Publications by authors named "Angela Tolotti"

Background: Nursing theories are crucial toward orienting the development of knowledge and practice. However, there is a persistent debate in the literature regarding the gap between theory and practice. Theories and conceptual models developed in Anglo-Saxon countries are often proposed within diverse educational and clinical contexts in other countries, generating challenges in their application in practice.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

: Bladder ultrasound (BUS) provides an accurate measurement of post-void residual (PVR) volume and bladder assessment. Access to BUS is dependent on practitioner availability with delays resulting in poor symptom management, delayed discharge and dissatisfaction. Developing nursing practice to perform BUS can address these patient's needs.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The aim of this review is to provide an overview of the status of patient/public involvement (PPI) in oncology research, including definitions, regulatory aspects, ongoing clinical activities in different countries, achievements and difficulties. The 10-year activities of the Swiss Group for Clinical Cancer Research (SAKK) Patient Advisory Board are described, illustrating challenges faced and solutions in daily practice. Even though clinical data are still limited, it appears PPI has great potential for development in oncology.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objectives: The literature highlights the importance of an interprofessional approach in palliative care to improve the quality of care, favoring an effective use of resources. Members of the interprofessional team include all professionals involved in patient care; in some contexts, the advanced practice nurse (APN) has a clearly defined role. This study aimed to define the possible role of the APN within the interprofessional palliative care team in our context.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The pandemic represented a challenge for hospital managers at different levels, required to reorganise services without compromising care. This study aimed to analyse the experiences of hospital managers during the COVID-19 pandemic. A narrative inquiry was conducted in a multisite acute hospital.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The COVID-19 pandemic heavily impacted nursing care. This study aimed to understand which nursing interventions were instrumental in responding to COVID-19 patients' needs by exploring the experiences of patients and nurses. In this mixed-method study with an explanatory sequential design, we involved nurses caring for COVID-19 patients in intensive and sub-intensive care units and patients.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Aim: The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of family members of patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) for COVID-19 during the first and second waves of the pandemic in Switzerland.

Design: A qualitative descriptive approach was used in this study.

Methods: Face-to-face in-depth semistructured interviews were used to explore the experiences of family members of surviving COVID-19 patients, who were admitted to the ICU.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Literature suggests that patient engagement in healthy lifestyle is of crucial importance in ensuring a more effective management of side effects of cancer therapies and better quality of life for patients. While many studies describe educational interventions to promote healthy lifestyles, few are focused on promoting active patient engagement in this field. This protocol paper outlines a study to determine the feasibility of a complex nurse-led patient education intervention aimed to promote cancer patient engagement in a healthy lifestyle.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The COVID-19 pandemic is a major public health problem with millions of confirmed cases and deaths described. Nurses are among the health care professionals most involved at the front line, caring for those affected by COVID-19. Patients and families have been subjected to a high emotional burden of fear, anxiety, and uncertainty.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Patient engagement has gained increasing attention in cancer care as it is widely acknowledged as an essential element of high-quality care. There are limited data on how oncology nurses might apply techniques that encourage patient engagement. Therefore, this study aims to understand which nursing strategies can favour patient engagement in oncological care from patients' and nurses' perspectives.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Patient engagement is becoming increasingly relevant in cancer care. Nurses have been recognized as crucial in promoting active engagement of people with carcer. Despite the growing interest on this topic and the relevance of patient engagement interventions to improve patient' conditions, to the best of our knowledge there is no synthesis of the literature on the characteristics and impact of nurse-led patient engagement intervention for adults with cancer.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: The quality of care for tracheostomy and mechanically ventilated patients in intensive care units (ICUs) has improved considerably. However, the communication barrier attributable to these procedures generates many problems for patients, as they are unable to communicate effectively with family members and ICU healthcare professionals, especially nurses.

Aims: To describe (1) tracheostomy patients' needs, emotions and difficulties when communicating with ICU nurses and (2) which strategies nurses and patients have adopted to improve their communication.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The European Patients' Academy on Therapeutic Innovation Switzerland (EUPATI CH) was established as an association in 2016 with the mission to improve patient empowerment in Switzerland, raise public awareness of EUPATI's education material, and foster multi-stakeholder partnerships in order to promote public involvement in all aspects of medicines research and development (R&D). In order to achieve its goal of improving patient involvement (PI) in all processes of medicines R&D in Switzerland and to obtain guidance and recommendations for future activities, EUPATI CH initiated a multi-stakeholder survey on PI experiences, hurdles, and best practices. The survey enabled EUPATI CH to obtain and analyze the views of various stakeholders and shape its workplan.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: During the Covid-19 pandemic, nurses experienced increased pressure. Consequently, ethical concerns and psychological distress emerged. This study aimed to assess nurses' ethical conflict, resilience and psychological impact, and compare these variables between nurses who worked in Covid-19 wards and nurses who did not.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Fatigue is a complex and frequent symptom in cancer patients, influencing their quality of life, but it is still underestimated and undertreated in clinical practice. The aims of this study were to detect the presence of fatigue in cancer patients, describe how patients and nurses perceived it and how nurses managed fatigue.

Methods: This is a mixed methods study.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Nursing theories are essential for orienting nursing practice. To date, three models for nursing practice have been developed in Italy. In addition, significant epistemological reflections have been published, sparking a rich professional debate regarding the theoretical foundations of nursing in Italy.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objectives: During a pandemic, healthcare workers (HCWs) are essential to the health system response. Based on our knowledge, little information is available regarding the psychosocial impact on HCWs or interventions for supporting them during pandemics. Therefore, the study aimed to assess available literature on perceived stress and psychological responses to influenza pandemics in HCWs and identify implications for healthcare practice and future research.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background And Aim Of The Work: Due to the ageing of cancer patients, new approaches that require a more active participation in the self-management of cancer treatment at home are needed. Nurses are strategic in improving the patient's engagement capability in this regard. Knowing which interventions are more effective for the promotion of patient engagement could be useful to improve the effectiveness of the care provided.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Taking a sample of arterial blood is widely reported as a cause of significant pain.

Objectives: To compare three anesthetic methods with standard practice (no anesthesia) to establish which was the most effective in reducing pain caused by radial artery puncture in patients requiring an arterial blood gas test in the emergency department (ED).

Methods: A randomized controlled trial was conducted to compare the effectiveness between anesthetic cream, cryoanalgesia, and subcutaneous mepivacaine in reducing pain caused by radial artery puncture in ED patients.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The increase in the use of oral cancer drugs implies that nurses take on new roles for which education and support to patients and family members become fundamental for promoting therapeutic adherence.

Objective: To describe the patients' and nurses' perceptions on the effectiveness of the educational process in oral cancer treatment.

Methods: A mixed method with a convergent design was used.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Comparison of the state of nursing in Italy with other countries has shown that theory development in Italian nursing remains quite undeveloped. Theory development in Italian nursing will need to consider local cultural and professional aspects, specific to the Italian practice context, by drawing on known health needs, experiences and nursing approa- ches. The aim of this investigation was to map current knowledge related to nursing in Italy, based on the experiences of patients, families and communities, to provide a basis on which nursing theories could be developed.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

One of the principal side effects in patients that receive radiotherapy is radiodermatitis. Radiodermatitis can be highly invalidating for patients, causing pain, ulceration, swelling, and increased infection risk, with a negative effect on the quality of life, requiring dressings and medications. Therapeutic approaches reported so far in the literature have not proved to be effective in treating radiodermatitis.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Aim: To identify if complementary interventions impacted on conscious intensive care patients' perception of stress factors and quality of sleep.

Research Methodology: A non-controlled clinical study was undertaken on conscious patients in an intensive care unit in central Italy. Patients perception of stress factors and quality of sleep during the first night with usual medical and nursing treatments was measured using two questionnaires: the Stress Factors in Intensive Care Unit Questionnaire and the Modified Richards-Campbell Sleep Questionnaire.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objectives: To describe the experience and sources of comfort and discomfort in tracheostomy patients, when they communicate with nurses in the Intensive Care Unit.

Research Methodology/design: Benner's interpretive phenomenology. Data were collected through: a) semi-structured interviews conducted with the patients after leaving the intensive care unit; b) participant observation; c) situated interviews with intensive care nurses.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF