Mapping Australia's COVID-19 quarantine cohort journeys.

Background: Australia rapidly developed COVID-19 quarantine programs to reduce the adverse outcomes of a novel pathogen imported by visitors and returned travellers. Different quarantine pathways were utilised over the pandemic, yet no definitive cohort map exists to guide future preparedness. We created a whole-of-system cohort journey map of Australian quarantine cohorts to inform future pandemic preparedness activities.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on emergency department team dynamics and workforce sustainability in Australia. A qualitative study.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged health care professionals and changed our approach to care delivery. The aim in this study was to explore nurses' experiences providing care in the ED during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia and the impact of this on ED team functioning.

Methods: A qualitative explorative descriptive study was conducted using thematic analysis strategies.

Australian emergency nurses' experiences of working with personal protective equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic. A qualitative study.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed a need to understand the challenges associated with wearing Personal protective Equipment (PPE). The aim in this study was to explore emergency nurses' experiences early in the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia and the impact of PPE use on their practice.

Methods: An explorative descriptive qualitative study was conducted between January 2022 and April 2022.

LGBTQ+ Loss and Grief in a Cis-Heteronormative Pandemic: A Qualitative Evidence Synthesis of the COVID-19 Literature.

LGBTQ+ people are no stranger to loss and grief, particularly during times of pandemic such as the 1980s-90s HIV/AIDS pandemic and now, the COVID-19 pandemic. Current COVID-19 loss and grief research remains relatively silent on LGBTQ+ peoples' loss and grief experiences. The aim of this research was to conduct a qualitative evidence synthesis of LGBTQ+ people's COVID-19 loss and grief experiences reported in the literature.

Applying terror management theory as a framework to understand the impact of heightened mortality salience on children, adolescents, and their parents: A systematic review.

Terror Management Theory (TMT) posits that controlling death anxiety is a driving force behind many aspects of social behavior. The objective in this systematic review was to explore how TMT is used to explain children's, adolescents', and parents' behavior when exposed to situations that increase mortality salience. A systematic search identified 2484 papers; 14 studies met eligibility criteria.

Environmental cleaning and infection prevention and control: The role of Patient Service Assistants.

Background: In Australia, Patient Service Assistants are an integral part of all health care settings, yet there is a paucity of studies considering their understandings and perceptions of their role about infection prevention and control. The aim in this study was to explore haematology Personal Service Assistants' experience, understanding and perceptions of their role in improving patient safety through environmental cleaning.

Methods: A qualitative exploratory descriptive design was utilised to collect data from cleaning staff via focus groups.

Health care workers' experience of personal protective equipment use and associated adverse effects during the COVID-19 pandemic response in Singapore.

Aim: One of the greatest challenges in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic is preventing staff exposure and infection by ensuring consistent and effective use of personal protective equipment (PPE). This study explored health care workers' experience of prolonged PPE use in clinical practice settings and their concerns regarding PPE supply, effectiveness and training needs.

Design: A descriptive cross-sectional design was adopted in this study.

An investigation into nursing students' application of infection prevention and control precautions.

Background: Undergraduate education of Health Care Workers is pivotal to ensuring that frontline clinicians have appropriate knowledge and skills in Infection Prevention and Control (IPC).

Objectives: The aim of this study was to describe undergraduate nursing students' self-reported compliance with Standard Precautions and to explore the psychosocial factors that influence adherence in clinical practice.

Design: A cross-sectional survey design was used.

A comparison of the public's use of PPE and strategies to avoid contagion during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia and Germany.

The SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19 pandemic has raised public awareness around disease protection. The aims in this study were to recruit participants from Australia and Germany to determine their use of personal protective equipment and COVID-19 avoidance strategies using scales designed for this study. Principal components analysis with the Australian data revealed two factors in the Protection from Infection Scale, Self-Care and Protective Behaviors, and a single factor in the Infection Avoidance Scale, with each scale demonstrating strong internal reliability.

Nursing students' awareness and perceptions of nurses' role in antimicrobial stewardship.

Antimicrobial resistance is a major threat to public health worldwide. Antimicrobial stewardship programs and interventions aiming to optimise the use of antibiotics, are increasingly used to ensure judicious use of antibiotics and limit the emergence of antimicrobial resistance. Nurses are pivotal in antimicrobial stewardship however nursing students' awareness of such programs has not been investigated.

Evaluating knowledge and perception of antimicrobial stewardship among nurses in an acute care hospital.

Background: Antimicrobial stewardship programs are essential to reduce the risks of antimicrobial resistance.

Methods: A cross sectional survey was used to evaluate nurses' knowledge and perceptions of antimicrobial stewardship.

Results: Of 241 nurses recruited, 22.

Faecal microbiota transplantation and the patient experience: A systematic review.

Aim: To review and synthesise the literature examining the patients' experience of faecal microbiota transplantation.

Background: Faecal microbiota transplantation is a common treatment for many conditions, including Clostridium Difficile infections. Patients' experience of treatments is an important influence on clinical decision-making and treatment adherence.

Evaluation of infection prevention and control preparedness in acute care nurses: Factors influencing adherence to standard precautions.

Background: It is essential to identify factors that affect adherence to standard precautions, which could increase risk of occupational exposure to pathogens.

Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted. Nurses (n = 241) in an acute care hospital completed the survey including the Factors Influencing Adherence to Standard Precautions Scale (FIASPS) (total possible scores in each domain ranged from 5 to 25) and the Compliance with Standard Precautions Scale (CSPS) (total possible scores ranged from 0 to 20).

Paediatric nurses', children's and parents' adherence to infection prevention and control and knowledge of antimicrobial stewardship: A systematic review.

Introduction: Infection prevention and control precautions help to decrease microbial transmission, and through the appropriate use of antibiotics, Antimicrobial Stewardship programs aim to decrease the prevalence and emergence of Antimicrobial Resistance.

Methods: A systematic review was undertaken to critically appraise and synthesise evidence for nurses', children's and parents' knowledge and understanding of antimicrobial stewardship, and of infection prevention and control in acute paediatric care settings. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses guided the review.

The Factors Influencing Adherence to Standard Precautions Scale - Student version (FIASP- SV): A psychometric validation.

Background: Standard Precautions have been demonstrated to limit infection transmission in the healthcare setting. Despite their mandated use, adherence by healthcare professionals remains suboptimal. A nursing curriculum embedding infection prevention and control is essential in equipping future healthcare professionals with the skills and knowledge to improve patient safety.

Lessons learned from a rapid implementation of a ventilator-associated pneumonia prevention bundle.

Background: Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is a common avoidable healthcare associated infection in ventilated critical care patients that can have a detrimental impact on patient recovery. To increase uptake at a local level, care bundles should be designed and implemented in collaboration with the end-users who will implement the bundle into practice.

Aim/objective: The aim in this study was to evaluate critical care nurses' perceptions of the usability of a respiratory care bundle as an effective approach to VAP prevention.

Nurse's perceptions on infection prevention and control in atopic dermatitis in children.

Background: Nurses should be conscious of healthcare associated infections, and the standard precautions required to reduce the risk of patients becoming infected. Patients with atopic dermatitis are often predisposed to a higher incidence of bacterial and viral infections. This study aims to explore and describe nurses' understanding and knowledge of their role in infection control and prevention precautions when caring for children with atopic dermatitis.

Antimicrobial stewardship and infection prevention and control in atopic dermatitis in children.

Atopic dermatitis is a chronic, recurrent inflammatory skin disease, characterized by frequent exacerbations that can necessitate increased antibiotic use. A qualitative study was conducted at a specialist pediatric hospital to explore the perceptions of dermatology nurses on their role in antimicrobial stewardship when caring for children with atopic dermatitis. Thematic and content analysis derived that the awareness of nurses on antimicrobial stewardship was low, although they were implementing key elements in their clinical practice.

Factors Influencing Adherence to Standard Precautions Scale: A psychometric validation.

Despite the mandated use of standard precaution guidelines to limit infection transmission in health-care settings, adherence by health-care professionals is suboptimal. There is currently no psychometrically-validated scale to assess influences on workers' adherence. After the data collection was conducted, Michinov et al.

Infection prevention and control: Who is the judge, you or the guidelines?

Objectives: The aim of this study was to explore the attitudes and behaviours of registered nurses and their colleagues around the adoption of standard precautions in order to determine strategies to promote adherence.

Design: A qualitative exploratory descriptive design used interviews and focus group to collect data.

Setting: Registered nurses and registered midwifes from a tertiary metropolitan hospital took part in the study.

Facilitating peer based learning through summative assessment - An adaptation of the Objective Structured Clinical Assessment tool for the blended learning environment.

Adapting a course from face to face to blended delivery necessitates that assessments are modified accordingly. In Australia the Objective Structured Clinical Assessment tool, as a derivative from the Objective Structured Clinical Examination, has been used in the face-to-face delivery mode as a formative or summative assessment tool in medicine and nursing since 1990. The Objective Structured Clinical Assessment has been used at Charles Darwin University to assess nursing students' simulated clinical skills prior to the commencement of their clinical placements since 2008.