[Nursing outcomes in medical wards (ESAMED Study): the results of a multicenter longitudinal study].

Unlabelled: . Factors associated to patients' outcomes in medical units: lessons learnt from an Italian multicentric longitudinal study design (ESAMED study).

Introduction: Research on nursing outcomes attempted to identify the associated factors, however, with mainly retrospective or descriptive studies.

Effectiveness of using a new polyurethane foam multi-layer dressing in the sacral area to prevent the onset of pressure ulcer in the elderly with hip fractures: A pragmatic randomised controlled trial.

Hip fractures in the elderly are a serious problem for the health service due to the high rate of complications. One of these complications is pressure ulcers that, according to the literature, occur in 8.8% to 55% of patients and mainly arise in the sacral area.

The degree of satisfaction of in-hospital medical patients with nursing care and predictors of dissatisfaction: findings from a secondary analysis.

Background: Patient satisfaction with nursing care (NC) is an important predictor of overall satisfaction with the hospital experience. However, the concept of patient satisfaction has been criticised both at the theoretical and at the methodological levels, and more attention on patient dissatisfaction has been called for with the aim of identifying strategies to improve the quality of care.

Aims: To describe dissatisfaction with NC as perceived by acute medical patients and identify predictors.

Prevalence and incidence density of unavoidable pressure ulcers in elderly patients admitted to medical units.

To describe the prevalence and incidence density of hospital-acquired unavoidable pressure sores among patients aged ≥65 years admitted to acute medical units. A secondary analysis of longitudinal study data collected in 2012 and 2013 from 12 acute medical units located in 12 Italian hospitals was performed. Unavoidable pressure ulcers were defined as those that occurred in haemodynamically unstable patients, suffering from cachexia and/or terminally ill and were acquired after hospital admission.

Factors affecting in-hospital informal caregiving as decided by families: findings from a longitudinal study conducted in acute medical units.

Background: Informal caregiving offered by family members has been widely studied in the community setting, but little attention to date has been dedicated to that offered at the hospital level.

Aims: To describe the proportion of patients admitted to acute medical units receiving care from informal caregivers as decided by the family and to identify the factors affecting the numbers of care shifts performed by informal caregivers.

Design And Methods: A longitudinal study was performed involving 12 acute medical units located in 12 northern Italian hospitals.

In-hospital elderly mortality and associated factors in 12 Italian acute medical units: findings from an exploratory longitudinal study.

Background: Given the progressive demographic ageing of the population and the National Health System reforms affecting care at the bedside, a periodic re-evaluation of in-hospital mortality rates and associated factors is recommended.

Aims: To describe the occurrence of in-hospital mortality among patients admitted to acute medical units and associated factors. Two hypotheses (H) were set as the basis of the study: patients have an increased likelihood to die H: at the weekend when less nursing care is offered; H: when they receive nursing care with a skill-mix in favour of Nursing Aides instead of Registered Nurses.

Overcoming redundancies in bedside nursing assessments by validating a parsimonious meta-tool: findings from a methodological exercise study.

Rationale: There is growing interest in validating tools aimed at supporting the clinical decision-making process and research. However, an increased bureaucratization of clinical practice and redundancies in the measures collected have been reported by clinicians. Redundancies in clinical assessments affect negatively both patients and nurses.

Hospital-acquired functional decline in older patients cared for in acute medical wards and predictors: Findings from a multicentre longitudinal study.

Describing the trajectories of hospital-associated functional decline in older patients admitted to acute medical units and identifying predictors at the individual, nursing, and hospital levels, were the aims of the study. A longitudinal survey among 12 acute medical units in which 1464 patients were consecutively enrolled and evaluated using the Barthel Index (BI), was performed. Functional decline was defined as a decrease in the BI of at least 5 points from admission to discharge.

Post-hoc validation of the Conley Scale in predicting the risk of falling with older in-hospital medical patients: findings from a multicentre longitudinal study.

Background: The Conley Scale is one of the most widespread fall-risk screening tools in medical unit settings, despite the lack of data regarding its validity in patients currently admitted to these units.

Aims: Establishing the validity of the Conley Scale in identifying patients at risk of falling in an acute medical setting.

Methods: A 6-months longitudinal study in 12 acute medical units from September 2012 to March 2013, a total of 1464 patients with ≥65 years of age were consecutively enrolled and evaluated with the Conley Scale within 24 h of admission.

Missed nursing care and predicting factors in the Italian medical care setting.

Missed nursing care (MNC), such as nursing care omitted or delayed, has not been measured in the Italian context where several cost containment interventions affect the care offered in medical units. The aim of the study is to identify the amount, type, and reasons for MNC in the Italian medical care setting and to explore the factors that affect the occurrence of MNC. A 3-month longitudinal survey was carried out followed by a cross-sectional study design in 12 north eastern acute medical units.

Factors associated with nurses' opinions and practices regarding information and consent.

This cross-sectional survey aimed to investigate nurses' opinions and practices regarding information and consent in the context of a large Italian teaching hospital and to explore potential influences of gender, age, university education, length of professional experience, and care setting. A questionnaire was administered to 282 nurses from six different care settings (Emergency Room, Emergency Medicine, Surgery, Hematology-Oncology, Geriatrics, and Internal Medicine). Overall, 84% (n = 237) of nurses returned the questionnaire (men: 24%; mean age: 36.

[Randomized controlled trial on the effectiveness of Corpitolinol 60 in the prevention of pressure sores in patients undergoing surgery].

Unlabelled: Randomized controlled trial on the effectiveness of Corpitolinol 60 in the prevention of pressure sores in surgical patients.

Introduction: The risk of pressure sores in surgical patients is widely recognised. The Corpitolinol 60 (Sanyréne®) applied on compressed areas seems to reduce the risk of pressure sores.

[Multicentre, prospective cohort study, to validate the Italian version of the Braden Q scale for the risk of the pressure sores in newborns and up to 8 years old children].

Unlabelled: Multicenter prospective cohort study, to validate the Italian version of the Braden Q scale for the risk of pressure sores in newborns and up to 8 years old children.

Introduction: Children admitted to Intensive care Units (ICU), oncology and neurology/neurosurgery wards are at risk of developing pressure sores.

Aim: To validate the Italian version of the Braden Q scale for the assessment of the risk of developing pressure sores in children.

[Recommendations and Italian standards for setting safe staff nursing levels in hospitals: results of a consensus conference].

Nurse staffing levels have always been an issue and the optimal level and mix of nurses required to deliver quality care as cost-effectively as possible continues to be discussed at both national and international levels. In Italy, a network of experts rom ten local health and hospital authorities was set up in June 2010. The, main objectives of the network were to define, validate and approve a panel of relevant indicators, identify minimum standards of safety and develop recommendations to guide decision-making regarding hospital nurse staffing levels.

[The implementation of nurse case manager's in wards for acute and post-acute patients: the perception of health care workers and patients and the impact an clinical outcomes].

Unlabelled: Nurses case managers were implemented since 2000 in several wards of S. Orsola hospital in Bologna.

Aim: The aim of this study is to assess the association of ICM to clinical outcomes and patients and nurses satisfaction.

[The assessment of nurses satisfaction for an organization that values posts and professional responsibilities].

Unlabelled: To assess the effectiveness of a new organizational model for professional development, that assigns and financially rewards 12 positions that encompass specific responsibilities (such as responsible of Evidence based Nursing; expert in pressure ulcers, responsible of the newly employed nurses), nurses' satisfaction was measured.

Method: From November to December 2003 the MC Closey Muller Satisfaction Questionnaire was administered to all the nurses in service in the wards. Levels of satisfaction of nurses with and without specific responsibilities were compared.

[Evidence based nursing and distance learning in the Italian hospital S. Orsola-Malpighi].

An experience of distance learning on Evidence Based Nursing is being implemented at the Policlinico Sant'Orsola Malpighi of Bologna. Commented evidence based abstracts on nursing techniques or problems are produced by a resource group of 80 nurses who attended specific courses. An abridged version of the recommendations is distributed to the 2300 health care professionals of the hospital with information on the distance learning session that consists in reading an extended review of the literature on one of the topics chosen and in an evaluation session.