Iran Journal of Nursing
Year:2011 | Volume:23 | Issue:68|Papers Count:10

Background and Aim: Oxygen therapy is a method in which oxygen is provided with more density than that in the atmosphere. Oxygen is used in the treatment of many diseases and since it is considered as a drug, it has to be prescribed and controlled like a drug. This research was done with the purpose of determining the observance of oxygen therapy standards by nurses before and during oxygen therapy.Materials and method: In this descriptive study, 36 nurses, working in lung wards of the hospitals affiliated to Tehran University of Medical Sciences, were included in the study and their practice on oxygen therapy procedure was studied during the year 2006. Data collection tools were questionnaire and checklist and data collection methods were interview and observation. The researcher collected data on staff nurses practice of oxygen therapy, before and during the therapy, twice for each staff. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data.Results: The performance before the oxygen therapy for all staff nurses (%96.3) was at a low level. Also, the performance during oxygen therapy for majority of staff nurses was at a low level.Conclusion: In general, many mistakes occur by staff nurses regarding oxygen therapy.

Introduction: Using focus group to collect data is a valuable method for qualitative researchers. This method is being used increasingly in nursing research. It can provide rich information about a special topic through group dynamics. This article aims to provide a comprehensive review on characteristics of and implementing focus group as a data collection method.Content: A focus group is a semi-structured group session which is moderated by a group leader and held in an informal setting to collect information about a designated topic. The main characteristic of a focus group is the presentation of information and knowledge through interaction between the moderator and the group, as well as group members. Open-ended questions result in extended, in-depth and rich information. Also, participants' non-verbal responses can complete their verbal responses. Focus groups are used to study several qualitative subjects in the fields of politics, consumers' satisfaction, health subjects, quality of care evaluation, designing instruments and so on.Main components of a focus group include skilled moderator, proper participants, appropriate place and time, and correct implementation of the process. The moderator is responsible not only for guiding the participants through the discussion, but also for looking after the group dynamics to ensure that all participants dominate the discussion. Ideally, two people will be needed to conduct each focus group, one as the moderator and the other as note-taker. Using a discussion guide can help in effective data collection and the researcher can also use probing questions to reach in-depth information. Selecting proper participants is necessary, and sampling is usually purposive in which individuals with common experience about the phenomena under investigation, are selected. Time and the place of performing a group discussion must be proportionate to the subject and participants` condition. Tape recording and verbatim transcription along with field notes are usual methods of documenting data in focus groups.Conclusion: Focus group is a carefully planned series of discussions, designed to obtain perceptions on a defined area of interest in a permissive, non-threatening environment. A well-organized and guided group discussion results in rich and in-depth information about the phenomena at interest. However, this method has its own strengths and weaknesses which must be considered.

Background and Aim: Participating in decision making is an important patient's right observance of which by nurses is an essential need of hospitalized adolescents. The aim of this study was to assess and compare nurses and hospitalized adolescents' perceptions about the importance and observance of hospitalized adolescents` decision making.Materials and Method: It was a cross sectional study, 175 nurses and 180 hospitalized ill adolescents who had inclusion criteria were selected by convenience sampling, The data were collected using two parallel self-completed questionnaires. Data were analyzed by SPSS software and using Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests.Results: No statistically significant difference was found between nurses' and hospitalized ill adolescents' perceptions of importance and observance of hospitalized adolescents' decision making. In addition, the results showed that, from nurses' point of view, participation in care was the most important item, while adolescents believed that the presence of support person had the most importance. Both nurses and adolescents believed that the presence of support person was mostly observed.Conclusion: According to the findings, from perception of two groups, hospitalized adolescents' decision making is important and moderately respected. Nurses can improve quality of care by recognotion and remove shackles of observance.

Background and Aim: Paying per case approach is being applied at Iranian Hospitals as one of the important levers of management, but, the payment rate is not proportionate to the services provided by each staff. The aim of this study was to compare patients' satisfaction of a hospital before and after the implementation of the method of paying per case based on the services provided by each staff.Materials and Method: This before-after quasi-experimental study was conducted on two independent groups of hospitalized patients at Shahid Beheshti Hospital of Yasouj city. The sample, before and after intervention was 500 and 660, respectively. The sampling method was purposive. Data collection tool was questionnaire and data were analyzed using descriptive and analytical statistical methods.Results: The results showed that the mean and standard deviation of the age of the subjects, before and after intervention were 28.15±13.77 and 29.33±14.68, respectively. Based on the results, no statistically significant relationship was found between the gender and satisfaction before and after intervention. The education level of samples had statistically significant relationship with their total satisfaction of services before intervention (P<0.05), while, this relationship was not significant after intervention. The patients' satisfaction of nurses' performance and total services was statistically increased after intervention (P<0.05).Conclusion: Implementing the method of paying per case based on the services provided by each staff, may increase satisfaction rate of patients.

Background and Aim: the aim of renal transplantation is improvement of general health and well-being in patients with end-stage renal disease. Both hemodialysis and renal transplantation have complications that can adversely affect health and activities of daily living (ADL) in patients. The assessment and comparison of these variables can be helpful in proper management of the patients. This study was conducted to assess and compare activities of daily living and health status among hemodyalisis and renal transplant patients in Kashan, Iran in 2004-2005.Materials and Method: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 163 patients undergoing hemodyalisis and renal replacement therapy in Kashan, Iran. They were selected by census and evaluated by Nottingham Standard Activities of Daily Living questionnaire and DUKE health profile. The data were analyzed by descriptive statistics and multiple regression.Results: The mean age was 40.6 in transplant and 55.3 years in hemodialysis patients. Of dialysis group 55.6% were female, while the female patients were 41% in transplant group. The mean duration of current therapy was 64.7 month in transplant and 30.3 months in dialysis patients. The mean score of general health was 59.1±17.7 in transplant and 49.8±17.6 in dialysis patients (p£0.001). The mean score of activities of daily living was 51.4±10.2 in transplant and 31.7±14.8 in dialysis patients (p£0.001).Conclusion: Health status and ADL was poor in both groups, although the transplant patients had better condition. The educational programs targeting the improvement of health and ADL should be considered in these patients.

Background and Aim: The charge nurse role has received little attention in the nursing literature when compared with other nursing leadership positions. Although many hospitals have charge nurse position, there is a lack of clear guidelines concerning the role, competencies needed for optimum role performance, and criteria for evaluating performance. The aim of this study was to determine competencies necessary to be a successful charge nurseMaterials and Method: A descriptive study was conducted by a questionnaire comprising basic data and charge nurse competencies. The questionnaire was designed based on the literature and 61 competency statements were grouped into the following six categories: clinical/technical, planning, organizing, staffing, directing/leadership and controlling/supervision. Marquis and Huston's framework of the management process model were used to categorize the competency statements of management. The census sampling method was used to recruit the subjects. The questionnaire was returned by 96 subjects including 66 charge nurses, 20 head nurses and 10 supervisors working in selected teaching hospitals in Arak city. Data were analyzed by SPSS 13 and descriptive statistics.Results: All competency items received mean scores of more than 4.05. The items controlling/supervision and directing/leadership were evaluated more important than staffing, planning, organizing and clinical/technical items.Conclusion: The results of this study provide guidelines for management development programs, training, and career planning for charge nurses, and can also provide guidelines for recruiting and selecting effective charge nurses.

Background and Aim: The importance of pre-feeding behaviors in successful breastfeeding and duration of exclusive breastfeeding necessitates the detection of factors influencing these behaviors. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of mother-infant skin-to-skin contact on pre-feeding behaviors of healthy full-term infants of primiparous women.Materials and Method: This study was a randomized-controlled trial conducted in labor and maternity wards of Shahid Akbar-Abadi hospital in Tehran. One hundred healthy primiparous mother-infant dyads were randomly assigned to receive either skin-to-skin contact (n=50) or routine care (n=50). A demographic information form and The Infant Breastfeeding Assessment Tool was used to collect data. Data were analyzed by SPSS. For testing research hypotheses, Mann-Whitney U test was used.Results: There was a statistically significant difference between skin-to-skin contact group and routine care group in infant's pre-feeding behaviors including wakefulness (P£0.001), rooting reflex (P£0.001), and sucking reflex (P£0.001).Conclusion: According to the findings, early skin-to-skin contact after delivery has positive effect on full-term infant's pre-feeding behaviors. These behaviors have been considered to be effective on breast-feeding success and duration of exclusive breast-feeding. It is recommended to implement early skin-to-skin contact after delivery and thereafter.

Background and Aim: Type 1 diabetes is one of the most common chronic metabolic disorders during childhood and adolescence period and has potentially life-threatening outcomes. Nowadays, the increasing number of children and adolescents with diabetes necessitates rigorous treatment programs. Also, for evaluating treatment effectiveness in diabetic patients, it is important to explore the quality of life and its related factors. The aim of this study was to examine quality of life in young people with type 1 diabetes in relation to age and gender.Materials and Method: It was a cross-sectional descriptive correlational study with a sample of 70 young people with type 1 diabetes referred to educational health care centers of Tehran University of Medical Sciences. The subjects were selected through non-probability sampling by consecutive method. Data collection instruments were demographics questionnaire and Diabetes Quality of Life (DQOL) questionnaire modified for young people and data were analyzed using independent t-test.Results: The results showed that 52.1% of the patients were female and 47.9% were male. The age range of the patients was 11-18 years (mean age 14.94±2.75) and the duration of disease was 1-15 years (mean 2.23±0.79). There was no statistically significant difference between different age and gender groups in terms of life satisfaction, impact of diabetes on life and worries about diabetes.Conclusion: The present study showed that age and gender were not determinant factors for quality of life in young people with type 1 diabetes.