Quality-based procedures in Ontario: exploring health-care leaders' responses.

Aim: To examine health-care leaders' initial response to the implementation of orthopaedic quality based procedures (QBPs) in hospitals across Ontario, Canada.

Background: In 2012, Ontario, Canada shifted 91 hospitals to a patient-based funding (PBF) approach. This approach funds health-care organisations based on the number of patients treated with select procedures known as QBPs.

Workplace model for physical therapists and occupational therapists.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to test a model linking physical therapy (PT) and occupational therapy (OT) practitioners' perceptions of resonant leadership, structural empowerment and psychological empowerment to their experiences of spirit at work (SAW), job satisfaction and organizational commitment within the Canadian workplace.

Design/methodology/approach: The authors tested the model using LISREL 8.80 and survey data from 101 OTs and 169 PTs, randomly selected by the Alberta professional licensing associations.

Efficacy of continuation/maintenance electroconvulsive therapy for the prevention of recurrence of a major depressive episode in adults with unipolar depression: a systematic review.

Objective: Divergent opinion surrounds the use of continuation/maintenance electroconvulsive therapy (c/mECT) as a recurrence prevention strategy in depression because of limited data on efficacy and adverse effects. In an effort to synthesize what is known about its efficacy, a systematic review of controlled studies reporting efficacy of c/mECT for the prevention of relapse or recurrence of a depressive episode in adults with unipolar major depression was conducted.

Methods: Eleven electronic databases were searched with a 3-stage screening process conducted by the author with an independent review.

2013 President's Plenary International Psycho-oncology Society: embracing the IPOS standards as a means of enhancing comprehensive cancer care.

Background: The second President's Plenary at the 2013 International Psycho-oncology Society's World Congress in Rotterdam, the Netherlands aimed to progress and, where needed, initiate changes to achieve comprehensive cancer care. Recent initiatives have been driven by the need to see psychosocial care as an integrated part of holistic multidisciplinary quality cancer care. The President's Plenary session covered the need for the following: An internationally agreed standard of quality cancer care, which includes psychosocial care for patients and their families and caregivers.

Poor reliability between Cochrane reviewers and blinded external reviewers when applying the Cochrane risk of bias tool in physical therapy trials.

Objectives: To test the inter-rater reliability of the RoB tool applied to Physical Therapy (PT) trials by comparing ratings from Cochrane review authors with those of blinded external reviewers.

Methods: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in PT were identified by searching the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews for meta-analysis of PT interventions. RoB assessments were conducted independently by 2 reviewers blinded to the RoB ratings reported in the Cochrane reviews.

Identifying items to assess methodological quality in physical therapy trials: a factor analysis.

Background: Numerous tools and individual items have been proposed to assess the methodological quality of randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The frequency of use of these items varies according to health area, which suggests a lack of agreement regarding their relevance to trial quality or risk of bias.

Objective: The objectives of this study were: (1) to identify the underlying component structure of items and (2) to determine relevant items to evaluate the quality and risk of bias of trials in physical therapy by using an exploratory factor analysis (EFA).

Staff nurse commitment, work relationships, and turnover intentions: a latent profile analysis.

Background: The three-component model of organization commitment has typically been studied using a variable-centered rather than a person-centered approach, preventing a more complete understanding of how these forms of commitment are felt and expressed as a whole.

Objectives: Latent profile analysis was used to identify qualitatively distinct categories or profiles of staff nurses' commitment. Then, associations of the profiles with perceived work unit relations and turnover intentions were examined.

Resonant leadership and workplace empowerment: the value of positive organizational cultures in reducing workplace incivility.

Nursing leaders are indispensable in creating positive nursing work environments that retain an empowered and satisfied nursing workforce. Positive and supportive leadership styles can lower patient mortality and improve nurses' health, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, emotional exhaustion, and intent to stay in their position. The results of this study support the role of positive leadership approaches that empower nurses and discourage workplace incivility and burnout in nursing work environments.

Resonant leadership, workplace empowerment, and "spirit at work": impact on RN job satisfaction and organizational commitment.

Canadian researchers have developed the Spirit At Work (SAW) tool for identifying the experiences of individuals who are passionate about and energized by their work. This article describes (a) what registered nurses perceive as contributing to their personal SAW; and (b) the relationships among resonant leadership, structural empowerment concepts, psychological empowerment concepts, SAW concepts, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and the demographic variables of experience, education, and rank in the RN workplace. The theoretical model was tested using LISREL 8.

Methodological characteristics and treatment effect sizes in oral health randomised controlled trials: Is there a relationship? Protocol for a meta-epidemiological study.

Introduction: It is fundamental that randomised controlled trials (RCTs) are properly conducted in order to reach well-supported conclusions. However, there is emerging evidence that RCTs are subject to biases which can overestimate or underestimate the true treatment effect, due to flaws in the study design characteristics of such trials. The extent to which this holds true in oral health RCTs, which have some unique design characteristics compared to RCTs in other health fields, is unclear.

Testing a theoretical model of clinical nurses' intent to stay.

Background: Published theoretical models of nurses' intent to stay (ITS) report inconsistent outcomes, and not all hypothesized models have been adequately tested. Research has focused on cognitive rather than emotional determinants of nurses' ITS.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to empirically verify a complex theoretical model of nurses' ITS that includes both affective and cognitive determinants and to explore the influence of relational leadership on staff nurses' ITS.

Facility versus unit level reporting of quality indicators in nursing homes when performance monitoring is the goal.

Objectives: To demonstrate the benefit of defining operational management units in nursing homes and computing quality indicators on these units as well as on the whole facility.

Design: Calculation of adjusted Resident Assessment Instrument - Minimum Data Set 2.0 (RAI-MDS 2.

Efficacy and side-effect profiles of lactulose, docusate sodium, and sennosides compared to PEG in opioid-induced constipation: a systematic review.

Unlabelled: Opioid-induced constipation (OIC) is a side effect of opioid therapy that can affect quality of life, adherence to treatment, and morbidity and possibly mortality.

Objectives: To investigate whether docusate sodium, sennosides, and lactulose have equal efficacy and side effect profiles compared to PEG in the management of OIC in adults.

Methods: A systematic review was undertaken.

The Older Persons' Transitions in Care (OPTIC) study: pilot testing of the transition tracking tool.

Background: OPTIC is a mixed method Partnership for Health System Improvement (http://www.cihr-irsc.gc.

Prehospital clinical clearance of the cervical spine: a prospective study.

Physician clinical clearance of the cervical spine after blunt trauma is practiced in many trauma centers. Prehospital clinical clearance of the cervical spine (c-spine) performed by emergency medical services (EMS) personnel can decrease cost, improve patient comfort, decrease complications, and decrease prehospital time. The purpose of this study was to assess whether EMS personnel can effectively clinically clear the c-spine of injury in the prehospital setting.

A descriptive analysis of oral health systematic reviews published 1991-2012: cross sectional study.

Objectives: To identify all systematic reviews (SRs) published in the domain of oral health research and describe them in terms of their epidemiological and descriptive characteristics.

Design: Cross sectional, descriptive study.

Methods: An electronic search of seven databases was performed from inception through May 2012; bibliographies of relevant publications were also reviewed.

How should we evaluate the risk of bias of physical therapy trials?: a psychometric and meta-epidemiological approach towards developing guidelines for the design, conduct, and reporting of RCTs in Physical Therapy (PT) area: a study protocol.

Background: Numerous tools and items have been developed in all health areas to assess the risk of bias of randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The Cochrane Collaboration (CC) released a new tool to assess bias in RCTs, based on empirical evidence quantifying the association between some design features and estimates of treatment effects (TEs). However, this evidence is limited to medicine and investigating a selected set of components.

The influence of organizational context on the use of research by nurses in Canadian pediatric hospitals.

Background: Organizational context is recognized as an important influence on the successful implementation of research by healthcare professionals. However, there is relatively little empirical evidence to support this widely held view.

Methods: The objective of this study was to identify dimensions of organizational context and individual (nurse) characteristics that influence pediatric nurses' self-reported use of research.

Factors influencing job satisfaction of oncology nurses over time.

In this study, we tested a structural equation model to examine work environment factors related to changes in job satisfaction of oncology nurses between 2004 and 2006. Relational leadership and good physician/nurse relationships consistently influenced perceptions of enough RNs to provide quality care, and freedom to make patient care decisions, which, in turn, directly influenced nurses' job satisfaction over time. Supervisor support in resolving conflict and the ability to influence patient care outcomes were significant influences on job satisfaction in 2004, whereas, in 2006, a clear philosophy of nursing had a greater significant influence.

Pain in hospitalized children: Effect of a multidimensional knowledge translation strategy on pain process and clinical outcomes.

Hospitalized children frequently receive inadequate pain assessment and management despite substantial evidence to support effective pediatric pain practices. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of a multidimensional knowledge translation intervention, Evidence-based Practice for Improving Quality (EPIQ), on procedural pain practices and clinical outcomes for children hospitalized in medical, surgical and critical care units. A prospective cohort study compared 16 interventions using EPIQ and 16 standard care (SC) units in 8 Canadian pediatric hospitals.

Dementia diagnosis and osteoporosis treatment propensity: a population-based nested case-control study.

Aim: Increasing age and a diagnosis of dementia both dramatically increase the risk of serious osteoporosis-related sequela. We sought to examine the factors associated with osteoporosis treatment, in relation to dementia diagnosis, in older adults with osteoporosis.

Methods: This was a population-based, retrospective, nested, case-control study utilizing administrative healthcare data from British Columbia, Canada.

A profile of residents in prairie nursing homes.

Nursing homes have become complex care environments where residents have significant needs and most have age-related dementia. Building on research by Hirdes et al. (2011), we describe a resident profile in a representative sample of 30 urban nursing homes in the prairie provinces using Resident Assessment Instrument – Minimum Data Set 2.

The relationship between nursing leadership and patient outcomes: a systematic review update.

Aim: Our aim was to describe the findings of a systematic review of studies that examine the relationship between nursing leadership practices and patient outcomes.

Background: As healthcare faces an economic downturn, stressful work environments, upcoming retirements of leaders and projected workforce shortages, implementing strategies to ensure effective leadership and optimal patient outcomes are paramount. However, a gap still exists in what is known about the association between nursing leadership and patient outcomes.

Adoption and diffusion of evidence-based addiction medications in substance abuse treatment.

Objective: To examine the roles of facility- and state-level factors in treatment facilities' adoption and diffusion of pharmaceutical agents used in addiction treatment.

Data Sources: Secondary data from the National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services (N-SSATS), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Alcohol Policy Information System, and Kaiser Family Foundation.

Study Design: We estimate ordered logit and multinomial logit models to examine the relationship of state and treatment facility characteristics to the adoption and diffusion of three pharmaceutical agents over 4 years when each was at a different stage of adoption or diffusion.