge, actual knowledge, opinions and practice issues. Australian data were collected in 2018 and UK data were collected in 2017–2018. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data and differences in knowledge and attitudes of British and Australian nurses. Findings: Nurses and midwives (n = 368; 130 from Australia; 238 from the UK) responded to the survey. Minimal previous DVA training was reported by the participants. Participants had minimal knowledge about DVA, though had a positive attitude towards engaging with women experiencing DVA. Discussion: Most participants felt unprepared to ask relevant questions about DVA and had inadequate knowledge about available resources. Australian participants scored better than British participants; however, the mean difference in all aspects remained statistically insignificant. Conclusion: Australian and British nurses and midwives have a positive attitude towards women experiencing DVA; however, the knowledge and skills to support women experiencing DVA are limited. Implications for nursing policy: Nursing institutions should develop strategic policies regarding mandatory preparation and training of nurses for domestic violence assessment and management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]