Evaluating the accuracy of an automatic counting system to detect dispensing of hand hygiene product.

Background: Hand hygiene (HH) is an essential element of infection prevention and control programs. Direct observation of adherence to the 5 moments for HH is considered the gold standard in compliance monitoring. However, as direct observation introduces potential bias, other strategies have been proposed to supplement HH compliance data in healthcare facilities.

Oral care practices and hospital-acquired pneumonia prevention: A national survey of Australian nurses.

Background: Hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) also known as non-ventilator associated pneumonia, is one of the most common infections acquired in hospitalised patients. Improving oral hygiene appears to reduce the incidence of HAP. This study aimed to describe current practices, barriers and facilitators, knowledge and educational preferences of registered nurses performing oral health care in the Australian hospital setting, with a focus on the prevention of HAP.

Challenges and reflections from an international, humanitarian, short-term surgical mission on collecting ethnographic data in a remote environment.

Background: The experiences of nurses participating in ethnographic fieldwork have been well documented, but often feature short-term, intermittent periods in the field of less than a day.

Aim: To provide an overview of methodological issues related to collecting data while undertaking a focused ethnography of nurses volunteering with a humanitarian organisation providing surgical care in a remote setting.

Discussion: Particular challenges during the fieldwork included limited space and privacy influencing data collection and secure storage; sporadic and unreliable communications limiting contact with other members of the research team; the challenges of withdrawing from the intensity of the setting; and navigating blurred boundaries between the roles of clinician and researcher.

Nurses' contribution to short-term humanitarian care in low- to middle-income countries: An integrative review of the literature.

Aims And Objectives: To appraise the literature related to voluntary humanitarian work provided by international nurses in low- to middle-income countries.

Background: Nurses and other health professionals are engaged with both governmental and nongovernmental organisations to provide care within international humanitarian relief and development contexts. Current literature describes accounts of charitable health professional activity within short-term health-focused humanitarian trips; however, there is minimal research describing the care that nurses provide and the professional roles and tasks they fulfil whilst participating in international volunteer healthcare service.

Evaluation of student nurses' perception of preparedness for oral medication administration in clinical practice: a collaborative study.

Background: Attainment of oral medication administration skills and competency for student nurses is challenging and medication errors are common. The ability of nurses to master a clinical skill is dependent upon educational instruction and practice.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate nursing students' perception of preparedness for oral medication administration in two practice environments and determine possible relationship between student demographics and their perceived preparedness for oral medication administration.