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- adjunct professor in Nursing Science - Department of Medicine and Surgery - University of Parma Scientific coordinato... moreadjunct professor in Nursing Science - Department of Medicine and Surgery - University of Parma
Scientific coordinator Of Master for Health care professions - Department of Medicine and Surgery - University of Parma
adjunct professor in Nursing Science - University of Modena e Reggio Emilia
MNSc - RN - Palliative Care Unit - Azienda USL- IRCCS of Reggio Emiliaedit
Background and goals: An unknown proportion of people who had COVID-19 infection continue to experience symptoms such as fatigue, breathlessness, joint or muscle pain, difficulty sleeping, and brain fog. These symptoms have a significant... more
Background and goals: An unknown proportion of people who had COVID-19 infection continue to experience symptoms such as fatigue, breathlessness, joint or muscle pain, difficulty sleeping, and brain fog. These symptoms have a significant impact on the quality of life. Long-COVID is a new multisystem disease still under investigation. This research aims to explore the illness experienced by patients suffering from Long-COVID in Italy. Research Design and Methods: Qualitative methodology with semi-structured interviews. Participants were recruited on the Facebook patient group between October 2021 and January 2022. Participants had been experiencing symptoms for at least three months following confirmed COVID-19 infection. Interviews were conducted by video call, recorded and transcribed with consent. The thematic analysis method has been chosen to infer data from textual material. Results: 17 interviews with women with Long-COVID have been analysed. The main themes include: a total change of life due to the symptomatology, loss of autonomy that affects social, family and professional life; social isolation, a sense of abandonment often increased by stigma, the difficulty of being believed and achieving diagnosis; difficulty in managing symptoms and accessing to care services; living with uncertainty caused by the lack of institutional, social, professional, familial and medical support. Conclusions: Intervention programs, both institutional and social-health policies should be developed for patients with Long-COVID. The impact of symptoms could be reduced by developing standards and protocols, and by ensuring access to care and to multidisciplinary rehabilitation. Further development of knowledge on Long-COVID is essential.
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Background: Spirituality is a vast dimension influenced by cultural and personal differences. Little is known about the spirituality of patients suffering from a chronic disease in Italy from palliative care hospital settings. Aim: To... more
Background: Spirituality is a vast dimension influenced by cultural and personal differences. Little is known about the spirituality of patients suffering from a chronic disease in Italy from palliative care hospital settings. Aim: To investigate patients' perspectives about their spirituality during their illness. Method: The research question was: 'How does living with chronic disease inform/shape the spiritual dimension of patients?'. To address it, we conducted a qualitative interview study with thematic analysis. Results: We enrolled 21 participants among patients suffering from rheumatic, haematologic, neurodegenerative and respiratory chronic diseases. Participants generally had great difficulty answering the questions researchers posed and often could not define 'spirituality'. We found different topics grouped under four main themes: definition of spirituality, internal dialogue, expression of spirituality in everyday life and take stock. Religion is not reported as an answer to spiritual suffering, even in a country that is felt religious-driven like Italy. Discussion: Patients are generally not cognizant of this dimension even living with a chronic disease; consequently, they cannot express spiritual needs because they can't recognise them. Health professionals should identify this dimension and its characteristics to recognise potential spiritual suffering.
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Background and aim: the healthcare workers, mostly in emergency departments, are exposed to emotionally strong situations: this condition often can lead them to operate incorrectly. In the face of the mistake, many of them experience... more
Background and aim: the healthcare workers, mostly in emergency departments, are exposed to emotionally strong situations: this condition often can lead them to operate incorrectly. In the face of the mistake, many of them experience psychological trauma, becoming "second victims" of the event. In this case they can find comfort in dealing with Peers that can help to understand emotions and normalize lived experiences. A scoping review was conducted to clarify the key concepts available in the literature and understand Peer Support characteristics and methods of implementation. Methods: scoping review approach of Joanna Briggs Institute was used. The reviewers analyzed the last twenty-one years of literature and extracted data from relevant studies. Results: 49 articles were relevant. Articles involve mostly physicians and nurses, but all the other healthcare professionals are included. 56% of the articles have been published in the last two years during the Covid 19 pandemic, which revealed the growing need of developing Peer Support programs; the Anglo-Saxon countries are the main geographical area of origin (82%). Peer support emerges as a preclinical psychological support for people involved in tiring situations. It's based on mutual respect and on voluntary and not prejudicial help. Peers are trained to guide the support relationship. Peer Support can be proposed as one to one/group peer support, or through online platforms. Conclusions: many of the studies affirm that the personnel involved have benefited from the programs available. It is necessary to carry out further research to determine the pre and post intervention benefits.
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BackgroundQuality of care for patients dying in hospital remains suboptimal. A major problem is the identification of valid sources of information about the views and experiences of dying patients and their relatives.AimThis study aimed... more
BackgroundQuality of care for patients dying in hospital remains suboptimal. A major problem is the identification of valid sources of information about the views and experiences of dying patients and their relatives.AimThis study aimed to estimate the agreement on quality of end-of-life care from the perspectives of bereaved relatives, physicians and nurses interviewed after the patients’ death.DesignIn this prospective study, we interviewed, after the patient death, the bereaved relatives, the attending physicians and the reference nurses, using the Toolkit After-death Family Interview and the View Of Informal Carers-Evaluation of Services (VOICES). Agreement was assessed using Lin’s concordance correlation coefficient, Cohen’s kappa, overall concordance correlation coefficient and Fleiss’ kappa.Setting/participantsWe enrolled a consecutive series of 40 adult patients who died of cancer between January and December 2016 who had spent at least 48 hours in the medical oncology ward ...
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Background and aim of the work. Training in simulation through “mannequins” is increasingly widespread among nursing students. In the Italian context, however, there are no tools that measure the degree of student satisfaction after... more
Background and aim of the work. Training in simulation through “mannequins” is increasingly widespread among nursing students. In the Italian context, however, there are no tools that measure the degree of student satisfaction after clinical training through simulation. The aim of the study is to provide a first validation in Italian of the Satisfaction with simulation experience” (SSE) scale, a tool already validated in several languages. Methods. After obtaining the author’s consent, the SSE was subjected to forward and backward translation. The content validity was assessed by 5 training experts by calculating the Content Validity Index by Item and by Scale (I-CVI and S-CVI); the face validity was tested on 4 nursing students who had participated in a simulation experience. Subsequently, the SSE was administered to 10 nursing students with test-retest after 7 days in order to evaluate the reliability by calculating the reliability coefficient (r) and Cronbach’s α. Results. The au...
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Background and aim of the study: Working in the emergency medical service often exposes nurses to highly stressful situations and can impact their quality of life. Among the strategies aimed at mitigating the effects of this phenomenon,... more
Background and aim of the study: Working in the emergency medical service often exposes nurses to highly stressful situations and can impact their quality of life. Among the strategies aimed at mitigating the effects of this phenomenon, peer-supporting represents an emerging model used in the emergency medical service setting. The aim of the study is to explore the experiences, the opinions and feelings of emergency medical service nursing staff in relation to the use of the peer supporting model. Methods: A semi-structured interview was carried out. Participants were recruited on a voluntary basis from an emergency medical service in the north of Italy. Interviews were audio-recorded and the data extracted were anonymised. Results: 14 nurses participated in the study. The totality of the participants recognized that their daily clinical practice, especially when involving paediatric patients, can have a profound emotional impact on their life in general. Furthermore, interviewees a...
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Background and aim of the work: Nursing education plays a key role in preparing future nurses to deal with dying patients, which represents one of the most emotionally involving aspect of nursing. The aims of the study were to explore... more
Background and aim of the work: Nursing education plays a key role in preparing future nurses to deal with dying patients, which represents one of the most emotionally involving aspect of nursing. The aims of the study were to explore nursing students’ attitudes towards care of dying patients in three different European contexts and to analyze the variables that can influence them. Methods: We conducted an international multicenter cross-sectional study. We administered the Frommelt Attitude Toward Care of the Dying Scale form B (FATCOD-B) and a demographic form to 569 students, enrolled in three Nursing Programmes in different countries (Italy, Spain and United Kingdom), who accepted to participate in the study. The data were analyzed using SPSS software version 26.0. Results: Median total FATCOD-B scores indicated intermediate levels of students’ attitudes towards care for dying patients, with a statistically significant difference among the three student groups. The median total ...
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Background and aim of the work: Palliative Care professionals are exposed to intense emotional environment. This puts them at risk for Compassion Fatigue and Burnout. The protective factors that can counter their onset are Compassion... more
Background and aim of the work: Palliative Care professionals are exposed to intense emotional environment. This puts them at risk for Compassion Fatigue and Burnout. The protective factors that can counter their onset are Compassion Satisfaction, Organizational Commitment and Resilience. Expressive Writing is a valid tool for adapting to traumatic events and enhancing psychological well-being. Aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of the Expressive Writing in Palliative Care professionals on Compassion Satisfaction, Organizational Commitment, Resilience, Compassion Fatigue and perceived distress. Methods: Prospective experimental study with experimental/control groups and pre/post measurements. 50 Palliative Care professionals were recruited in Northern and Central Italy. Participants filled: Organizational Commitment Questionnaire; ProQol - revision III; Resilience Scale for Adults; Impact of Event-Scale Revised; Emotion Thermometer; ad hoc questionnaire for the evaluation o...
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BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE STUDY Breastfeeding is essential for the health of mothers and newborns, and it is recommended by WHO-UNICEF as the sole source of nutrition and protection for the first 6 months of life and beyond. In order to... more
BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE STUDY Breastfeeding is essential for the health of mothers and newborns, and it is recommended by WHO-UNICEF as the sole source of nutrition and protection for the first 6 months of life and beyond. In order to fully promote this practice, it is important to recognize early conditions that can lead to pathological breastfeeding. AIM The study aims to analyze the prevalence and the possible risk or protective factors concerning the pathology of breastfeeding. METHODS For this observational study were consulted the medical records and the files of the Breastfeeding clinic of 1065 puerperal women, of the University Hospital of Modena, from January to August 2016. The data were processed with the SPSS Software. RESULTS In our study population, 532 (50%) puerperal women presented a breastfeeding-related disease, of which 330 (31%) had a disease affecting the mother (breast engorgement, fissures, a-/hypo-galactia, discontinuation of breastfeeding, galactocele, m...
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Research Interests: Psychology and Medicine
Background and purpose. The Nurse Case Care Manager (NCCM) is still an emerging figure in the Italian healthcare context. The knowledge of the dynamics inherent in the process of identity development shows how they can be decisive for the... more
Background and purpose. The Nurse Case Care Manager (NCCM) is still an emerging figure in the Italian healthcare context. The knowledge of the dynamics inherent in the process of identity development shows how they can be decisive for the affirmation and recognition of this new role. The aim of the study was therefore to analyse the psychosocial processes of developing the identity of the NCCM for a better understanding of the variables that influence its development. Methods. A qualitative study with Grounded Theory method was conducted. From December 2018 to January 2019, 20 semi-structured interviews were given to the NCCM of the Emilia Romagna Region and the Lombardy Region. The analysis of the material has led to a structuring of the theoretical model on the processes of development of professional identity. Results. Two main conditions have been identified: that of the “LOST CASE CARE MANAGER” and that of the “CASE CARE MANAGER DIRECTOR”. This process requires time, perseveran...
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According to the World Health Organization, eating disorders are a constantly growing public health problem in industrialized countries with an important stigmatizing impact. The study investigates stigmatizing beliefs and attitudes... more
According to the World Health Organization, eating disorders are a constantly growing public health problem in industrialized countries with an important stigmatizing impact. The study investigates stigmatizing beliefs and attitudes towards Anorexia nervosa (AN) and Bulimia nervosa (BN). Materials and Methods: From October 2018 to November 2019, an online survey was conducted for students of the Degree Courses in Nursing of 2 Italian university centres, using the Italian version of the SAB-BN-ITA, adapted for AN. Results: The sample consists of 517 nursing students, aged between 20 and 23. Male subjects presented higher scores, relative to stigma, both for BN (F =17.5, p <0.001) and for AN (F = 1 9.64, p <0.001). For the sample the main trigger factor of BN is the influence of the media (56.67), the lack of social support (53.19) and parental care (51.84). The association between the stigmatizing views was explored through Spearman’s correlation and a linear regression model b...
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BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE WORK Nowadays Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the major Public Health problems for several professional categories. According to Italian law, University students are compared to workers: the main risk for them is... more
BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE WORK Nowadays Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the major Public Health problems for several professional categories. According to Italian law, University students are compared to workers: the main risk for them is represented by biological risk, in particular by blood-transmitted or by air-transmitted agents. As for TB, many scientific studies demonstrated that prevalence of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) in Medicine and Surgery students was lower than those in health workers and in general population. The main aim of this study is the evaluation both of reliability and predictive value of a specific anamnestic questionnaire for previous exposure to Mycobacterium tuberculosis, in order to identify individuals at risk for TB. The Mantoux Tuberculin Skin Test (TST) would be executed to compare results of questionnaire. METHODS The study included Health Profession's Degrees who were examinated during health surveillance in the period between June 2014 and...
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In an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) the communication between nurse and patient, the core of the care, is often hindered by patient's cognitive alterations and critical situation, by devices employed for the mechanical ventilation, and by... more
In an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) the communication between nurse and patient, the core of the care, is often hindered by patient's cognitive alterations and critical situation, by devices employed for the mechanical ventilation, and by the clinical and care-giving setting. How to overcome these barriers? How is the relational and communicative approach between nurse and patient unable to express him or herself to be managed? The available literature reveals that studies on communication with difficult patients, such as those treated in ICU are currently scarce. The present research offers a contribution in this respect, through fact-finding about the knowledge acquired by professional studies or work experiences, the personal and institutional techniques implemented in regards to communication (knowledge of the work), the relational behaviours and the emotional experience with patients (knowledge of the emotional state) of nurses working in the Intensive Care Units. A semi-struct...
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Alzheimer's disease is the most common degenerative dementia with a predominantly senile onset. The difficult management of altered behaviour related to this disorder, poorly responsive to pharmacological treatments, has stimulated... more
Alzheimer's disease is the most common degenerative dementia with a predominantly senile onset. The difficult management of altered behaviour related to this disorder, poorly responsive to pharmacological treatments, has stimulated growth in non-pharmacological interventions, such as music therapy, whose effectiveness has not been supported by the literature up to now. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of video-music therapy on quality of life improvement in Patients affected by Alzheimer's Disease (AD). A pre-post study was conducted in a residential facility. 32 AD Patients, who attended this facility daily to participate in supportive and rehabilitative programs, were treated with 2 cycles of 6 video-music-therapy sessions, which consisted of folk music and video, recalling local traditions. In order to investigate their cognitive status, Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) was administered and Patients were divided into stages according to MMSE scores. ...
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Backgroud and aims: Aim of this study is contributing to an analysis of healthcare professionals' perceptions of gender differences in myocardial infarction. For this purpose, the study examines bio-clinical and psychosocial aspects... more
Backgroud and aims: Aim of this study is contributing to an analysis of healthcare professionals' perceptions of gender differences in myocardial infarction. For this purpose, the study examines bio-clinical and psychosocial aspects of myocardial infarction in men and women, thanks to 8 focus groups attended by healthcare professionals working at Milan Hospital (Niguarda Ca' Granda), Parma University Hospital, Catania Hospital (Ospedale Cannizzaro) and Ancona INRCA (Scientific Institute recognized in the area of Geriatrics and Gerontology). A qualitative analysis of the narratives have been aggregated in 5 code families: "pathophysiological peculiarities", "psycho-relational peculiarities", "therapeutic problems", "protection and risk factors", and "no difference" between men and women, in particular as far as diagnostic-therapeutic treatment is concerned. Pathophysiological peculiarities concern the acknowledgement of typica...
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The Clinical Research Nurse (CRN) can be considered the fulcrum of clinical studies, being a vital link between patient, principal investigator, study sponsor and administrative staff. The clinical research's way is still long and the... more
The Clinical Research Nurse (CRN) can be considered the fulcrum of clinical studies, being a vital link between patient, principal investigator, study sponsor and administrative staff. The clinical research's way is still long and the contribution that CRNs can provide is crucial. In Italy, a CRN was employed in the study: Research on Obesity & Type 2 Diabetes among African Migrants (RODAM). The aim of the paper is to explore and describe the experience of this involvement. The CRN managed the project in order to gain a complete collaboration from the Ghanaian population. From the first contact, the CRN decided to adopt a transcultural approach with the aim to create a relationship of understanding, mutual trust respect for each other's cultural diversity. The CRN also used organizational, technical and linguistic skills. The day-to-day trial management from CRN included the following activities: obtaining local Ethics Committee study approval; recruiting the study staff; pl...
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The 38/2010 law has expanded the provision of palliative care to patients with chronic-degenerative diseases. The ISTAT data show that 60% of the dying population is suffering from these diseases and could, according to the literature... more
The 38/2010 law has expanded the provision of palliative care to patients with chronic-degenerative diseases. The ISTAT data show that 60% of the dying population is suffering from these diseases and could, according to the literature review, benefit particularly from such treatments. This study investigates the point of view of healthcare professionals, working in the context of dementia, regarding the knowledge and application of palliative care in the field of dementia. The focus is on the analysis of the resistance that may prevent the spread of palliative care, slowing the application of such care in different settings of terminality. The method is a qualitative phenomenological approach. A grid of semi-structured interviews was created and was proposed to 33 health workers (18 women) who work in Health Centres or in the Alzheimer Nucleus of Northern Italy. Most operators think they understand palliative care, they believe it to be useful and necessary, but often only connect i...
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Background and aim: the healthcare workers, mostly in emergency departments, are exposed to emotionally strong situations: this condition often can lead them to operate incorrectly. In the face of the mistake, many of them experience... more
Background and aim: the healthcare workers, mostly in emergency departments, are exposed to emotionally strong situations: this condition often can lead them to operate incorrectly. In the face of the mistake, many of them experience psychological trauma, becoming "second victims" of the event. In this case they can find comfort in dealing with Peers that can help to understand emotions and normalize lived experiences. A scoping review was conducted to clarify the key concepts available in the literature and understand Peer Support characteristics and methods of implementation. Methods: scoping review approach of Joanna Briggs Institute was used. The reviewers analyzed the last twenty-one years of literature and extracted data from relevant studies. Results: 49 articles were relevant. Articles involve mostly physicians and nurses, but all the other healthcare professionals are included. 56% of the articles have been published in the last two years during the Covid 19 pandemic, which revealed the growing need of developing Peer Support programs; the Anglo-Saxon countries are the main geographical area of origin (82%). Peer support emerges as a preclinical psychological support for people involved in tiring situations. It's based on mutual respect and on voluntary and not prejudicial help. Peers are trained to guide the support relationship. Peer Support can be proposed as one to one/group peer support, or through online platforms. Conclusions: many of the studies affirm that the personnel involved have benefited from the programs available. It is necessary to carry out further research to determine the pre and post intervention benefits.
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Background and aim of the work: Faced with the widespread use of services and facilities for the care and assistance of the elderly, the aim of this study was to explore the factors that can affect job satisfaction, work engagement and... more
Background and aim of the work: Faced with the widespread use of services and facilities for the care and assistance of the elderly, the aim of this study was to explore the factors that can affect job satisfaction, work engagement and stress / burnout of the professionals who work there. Method: 32 semi-structured interviews were administered to a not probabilistic sample of the different professional roles (coordinators, nurses, healthcare assistants, physiotherapists, community animators) of a Human Services Company in Reggio Emilia (Italy). This includes day-care and residential care facilities for the elderly. Results: The thematic content analysis showed that inter-professional collaboration and positive relationships with superiors, colleagues and elderly people favour the job satisfaction, while workload, high responsibilities, reduction of rest periods and contributory inequity create dissatisfaction. The work engagement is favoured by professional autonomy, a sense of belo...
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Background and aim: The nursing diagnosis can based on two different approaches: the standard diagnosis, searching for regularities that can fall within pre-existing categories identified by the nurse, as the expert of the disease; the... more
Background and aim: The nursing diagnosis can based on two different approaches: the standard diagnosis, searching for regularities that can fall within pre-existing categories identified by the nurse, as the expert of the disease; the narrative diagnosis, based on personal meaning attributed to the illness, of which only the patient is the expert. The aim of this work is to underline the usefulness ofintegration between standard diagnosis and narrative diagnosis, through the Integrated Personalized Nursing Diagnosis (IPND). Methods: A 31 years old man, suffering from leukaemia, is welcomed at an Italian Oncological Day Hospital, by a nurse trained in the IPND approach. She used the Gordon functional models on objective data, and collected a narration about patient’s experience, which has been analyzed with a Grounded Theory methodology. Results: The narrative revealed critical issues and the priorities that patient assigns, which would not have been obtained from a standard diagnos...
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Background There is widespread agreement about the importance of communication skills training (CST) for healthcare professionals caring for cancer patients. Communication can be effectively learned and improved through specific CST.... more
Background There is widespread agreement about the importance of communication skills training (CST) for healthcare professionals caring for cancer patients. Communication can be effectively learned and improved through specific CST. Existing CSTs have some limitations with regard to transferring the learning to the workplace. The aim of the study is developing, piloting, and preliminarily assessing a CST programme for hospital physicians caring for advanced cancer patients to improve communication competences. Methods This is a Phase 0-I study that follows the Medical Research Council framework; this paper describes the following sections: a literature review on CST, the development of the Teach to Talk training programme (TtT), the development of a procedure for assessing the quality of the implementation process and assessing the feasibility of the implementation process, and the pilot programme. The study was performed at a 900-bed public hospital. The programme was implemented ...
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BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE WORK Reusable tourniquets should be considered and used in clinical practice as semi-critical devices, as they are colonized by potentially pathogenic agents, a possible cause of care-related infections. The aim... more
BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE WORK Reusable tourniquets should be considered and used in clinical practice as semi-critical devices, as they are colonized by potentially pathogenic agents, a possible cause of care-related infections. The aim of the study was to analyse the management of tourniquets in the clinical reality of wards, investigating the aspects related to their use in venepuncture procedures, the cleaning process after their use and storage. METHODS It has been conducted an observational study with a questionnaire on a sample of nurses (N = 73) and nursing students (N = 60) recruited in a hospital and in an University of northern Italy. RESULTS Data revealed a very positive attitude regarding the high standards of hand hygiene among nurses and nursing students sampled; the critical issues concern the lack of shared protocols or guidelines for the management of tourniquets that lead to discussion both on their use in clinical practice and on the disinfection process after us...
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Background and aims: Since the recent introduction of the Case/Care Manager’s professional figure, it is quite difficult to identify properly his/her own particular features, which could be mainly be found revising mainly in American... more
Background and aims: Since the recent introduction of the Case/Care Manager’s professional figure, it is quite difficult to identify properly his/her own particular features, which could be mainly be found revising mainly in American studies. Therefore, the present study intended to identify the Case/Care Manager’s skills and professional profile in an Intensive Care Unit experience, taking into consideration the staff’s activities, perception and expectations towards the Case/Care Manager. In particular, it has been compared the experience of an Intensive Care Units where the Case/Care Manager’s profile is operational to a different Unit where a Case/Care Manager is not yet in force. Method: a Levati’s model was used to map the Case/Care Manager’s skills, involving each unit whole working staff, executives and caregivers through semi-structured interviews. The comparative study has taken into consideration the Anaesthesia Unit and Emergency Unit of Cesena’s healthcare organisation ...
Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is one of the most common symptoms experienced by cancer patients (CPs) and negatively affects quality of life. Although CRF is frequently experienced, it is often underreported, underdiagnosed and... more
Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is one of the most common symptoms experienced by cancer patients (CPs) and negatively affects quality of life. Although CRF is frequently experienced, it is often underreported, underdiagnosed and undertreated. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the level of fatigue in patients with pancreatic cancer undergoing chemotherapy and to analyse its correlation with patients' demographic and clinical variables. A cross-sectional observational study was implemented in the Oncology Day Hospital of a Northern Italian hospital. A sample of 48 patients receiving chemotherapy were evaluated through the Brief Fatigue Inventory Italian version (BFI-I) between 1 May and 12 October 2016. Data were statistically analysed. Most of our patients (94%) experienced fatigue. Women as well as patients with an age ≥65 years reported more fatigue. Anemia, pain and a weight loss of over 16 kg in the last 6 months were significantly related to the perception of fatig...
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The assessment is the first of the fundamental nursing processes: it includes data collection, problem identification, and setting of priorities, which all facilitates the process of making a nursing diagnosis. The assessment helps to... more
The assessment is the first of the fundamental nursing processes: it includes data collection, problem identification, and setting of priorities, which all facilitates the process of making a nursing diagnosis. The assessment helps to identify a goal, which, through a decision-making process, orientates the planning as well as the nursing intervention, which will be evaluated at a later stage. It seems that the proposed multidimensional and integrated assessment has a good potential to significantly influence the nursing care. This model is multidimensional since it covers biophysical, psychological, socio-relational, but also the spiritual dimensions of each person, and is integrated since it's reinforced by the inter-professional dialogue between nurses, physicians, sociologists, psychologists, and other health professionals. To come up with a diagnosis, nurses integrate the "cases" (the set of data/information collected through a "traditional" assessment),...
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Background and purpose of this work: WHO 11 March 2020 declares that Sars-Cov-2 infection is not only a health emergency but must be considered a pandemic. Covid-19 required the urgency of a new psychological intervention model to better... more
Background and purpose of this work: WHO 11 March 2020 declares that Sars-Cov-2 infection is not only a health emergency but must be considered a pandemic. Covid-19 required the urgency of a new psychological intervention model to better address the crisis and ensure a direct support response to the people involved in the pandemic. The present study aimed to detect the symptoms and reactions of the population with respect to the event. The survey was carried out by describing the clinical symptoms that emerged from the triage card used by SIPEM SoS Emilia Romagna (Italy), connoting the criteria of emergency psychology. Methods: A retrospective quantitative study was conducted on 288 psychological triage cards. Results: only 11% of users who ask for support say they are positive while 85% report not having contracted the virus. Of the total, 40.9% call for psychological support in the management of anxiety symptoms, a need also reported by 55% of the subsample who declared previous p...
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Background: Appropriateness is particularly relevant in palliative care, an area in which it is essential to question the real need for treatments. Few studies explored the perception of appropriateness by professionals in pediatric... more
Background: Appropriateness is particularly relevant in palliative care, an area in which it is essential to question the real need for treatments. Few studies explored the perception of appropriateness by professionals in pediatric palliative care, revealing the conflict sometimes faced when confronted with the uncertainty of prognosis and end-of-life decisions. Aims: The objective of this study is firstly to investigate the perception that doctors, nurses and psychologists, operating in Italian pediatric hospices, have of the appropriateness of the care they provide. Secondly, to understand what repercussions the perception of non-appropriateness has at individual and team level. Methods: A qualitative study was conducted between 2019 and 2020 through semi-structured interviews with a convenience sample of 17 professionals working it Italian pediatric hospices. Results: The interviewees do not refer to a common concept of appropriateness, but compare the latter to: the quality of ...
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Background and aim of the work: The Coronavirus has put a strain on the response capacity of health systems and there are various psychological effects on health workers. Aim of the study: To investigate the psychological impact of the... more
Background and aim of the work: The Coronavirus has put a strain on the response capacity of health systems and there are various psychological effects on health workers. Aim of the study: To investigate the psychological impact of the coronavirus emergency on physicians and nurses. Methods: A study was conducted on a sample of nurses and physicians (n=770), who were asked to fill in a questionnaire investigating physical and psychological problems. It also included the IES (Impact Event Scale), STAI (State Trait Anxiety Inventory) scale and BDI (Beck Depression Inventory). Results: 87.7% of the sample was represented by nurses (n=675), 12.3% (n=95) by physicians. 52.3% (n=403). Among the psychological symptoms, stress (76.2%; n=587), anxiety (59.4%; n=457) and depression (11.8%) prevailed and only 3.9% of the healthcare personnel sought help from a psychologist. The total score of the IES-R scale was 3.47. A significant association emerged between exposure and the risk of contagion...
Background and aim of the work: The Chiba Inter-professional Competency Scale (CICS29) validated in several languages, it is a self-report instrument that investigates the degree of interprofessional collaboration in six areas: attitudes... more
Background and aim of the work: The Chiba Inter-professional Competency Scale (CICS29) validated in several languages, it is a self-report instrument that investigates the degree of interprofessional collaboration in six areas: attitudes and beliefs of the professional; ability to manage a work group; actions to achieve goals; providing assistance that respects the patient; attitudes and behaviours that improve the cohesion of the working group; fulfilling or performing the own professional role. In addition to being recent, the scale investigates collaboration among all health professionals, and is not limited to specific professionals. The aim of the study was to validate the Italian version of CICS29. Method: A questionnaire-based study was conducted with an Italian sample consisting of 530 health professionals (419 women, mean age = 40 years, SD = 10.7; range 23- 58 years). The internal validity was measured using factor analysis. To verify the convergent validity, the Italian V...
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Background and aim: Healthcare professionals working in palliative care are exposed to emotionally intense conditions. Scientific literature suggests Expressive Writing as a valid tool for the adjustment to traumatic events. For health... more
Background and aim: Healthcare professionals working in palliative care are exposed to emotionally intense conditions. Scientific literature suggests Expressive Writing as a valid tool for the adjustment to traumatic events. For health workers, EW represents an important support to prevent Compassion Fatigue and Burnout. As literature showed that Compassion Satisfaction, Group Cohesion and the Organizational Commitment are protective factors able to counter the onset of Compassion Fatigue and Burnout, the aim of this study is evaluating the effect of Expressive Writing protocol in Palliative Care workers on Compassion Satisfaction, Group Cohesion and Organizational Commitment. Methods: A quasi-experimental quantitative 2x2 prospective study was conducted with two groups and two measurements. 66 professionals were included. Outcome variables were measured using: Organizational Commitment Questionnaire, Compassion Satisfaction Rating Scale, ICONAS Questionnaire, Questionnaire for the ...
Background and aim of the study. Much evidence shows that hypnotic communication can have a pain-relieving effect and reduce complications such as anxiety, insomnia and depression. Whenever this technique was applied, the use of... more
Background and aim of the study. Much evidence shows that hypnotic communication can have a pain-relieving effect and reduce complications such as anxiety, insomnia and depression. Whenever this technique was applied, the use of pharmaceuticals was reduced, there were fewer side effects, shorter hospitalization times frames and lower treatment costs. The aim of this study is to evaluate the knowledge and perceptions of nurses about hypnotic communication and the causes for which this technique is not frequently used. A secondary objective pointed to measuring the effectiveness of an educational event on hypnosis. Method. The evaluation was done by directly administering an anonymous and voluntary survey created ad hoc, in a pre-test and post-test modality, to nurses subscribed to a four-hour formative event on hypnotic communication organized in 2019 by the Nursing Order, Province of Ravenna. Results. 78 nurses (85.7%) participated in the study. The analysis of the pre-test results ...
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Background and aim: Inter-professional Collaboration (IPC) is an important component of a well-functioning healthcare system. It is linked to improvements in patient safety and case management, optimal use of the skills of each healthcare... more
Background and aim: Inter-professional Collaboration (IPC) is an important component of a well-functioning healthcare system. It is linked to improvements in patient safety and case management, optimal use of the skills of each healthcare team member and provision of better health services. Inter-professional Education (IPE), is one key factor in the development of positive behaviors useful for IPC: the basic and post-basic training are key moments to raise awareness, train and help implement the IPC. Aim of this paper is to present and evaluate the use of an innovative laboratory of Consensus Conference implemented in the Nursing Post-graduate specialization at the University of Parma to train students to IPC. Methods: An Innovative Laboratory inspired by of the Consensus Conference (CC) methodology on the “Integrated Narrative Nursing Assessment” was designed. Three Post-graduate specialization courses were involved and assigned to different tasks in the CC, according to the chara...
In this paper, we propose an adaptation of a tool’s validation protocol. We adopted this phases-theory to validate in Italian language an instrument to assess Quality of Life for people with moderate or mild dementia. We will explain the... more
In this paper, we propose an adaptation of a tool’s validation protocol. We adopted this phases-theory to validate in Italian language an instrument to assess Quality of Life for people with moderate or mild dementia. We will explain the example of our Italian validation of DEMQoL-Proxy considering each De Vellis’s phase. We will explain our application of De Vellis’s model to Italian example described. For the first three phases, we reproduced the original validating study in which authors (Smith et al., 2005) defined what to measure, how to generate a set of items and the structure of the scale. Indeed, for the last five phases we explained the adaptation of De Vellis’s model to Italian validation. We hope that this model could be effective for validating goals, for researchers and for all professionals who deal with caregivers and patients with moderate and mild dementia. Furthermore, the measurement of the Quality of Life makes the scale widely useful within the various professi...
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BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE WORK The main purpose of the study is to investigate the experience of nurses who worked in the Covid-19 area focusing on the perception of their role. In particular, has been explored the nurses' perception... more
BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE WORK The main purpose of the study is to investigate the experience of nurses who worked in the Covid-19 area focusing on the perception of their role. In particular, has been explored the nurses' perception of job satisfaction in relation to the images sent back by public opinion through the mass media and social communication channels. During the first wave of Covid-19 nurses have acquired media visibility , but their feeling is represented more by the discomfort of finding themselves suddenly glorified in the face of a lack of professional, social, and economic recognition. MATERIALS AND METHODS A Mix-Method methodology and convenience sampling was adopted, on the population of professionals and students in post-graduate specializations, belonging to the Department of Medicine and Surgery of the University of Parma, and by nurses from the ASST-Bergamo Asst Bergamo Est, Lombardia Italy, who worked in the Covid emergency during the first wave of the pa...
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Nursing students are at high risk of injury while on clinical placement. The incidence of injury is three times higher in comparison to other healthcare workers, with a prevalence ranging from 25% up to 33,2%. Lack of knowledge and of... more
Nursing students are at high risk of injury while on clinical placement. The incidence of injury is three times higher in comparison to other healthcare workers, with a prevalence ranging from 25% up to 33,2%. Lack of knowledge and of experience in delivering nursing care, anxiety and unfamiliarity with the clinical environment all represent risk factors for injury. This study describes the number and type of injuries occurring in an organizational setting where nursing students are trained in simulation laboratories before being exposed to a real clinical environment. An eight year retrospective observational study (2009 to 2017) was conducted on a non-probabilistic population of 1,403 nursing students from a university in the north of Italy. Incident reports were anonymised and entered in a database. Overall the percentage of students who reported an injury (6,2%) was much lower than the one reported in the literature. The nursing programme curriculum of the above mentioned univer...
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Qualitative research is pivotal in gaining understanding of individuals' experiences in pediatric palliative care. In the past few decades, the number of qualitative studies on pediatric palliative care has increased slightly, as has... more
Qualitative research is pivotal in gaining understanding of individuals' experiences in pediatric palliative care. In the past few decades, the number of qualitative studies on pediatric palliative care has increased slightly, as has interest in qualitative research in this area. Nonetheless, a limited number of such studies have included the first-person perspective of children. The aim of this article is to understand the contribution of previous qualitative research on pediatric palliative care that included the voices of children. A systematic review of qualitative studies and a meta-summary were conducted. MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES, and ERIC were searched without limitations on publication date or language. Eligible articles were qualitative research articles in which the participants were children ranging in age from 3 to 18 years.ResultWe retrieved 16 qualitative research articles reporting on 12 unique studies, and we selected two mixed-method articles. The...
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There has recently been a growing interest towards patients' affective and emotional needs, especially in relational therapies, which are considered vital as to increase the understanding of those needs and patients' well-being.... more
There has recently been a growing interest towards patients' affective and emotional needs, especially in relational therapies, which are considered vital as to increase the understanding of those needs and patients' well-being. In particular, we paid attention to those patients who are forced to spend the last phase of their existence in residential facilities, namely elderly people in nursing homes, who often feel marginalized, useless, depressed, unstimulated or unable to communicate. The aim of this study is to verify the effectiveness of pet therapy in improving well-being in the elderly living in a nursing home. This is a longitudinal study with before and after intervention variables measurement in two groups of patients of a nursing home for elderly people. One group followed an AAI intervention (experimental group) the other one did not (control group). As to perform an assessment of well-being we measured the following dimensions in patients: anxiety (HAM-A), depre...
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Background and aims of the work: From the analysis of the Italian literature emerges a lack of studies both about the work satisfaction of Case Care Manager Nurses (CCMN) and on their role in the sanitary context. This research aims to... more
Background and aims of the work: From the analysis of the Italian literature emerges a lack of studies both about the work satisfaction of Case Care Manager Nurses (CCMN) and on their role in the sanitary context. This research aims to fill this gap through a first Italian validation of the Job Satisfaction Scale (JSS). An Italian translation of JSS was provided by three independent judges. To verify the convergent validity of the scale the McCloskey Mueller Satisfaction Scale were used. A measure of the Organizational Wellbeing in the Operating Unit was used in order to verify the concurrent validity. A Professional Self-Efficacy evaluation allowed to verify the discriminant validity. Two open questions examined the role description and the difficulties met at work by the CCMN. The questionnaire was published on the Italian Association of Case Manager and in several Italian Professional Associations of Nurses, Sanitary Assistants and Pediatric nurses (IPASVI). 86 people (70 women) ...
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To analyse the effect of both professional and care unit commitments on attitudes towards interprofessional collaboration between nurses and physicians. The effects of both professional and care unit commitment on inter-professional... more
To analyse the effect of both professional and care unit commitments on attitudes towards interprofessional collaboration between nurses and physicians. The effects of both professional and care unit commitment on inter-professional collaboration have not been taken into account together, and previous research has analysed only one profession at a time, neglecting the nurse-physician comparison. A cross-sectional survey of 138 physicians and 359 nurses was used. For physicians, professional commitment decreased attitudes towards interprofessional collaboration whereas care unit commitment had a positive influence. Conversely, for nurses, the professional commitment had a significant positive effect on attitudes towards interprofessional collaboration whereas care unit commitment had no significant effect. Intergroup relations affect the extent to which nurses and physicians are inclined to engage in interprofessional collaboration. Professional and care unit commitments had different effects on attitude toward the inter-professional collaboration of nurses and physicians. Inter-professional collaboration is affected by the relationship between physicians and nurse at the professional group level. Managers who want to change and improve inter-professional collaboration should pay close attention to the interplay between changes they are introducing and well-established identities and practices between professionals.
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The concept of self-assess it's a central mechanism in human agency for behavior change and should translate to desirable practice patterns. There are no many studies that have investigated the relationship between the perception of... more
The concept of self-assess it's a central mechanism in human agency for behavior change and should translate to desirable practice patterns. There are no many studies that have investigated the relationship between the perception of the ability to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and the quality of the same. The aim of this work is to investigate the relation between physiological and psychosocial variables in cardiac resuscitation in order to improve the involvement and motivation of professionals in training courses. During the year 2012, 322 medical staff of Ospedale-Universitario of Parma were trained to basic life support defibrillation (BLSD). Before started the course the partecipants were randomly selected among the staff working in the same department to create a team of two persons and involved in a simulation that reproduced the first five minutes that occurs for a cardiac arrest in a medical or surgical department in our hospital before the intervention of...
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ABSTRACT Despite a growing interest on the concept of Safety Culture may be recognized in Italy, the effectiveness of safety governance policies that have been recently activated inside hospitals cannot ignore the knowledge of the way in... more
ABSTRACT Despite a growing interest on the concept of Safety Culture may be recognized in Italy, the effectiveness of safety governance policies that have been recently activated inside hospitals cannot ignore the knowledge of the way in which healthcare specialists identify safety. Through free-word association to the stimulus «safety is», healthcare specialists’ beliefs about what safety should be, the way in which safety should be put in place and on what safety depends have been explored. Results indicate that the concept of «safety» refers more to the individual actions than to a deep-rooted and shared culture permeating health care environment. Professionals are aware that their actions must be oriented to the patient safety, but they share a limited view of the construct of safety culture.
Hematologists adequately disclosing bad news is a critical point precluding patient-centered communication. Specific courses on communication for hematologists seem to be rare, as well as research exploring their communicative skills and... more
Hematologists adequately disclosing bad news is a critical point precluding patient-centered communication. Specific courses on communication for hematologists seem to be rare, as well as research exploring their communicative skills and patterns. We aim at describing the hematologists’ behavior during difficult conversations to account for behavioral patterns in communication and provide new insights regarding teaching skills to communicate bad news. We employed a focused visual ethnography to answer the following research: “what are hematologists’ behavioral patterns in communicating bad news to patients and families?” The collected data included (1) video recordings, (2) observational field notes, (3) interviews with hematologists. The analysis highlighted four patterns: (1) a technical-defensive pattern, (2) an authoritative pattern, (3) a relational-recursive pattern, and (4) a compassionate sharing pattern. Hematologists seem to have difficulty expressing compassionate caring ...
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The nursing literature of the last 20 years recommends the ventrogluteal site how the best site for intramuscular injections Beecroft, Redick, 1990, but, the few studies done with the aim to discover which is the most frequently used site... more
The nursing literature of the last 20 years recommends the ventrogluteal site how the best site for intramuscular injections Beecroft, Redick, 1990, but, the few studies done with the aim to discover which is the most frequently used site report that the dorsogluteal site is the one preferred from nurses Farley, Joyce, Long et al., 1996. The propose of this descriptive study is to understand which are the criteria used by nurses when they have to decide which site choose for administering an intramuscular injection. 167 Italian nurses, from the province of Reggio Emilia, that answered at an anonymous questionnaire, compose the sample of this study. The study's outcomes demonstrate that the most frequently site used from the nurses is the dorsogluteal. The most frequently principles that support this choice are the easier access, the large muscle's bulk, the lower sensibility at the pain and the request of the patient. These reasons suggest that the nurses are guided, in choo...
Research Interests: Nursing, Evidence Based Medicine, Medicine, Humans, Female, and 4 moreMale, Middle Aged, Questionnaires, and Adult
Clinical Reasoning (CR) is an important aspect of health professional education and effective practice. It is a complex series of factors and cognitive functions, involving higher-level thinking to define problems, examine the evidence... more
Clinical Reasoning (CR) is an important aspect of health professional education and effective practice. It is a complex series of factors and cognitive functions, involving higher-level thinking to define problems, examine the evidence and then making decisions and choices to improve the patient’s physiological and psycho-social state. CR consists of 3 interconnected and interdependent sub-processes: clinical experience and clinical context and Evidence-Based Practice. This essay focuses on the opportunities that Qualitative Research offers during the CR process when the doctor finds the evidence to address a patient’s health problem. Clinicians are often faced with questions that randomized clinical trials or systematic reviews of efficacy studies cannot answer. For this reason, we considered it necessary to offer an expanded view of the process of interpretation of the scientific literature used in daily clinical practice through the complex process of Clinical Reasoning, through ...
Research Interests: Psychology and Medicine
Background and aim: In the Integrated Narrative Nursing Assessment (INNA), the Evidence-Based Nursing Model is integrated with the Narrative-Based Nursing Model. The INNA makes use of quantitative instruments, arising from the natural... more
Background and aim: In the Integrated Narrative Nursing Assessment (INNA), the Evidence-Based Nursing Model is integrated with the Narrative-Based Nursing Model. The INNA makes use of quantitative instruments, arising from the natural sciences as well as of qualitative ones, arising from the human achieving results of standardization and reproducibility, as well as of customization and uniqueness. Accordingly, the purpose of this work is to exemplify the thinking process of and the method adopted by a nurse adopting an integrated narrative assessment in the evaluation of a patient. Method: The patient suffered from acute myeloid leukaemia, treated with chemotherapy. Her nurse worked in a haematology ward in a North Italy Hospital. The nurse had previous experience in conducting the assessment according to INNA. Based on patient’s characteristics, the nurse chose to use the narration (to explore needs from their subjective perception) and the scales (to measure them objectively) amon...
Public health and pedagogical institutions have long been calling for collaborative models of assistance and training that provide inter-professional synergy and there is a broad international consensus on the importance of... more
Public health and pedagogical institutions have long been calling for collaborative models of assistance and training that provide inter-professional synergy and there is a broad international consensus on the importance of inter-professionalism in the field of assessment and healthcare provision (1-10). [...].
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BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE WORK Maintaining the number of new students entering nursing programs and remaining in the nursing occupation largely depends on the ability to recruit and retain young people. The motivational factors that... more
BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE WORK Maintaining the number of new students entering nursing programs and remaining in the nursing occupation largely depends on the ability to recruit and retain young people. The motivational factors that induce young people to choose nursing as a career were investigated through a qualitative research approach. METHODS Different focus groups were organised involving 32 students at the end of the first year of Nursing. Then the factors affecting their choice of course and the reasons for satisfaction and frustration connected with the course of study were analyzed. RESULTS The main motivational factors for choosing Nursing that emerged include the following: having done voluntary work in the care area, attraction to the occupation since childhood/adolescence, failure of other plans, possibility to find work, personal acquaintance of nurses. The reasons for satisfaction with the course include: tutor support, workshop activities, placement experience. The ...