The 10 most-cited articles in Journal of Advanced Nursing, 2018

AIMS: The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of needle fear and summarize the characteristics of individuals who exhibit this fear. BACKGROUND: Injections are among the most common medical procedures, yet fear of needles can result in avoidance of preventive measures and treatment. DESIGN: Systematic review and meta-analysis. DATA SOURCES: MEDLINE (1966-2017), Embase (1947-2017), PsycINFO (1967-2017), and CINAHL (1961-2017) were searched, with no restrictions by age, gender, race, language, or country. REVIEW METHODS: The prevalence of needle fear was calculated and restricted maximum likelihood random effects models were used for meta-analysis and meta-regression. RESULTS: The search yielded 119 original research articles which are included in this review, of which 35 contained sufficient information for meta-analysis. The majority of children exhibited needle fear, while prevalence estimates for needle fear ranged from 20-50% in adolescents and 20-30% in young adults. In general, needle fear decreased with increasing age. Both needle fear and needle phobia were more…

AIMS: To identify nursing care most frequently missed in acute adult inpatient wards and to determine evidence for the association of missed care with nurse staffing. BACKGROUND: Research has established associations between nurse staffing levels and adverse patient outcomes including in-hospital mortality. However, the causal nature of this relationship is uncertain and omissions of nursing care (referred as missed care, care left undone or rationed care) have been proposed as a factor which may provide a more direct indicator of nurse staffing adequacy. DESIGN: Systematic review. DATA SOURCES: We searched the Cochrane Library, CINAHL, Embase and Medline for quantitative studies of associations between staffing and missed care. We searched key journals, personal libraries and reference lists of articles. REVIEW METHODS: Two reviewers independently selected studies. Quality appraisal was based on the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence quality appraisal checklist for studies reporting correlations and associations. Data were abstracted on study design, missed care…

AIM: To assess turnover intention among experienced nurses and explore the effects of work environment, job characteristics and work engagement on turnover intention. BACKGROUND: The nursing shortage is an urgent concern in China. A high turnover rate of experienced nurses could have serious effects on the quality of care, costs and the efficiency of hospitals. It is crucial to explore the predictors of turnover intention and develop strategies tailored to experienced nurses. DESIGN: A descriptive, cross-sectional survey design. METHODS: A total of 778 experienced nurses from seven hospitals was surveyed on their work engagement, job characteristics, work environment and turnover intention in March-May 2017. Structural equation modelling was used to test a theoretical model and the hypotheses. RESULTS: The results showed that 35.9% of experienced nurses had high-level turnover intention. The final model explained 50% of the variance in experienced nurses' turnover intention and demonstrated that: (1) work environment was positively associated with higher work engagement and lower…

AIM: The aim was to develop and psychometrically test the self-care of chronic illness Inventory, a generic measure of self-care. BACKGROUND: Existing measures of self-care are disease-specific or behaviour-specific; no generic measure of self-care exists. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey. METHODS: We developed a 20-item self-report instrument based on the Middle Range Theory of Self-Care of Chronic Illness, with three separate scales measuring Self-Care Maintenance, Self-Care Monitoring, and Self-Care Management. Each of the three scales is scored separately and standardized 0-100 with higher scores indicating better self-care. After demonstrating content validity, psychometric testing was conducted in a convenience sample of 407 adults (enrolled from inpatient and outpatient settings at five sites in the United States and ResearchMatch.org). Dimensionality testing with confirmatory factor analysis preceded reliability testing. RESULTS: The Self-Care Maintenance scale (eight items, two dimensions: illness-related and health-promoting behaviour) fit well when tested with a two-factor…

AIM: Using an interactionist perspective to test on-the-job embeddedness and off-the-job embeddedness as possible moderators for the predictive effects of job satisfaction and job stress on nurses' turnover intentions. BACKGROUND: As turnover worsens nurse shortages across the globe, researchers needs to find ways to work out and reduce nurses' turnover intentions. By exploring contributory factors, namely on-the-job and off-the-job embeddedness as two distinctive forms that both act as moderators, we add to the literature on effective nurse retention and highlight that incorporating off-the-job factors can provide a more realistic understanding of why people consider leaving their organization. DESIGN: Survey of 361 nurses of the United Kingdom's (UK's) National Health Service, in 2016. METHOD: We conducted hierarchical multiple regression and simple slope analyses. RESULTS: Job satisfaction was negatively associated with turnover intentions, and this negative relationship was stronger when off-the-job embeddedness was high (vs. low). Job stress was positively related to turnover…

AIMS: This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to synthesize and analyse studies that explored the relationship between the psychological empowerment and job satisfaction of nurses. BACKGROUND: Nurse turnover is an important cause of staff shortage. Job satisfaction is a major predictor of nurse turnover and is connected to the psychological empowerment of nurses. DESIGN: This systematic review and meta-analysis is based on the Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines. DATA SOURCES: A total of 1,572 articles on psychological empowerment and job satisfaction were retrieved from PubMed, PsycINFO, EMBASE and Web of Science. The articles were written in English and published before or by April 2017. METHODS: Studies on the relationship between psychological empowerment and job satisfaction were summarized. RESULTS: The majority of the included studies revealed that psychological empowerment and job satisfaction are significantly correlated. Only two studies showed that the two factors are not significantly correlated. The result of this meta-analysis is consistent with the results of…

AIMS: The aim of this study was to explore the longitudinal associations between academic burnout and resilience and psychological well-being, and the stability of these variables in a sample of university nursing students. BACKGROUND: Nursing students frequently suffer academic burnout, which is brought on by different situations experienced during the training process and that can concern his psychological well-being. Resilience is a personal resource that allows adverse situations to be handled in a successful way. DESIGN: Longitudinal design. METHODS: Data were collected at two moments separated by 18 months (2014-2016), with 218 students at T1 and 113 at T2. At each time a questionnaire was given to them, with questions about socioeconomic demographics and three validated scales to measure academic burnout, resilience, and psychological well-being. RESULTS: The three dimensions that make up academic burnout remained steady over time, while resilience increased and psychological well-being improved. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed the longitudinal effect of emotional…

AIM: To obtain an overview of existing evidence on quality criteria, instruments, and requirements for nursing documentation. DESIGN: Systematic review of systematic reviews. DATA SOURCES: We systematically searched the databases PubMed and CINAHL for the period 2007-April 2017. We also performed additional searches. REVIEW METHODS: Two reviewers independently selected the reviews using a stepwise procedure, assessed the methodological quality of the selected reviews, and extracted the data using a predefined extraction format. We performed descriptive synthesis. RESULTS: Eleven systematic reviews were included. Several quality criteria were described referring to the importance of following the nursing process and using standardized nursing terminologies. In addition, some evidence-based instruments were described for assessing the quality of nursing documentation, such as the D-Catch. Furthermore, several requirements for formats and systems of electronic nursing documentation were found that refer to the importance of user-friendliness and development in consultation with nursing…

AIM: The aim of this study was to analyse the relationships among structural empowerment, the leadership style of managers, and the engagement of nurses in a health organization of Spain. BACKGROUND: Transformational leadership has an impact on patient security and satisfaction as well as the well-being and engagement of healthcare workers. Empowerment is a management practice that is fundamental for professional growth and positively affects the quality of patient care. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study. METHODS: Randomized sample of 131 nurses recruited from 11 health centres with different levels of care was surveyed to assess managers' leadership style, nurse empowerment, and work engagement. The data were analysed by descriptive and correlational statistics and hierarchical mediated regression. RESULTS: The transformational leadership of the nurse manager directly and positively influences the structural empowerment of nurses. The structural empowerment of nurses directly and positively influences engagement. The transformational leadership of managers positively influences nurse…

AIMS: The aim of this study was to describe and summarize workplace characteristics of three nursing generations: Baby Boomers, Generations X and Y. BACKGROUND: Generational differences affect occupational well-being, nurses' performance, patient outcomes and safety; therefore, nurse managers, administrators and educators are interested increasingly in making evidence-based decisions about the multigenerational nursing workforce. DESIGN: Mixed-method systematic review. DATA SOURCES: Medline, CINAHL, PsycINFO and Scopus (January 1991-January 2017). REVIEW METHODS: (1) The Joanna Briggs Institute's method for conducting mixed-method systematic reviews; (2) the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses and (3) the Enhancing Transparency in Reporting the Synthesis of Qualitative Research guidelines. The studies' methodological quality was assessed with the Mixed-Methods Appraisal Tool. Quantitative and mixed-method studies were transformed into qualitative methods using a convergent qualitative synthesis and qualitative findings were combined with a narrative…