<p>Problem: Family members of patients dying in the ICU are faced with agonizing dilemmas, the consequences of which might haunt them for a lifetime. Providing these family members with meaningful support and information is imperative. Nurses, by virtue of the time spent at the bedside and knowledge of patient and family needs, are in a unique position to support family members. The literature provides ample studies of how nurses perceive they are involved in EOL decision-making and several studies describing what family members perceive that they need from health care professionals in general. What is lacking is literature that describes the family members' perceptions of the specific strategies that nurses use to support their decision-making and how family members respond to these strategies. Because nurses might act on instinct, the strategies they use might or might not be helpful to family members. This study builds on prior work by exploring in greater depth the involvement of nurses in EOL decision-making, the specific strategies that family members perceive nurses using, and how family members respond to these strategies. This study aims to explore how family members respond to nursing strategies to support EOL decision-making, including family members perceptions of the strategies nurses use, how these strategies change over the trajectory of decision-making, and how these strategies affect their ability to make decisions consistent with the goals of the patient and their ability to cope with the stress of making EOL decisions.</p><p>Methods: Chapter two describes a systematic review of the literature that was conducted to define areas where research is needed. Chapter three describes a pilot case study that was conducted to determine the feasibility of conducting a prospective longitudinal study of family members making EOL decisions for their loved one in an ICU. Chapter four describes a prospective, longitudinal, qualitative descriptive study. In this study, the PI identified ICU patients who were likely to need complex decision-making and used narrative style interviewing techniques to explore the family members' perceptions of the strategies nurses use and the effectiveness of these strategies. Participants were recruited from a 16 bed adult medical ICU and a 16 bed surgical ICU at Duke Hospital, a tertiary care university hospital system.</p><p>Results: These studies identified three roles enacted by nurses: information broker, supporter, and advocate. While enacting these roles, nurses used a myriad of strategies categorized into five approaches: Demonstrate concern, build rapport, demonstrate professionalism, provide information, and support decision-making. This study provides empirical evidence that when interacting with family members of patients who were transitioning from curative to palliative care in the ICU, nurses used strategies that helped family members cope, to have realistic hope, to have confidence and trust, to prepare for the impending loss, to accept that their loved one was dying, and to make decisions. These findings also suggest that nurses were able to demonstrate flexibility in the use of the strategies, responding to the needs of the family members. </p><p>Although nurses used many helpful strategies to support family members, some nurses used strategies that negatively affected the family members' trust and confidence in the nurses, increased their difficulty coping, and, in some cases, might have delayed decision-making. Few of these strategies have been previously described in the nursing literature. </p><p>Summary: Knowledge from this study will pave the way for developing expert nursing practices for intervention studies targeting the areas identified as important by family members, most likely to improve their ability to make decisions on behalf of their loved one and to improve their well-being, and feasible in ICU environment.</p> / Dissertation

Introduction: Outcome prediction tools have the potential to provide significant adjunctive information for intensivists. Critically ill obstetric and gynaecology patients constitute a unique subset of the general ICU (intensive care unit) population yet, there exists no outcome prediction model developed specifically for these patients. Objectives: To evaluate the APACHE II score, prospectively develop and validate an outcome prediction model, evaluate organ failure (Organ Failure score and SOFA score) and review the SIRS (Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome) response in a cohort of critically ill obstetric and gynaecology patients. Design: A prospective study conducted over a 2 year period in the Surgical ICU at King Edward VIII Hospital, Durban. Institutional ethics approval was obtained. Patients were allocated to one of the following categories: Obstetric hypertensive group (Group I), Obstetric non-hypertensive group (Group II) and Gynaecology group (Group III). Group III was further subdivided into a pregnant (Group IIIa) and a non-pregnant group (Group IIIb). Data captured included demographic details, clinical assessment, investigations, treatment, variables required for calculating the APACHE II score, organ failure (OF) assessment, SIRS criteria and patient outcome. The APACHE II system, organ failure assessment and SIRS was evaluated in the entire patient subset. For the purpose of the outcome prediction model, the subset was divided into 2 groups: a development group and a validation group. STATA 7 software was utilised for data analysis. Results: The dataset comprised 260 inpatients. Obstetrics and gynaecology cases represented 18.5 % of the total ICU population (n=1408). The majority of the patients were young (mean age 27 ± 10.5 years). The mean ICU stay was 5.5 ± 7.9 days. The observed mortality for Groups I, II, III, IIIa and IIIb was 23.4%, 43.2%, 42.9%, 33.3% and 55.5% respectively. The mean APACHE II score was significantly higher in nonsurvivors compared to survivors for all patient subgroups (p< 0.0001). However the APACHE II system performed variably in each of the 3 groups. The area under the curve for the ROC curves in each of the 3 main subgroups varied from 0.81 to 0.94 for APACHE II. Groups IIIa and IIIb were too small to permit ROC curve analysis. Age, mean arterial pressure, respiratory rate, temperature, the Glasgow Coma Scale score and pH were identified as significant outcome predictors. Using these parameters an obstetric and gynaecology outcome prediction (OGOP) model was developed for Groups I, II and III. The area under the curve for the ROC curves in each of the subgroups was >0.9 for the OGOP Model. A predictive equation could not be developed for Groups IIIa and IIIb (due to a small number of admissions in these two groups.) Duration and the number of organ failures, correlated with outcome. The duration and number of organ failures associated with mortality differed for each group. Three OF exceeding 72 hours, 3 OF exceeding 48 hours and 3 OF equal to 48 hours were invariably fatal in Groups I, II and III/IIIa/IIIb respectively. SOFA scores were significantly higher in nonsurvivors compared to survivors (p<0.0001). A day one SOFA score equal to 18 (Group I), 15 (Group ll) and 13 (Group III, IIIa, IIIb) was also invariably fatal. A SIRS response was noted in 94.2% of the patient cohort (245/260). The SIRS response varied in the subgroups. Sterile shock and septic shock were associated with a high mortality rate. Groups IIIa and IIIb differed with respect to the mean age, duration of hospital and ICU stay and mortality rate. Although these subsets were numerically restricted (24 and 18 admissions respectively), the results suggest that the two subsets are distinctly different in nature. Comment: The OGOP model is easier to calculate and it is superior to the APACHE II System. It needs to be validated in other local and international units. Organ failure assessment as well as the SIRS response provides useful supplementary outcome information. Although current outcome prediction tools are not designed for individual application, continued research and refinement of the available tools, as well as the exploration of novel methods, may one day result in "near-perfect" prediction estimates and further broaden the scope of their utility. / Thesis (Ph.D)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2006.

Intubated and mechanically ventilated patients are vulnerable to respiratory tract infections. In response, the Ontario government has recently mandated surveillance and reporting of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). Serious respiratory infections, and the related costs of additional care can be reduced in part, through oral hygiene. However, the literature asserts that oral care is neglected in busy, high-tech settings. Despite these concerns, little research has examined how mouth care happens in the critical care unit. The purpose of this institutional ethnography (IE) was to explore the social organization of mouth care in one critical care unit in Ontario, Canada. As a reflexive and critical method of inquiry, IE focuses on features of everyday life that often go unnoticed. In paying special attention to texts, the ethnographer traces how institutional forces that arrive from outside the practice setting coordinate experiences and activities. Inquiry began in the field with day/night participant observation to better understand the particularities of nursing care for orally intubated patients. Other data sources included reflexive fieldnotes, stakeholder interviews, and transcripts as well as work documents and artifacts. Over time, the analysis shifted from the critical care unit to the larger social context of Ontario’s Critical Care Transformation Strategy. Analysis traced the discursive and translocal social relations that permeate nursing work. Findings revealed a disjuncture between the ideals of VAP prevention and the actualities of mouth care. Tensions and contradictions emerged as nurses described their location within an expansive accountability network: nursing duties now extend beyond oral care to a controversial project of epidemiological surveillance. Patient comfort and safety now rest upon a hidden nursing agenda to overcome limited time, training and tools in oral care. Nurses worried that the effectiveness of preventative oral care was inhibited by technical problems of application that remain uninvestigated and unresolved. As a counterpoint to assertions that oral care is neglected, this study demonstrates how nursing knowledge and agency is obscured. Because international infection-prevention guidelines increasingly endorse oral care, novel research investigating the practice problems nurses encounter is warranted.

Intubated and mechanically ventilated patients are vulnerable to respiratory tract infections. In response, the Ontario government has recently mandated surveillance and reporting of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). Serious respiratory infections, and the related costs of additional care can be reduced in part, through oral hygiene. However, the literature asserts that oral care is neglected in busy, high-tech settings. Despite these concerns, little research has examined how mouth care happens in the critical care unit. The purpose of this institutional ethnography (IE) was to explore the social organization of mouth care in one critical care unit in Ontario, Canada. As a reflexive and critical method of inquiry, IE focuses on features of everyday life that often go unnoticed. In paying special attention to texts, the ethnographer traces how institutional forces that arrive from outside the practice setting coordinate experiences and activities. Inquiry began in the field with day/night participant observation to better understand the particularities of nursing care for orally intubated patients. Other data sources included reflexive fieldnotes, stakeholder interviews, and transcripts as well as work documents and artifacts. Over time, the analysis shifted from the critical care unit to the larger social context of Ontario’s Critical Care Transformation Strategy. Analysis traced the discursive and translocal social relations that permeate nursing work. Findings revealed a disjuncture between the ideals of VAP prevention and the actualities of mouth care. Tensions and contradictions emerged as nurses described their location within an expansive accountability network: nursing duties now extend beyond oral care to a controversial project of epidemiological surveillance. Patient comfort and safety now rest upon a hidden nursing agenda to overcome limited time, training and tools in oral care. Nurses worried that the effectiveness of preventative oral care was inhibited by technical problems of application that remain uninvestigated and unresolved. As a counterpoint to assertions that oral care is neglected, this study demonstrates how nursing knowledge and agency is obscured. Because international infection-prevention guidelines increasingly endorse oral care, novel research investigating the practice problems nurses encounter is warranted.

Stress induced hyperglycaemia is prevalent in critical care. Since the landmark paper published by Van den Berghe et al. (2001) a great deal of attention has been paid to intensive insulin therapy in an ICU setting to combat the adverse effects of elevated glucose levels and poor glycaemic control. Glycaemic control protocols have been extensively developed, tested and validated within an ICU setting. However, little research has been conducted on the effects of a glycaemic control protocol in a less acute ward setting. There are many additional challenges presented in a ward setting, such as the variation in meals and levels of activity between patients, from day to day and throughout the day. A simple compartment model is used to describe the nature of insulin and glucose metabolism in patients of the Cardiothoracic Ward (CTW). A stochastic model of the fitted insulin sensitivity parameter is generated for this cohort and validated against cohorts of similar characteristics. The stochastic model is then used to run simulations of predictive control on 7 CTW patients, which shows significantly tighter glucose control than what is obtained with regular clinical procedures. However, the rate of severe hypoglycaemia is an unacceptably high 4.2%. The greatest challenge in maintaining tight glycaemic control in such patients is the consumption of meals at irregular times and of inconsistent quantities. Insulin sensitivity was compared to extensive hourly clinical data of 36 ICU patients. From this data a sepsis score of value 0-4 was generated as gold standard marker of sepsis. Comparing the sepsis score to insulin sensitivity found that insulin sensitivity provides a negative predictive diagnostic for sepsis. High insulin sensitivity of greater than Si = 8 x 10⁻⁵ L mU⁻¹ min⁻¹ rules out sepsis for the majority of patient hours and may be determined non-invasively in real-time from glycaemic control protocol data. Low insulin sensitivity is not an effective diagnostic, as it can equally mark the presence of sepsis or other conditions.

The purpose of this dissertation was to evaluate outcomes associated with blood component (BC) transfusion in adult trauma patients. Specific aims were to: 1) explore the relationship between traumatic injury, hemorrhage, and BC transfusion, focusing on consequences of the component storage lesion through presentation of a conceptual model; 2) systematically review research literature comparing outcomes of massively transfused major trauma patients based on ratios of BCs received; 3) evaluating the relationship between type of blood transfusion trauma patients received (whole blood versus BCs) and mortality likelihood after controlling for demographic and clinical variables; 4) evaluating the relationship between volume and ratio of BCs transfused to trauma patients and development of inflammatory complications (ICs) after controlling for demographic and clinical variables. Specific aim one was addressed through the development of a conceptual model, depicting the current state of knowledge regarding the storage lesion, and short-/long-term outcomes of traumatic injury, hemorrhage, and blood transfusion. The second specific aim was addressed through a systematic review of studies that grouped critically injured, massively transfused patients based on ratios of BCs they received, and compared clinical outcomes among groups. Findings from this analysis revealed increased survival likelihood with massive transfusion of BCs in a 1:1:1 (packed red blood cells [PRBCs], fresh frozen plasma [FFP], platelets [PLTs]) fashion. The third specific aim involved a secondary analysis of the National Trauma Data Bank to evaluate the relationship between type of transfusion trauma patients received (whole blood versus BCs) and mortality. Patients who received BCs experienced a higher mortality likelihood compared with those who received whole blood. The fourth specific aim was addressed through a secondary analysis of the Inflammation and Host Response to Injury Trauma-Related Data Base, to evaluate the relationship between volume and ratio of BCs transfused and development of ICs in patients with major trauma. Findings revealed that total transfused volume of PRBCs, injury severity, and comorbidities were associated with development of ICs. There were no differences in time to complication between PRBCs:FFP or PRBCs:PLTs ratio groups.

Bakgrund: Sederade eller medvetslösa patienter kan inte verbalt kommunicera sin smärta. Smärta är svårt för sjukvårdspersonalen att bedöma om beteendebaserade smärtskattningsinstrument inte är implementerade. Forskning har visat att neurokirurgiska intensivvårdspatienter upplevt moderat till svår smärta under vårdtiden på intensivvårdsavdelningen och denna smärta har underbehandlats. Critical-Care Pain Observation Tool (CPOT) är ett smärtskattningsinstrument som nyligen validerats i Sverige för att kunna användas inom intensivvården på icke kommunikativa vuxna patienter, dock har neurokirurgiska intensivvårdspatienter exkluderats vid valideringen. Syfte: Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka intensivvårdssjuksköterskans uppfattning om CPOTs användbarhet inom neurokirurgisk intensivvård. Metod: Mixed-method enkätstudie. En implementering av ett beteendebaserat smärtskattningsinstrument. Resultat: Elva sjuksköterskor inom neurokirurgisk intensivvård deltog. Tio av elva sjuksköterskor ansåg det värt att implementera CPOT. Ingen av sjuksköterskorna använde något annat smärtskattningsinstrument än Visuell Analog Skala (VAS) vid studietillfället. I skattning på en skala från 0-10, om huruvida CPOT hjälpt sjuksköterskorna i deras bedömning och behandling av smärta, blev medianvärdet 5. Från de öppna frågorna identifierades sex kategorier: positivt, enkelt, bättre än VAS, utvärderingsmöjlighet, svårbedömt och okänsligt. Patienter i vila fick 0 – 5 CPOT poäng, med en median på 1. Vid nociceptiv procedur erhöll patienterna 0 – 7 poäng, med en median på 3. Maxpoängen i CPOT är 8. Slutsats: Intensivvårdssjuksköterskorna hade en positiv uppfattning av att använda CPOT inom neurokirurgisk intensivvård och de ansåg att CPOT är värt att implementera. CPOT gav högre poäng under nociceptiva procedurer än i vila. Klinisk betydelse: Studien kan leda till att CPOT implementeras. / Background: Sedated and unconscious patients cannot verbally communicate their pain. Pain assessment is difficult for health care professionals when behavioural pain assessment tools are not implemented. Science has shown that neurosurgical intensive care patients experienced moderate to severe pain during their stay in the intensive care unit and that this pain has been undertreated. Critical-Care Pain Observation Tool (CPOT) is a pain assessment tool recently validated in Sweden for use in the intensive care unit on uncommunicative adult patients, however, neurosurgical patients were excluded in the validation. Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the critical care nurses perception of CPOT’s usefulness in neurosurgical intensive care. Method: Mixed-method questionnaire study. An implementation of a behavioral pain assessment tool. Result: Eleven nurses in a neurosurgical intensive care unit participated. Ten of the eleven nurses considered CPOT worth implementing. None of the nurses used any other pain assessment tool than Visual Analogic Scale (VAS) at the time of the study. Rating on a scale from 0-10, whether CPOT helped the nurses in their assessment and treatment of pain, the median score was 5. From the opened-ended question, six categories were identified: positive, simple, better than VAS, evaluation opportunity, difficult to assess and insensitive. Patients at rest scored 0-5 in CPOT, with a median of 1. In nociceptive procedures, the patients scored 0-7, with a median of 3. The maximum score in CPOT is 8. Conclusion: The critical care nurses had a positive attitude towards using CPOT in neurosurgical intensive care and they considered CPOT worth implementing. CPOT gave higher scores in nociceptive procedures than at rest. Clinical relevance: The study may result in the implementation of CPOT.

The focus of this study was on the regulation and management of emotions among professional nurses in a critical care unit in a private hospital in Gauteng. The aim of this project is to explore and describe the level of resilience of professional nurses, in this case specifically, critical care nurses. The background portrays a journey from emotions and emotional experiences as main focus. The main focus was transformed into sequential emotion regulation and management as precursors to emotional intelligence. An initial literature investigation into emotional intelligence among professional nurses in general indicated that: Much international and national research has been conducted on emotional intelligence among nurses; emotional intelligence is an essential aspect of nursing, as an emotion-laden profession; and emotional intelligence implies positive benefits for nurses. The purpose of this study was to enhance professional nurses‟ regulation and management of their emotions in a critical care unit in a private hospital in Gauteng in order to enhance the level of emotional intelligence. Methodology: A qualitative, phenomenological research design was most suitable for this research that was also explorative, descriptive and contextual and within a case study strategy, combined with the use of interviews. C purposive sampling (Botma, et al., 2010:126) was used to select participants. ASE records included incident reports; organisational records of employee satisfaction, as well as documents that portrayed the care rendered in the unit. Participants were informed about the research by means of a PowerPoint presentation. The sample size was established once the research by saturation of data (Botma et al., 2010:200). Participants were informed about the research by means of a slideshow. Conclusion The results re-confirmed the existence of emotional labour in the critical care unit, as well as the different emotions experienced in the critical care unit. Results reflect the strain critical care nurses need to cope with, and the different ways they use to regulate these emotions and emotional experiences. / Thesis (MCur)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

The focus of this study was on the regulation and management of emotions among professional nurses in a critical care unit in a private hospital in Gauteng. The aim of this project is to explore and describe the level of resilience of professional nurses, in this case specifically, critical care nurses. The background portrays a journey from emotions and emotional experiences as main focus. The main focus was transformed into sequential emotion regulation and management as precursors to emotional intelligence. An initial literature investigation into emotional intelligence among professional nurses in general indicated that: Much international and national research has been conducted on emotional intelligence among nurses; emotional intelligence is an essential aspect of nursing, as an emotion-laden profession; and emotional intelligence implies positive benefits for nurses. The purpose of this study was to enhance professional nurses‟ regulation and management of their emotions in a critical care unit in a private hospital in Gauteng in order to enhance the level of emotional intelligence. Methodology: A qualitative, phenomenological research design was most suitable for this research that was also explorative, descriptive and contextual and within a case study strategy, combined with the use of interviews. C purposive sampling (Botma, et al., 2010:126) was used to select participants. ASE records included incident reports; organisational records of employee satisfaction, as well as documents that portrayed the care rendered in the unit. Participants were informed about the research by means of a PowerPoint presentation. The sample size was established once the research by saturation of data (Botma et al., 2010:200). Participants were informed about the research by means of a slideshow. Conclusion The results re-confirmed the existence of emotional labour in the critical care unit, as well as the different emotions experienced in the critical care unit. Results reflect the strain critical care nurses need to cope with, and the different ways they use to regulate these emotions and emotional experiences. / Thesis (MCur)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

INTRODUCTION AND AIM: The current shortage of nurses is a concern shared by the healthcare industry globally. Whilst the reasons for these shortages are varied and complex, a key factor among them seem to involve an unhealthy work environment. The demanding nature of the critical care environment presents a challenge to many nursing professionals and it carries the risk of a high turn over rate due to the stress and intensity of the critical care environment. The critical care nurse is responsible for caring for the most ill patients in hospitals and the acute shortage of critical care nurses contributes to the intensity and pressures of this environment. Little evidence exists of research conducted to explore and describe the practice environment of the critical care nurse in South Africa. The main aim of this research study was to construct a theory for positive practice environments in critical care units in South Africa, grounded in the views and perceptions of critical care nurses working in the private hospital context. In recognition of the fact that a positive practice environment is considered to be the foundation for the successful recruitment and retention of nurses, it was clear that issues related to staff shortages will not be resolved unless the unhealthy work environment of nurses is adequately addressed. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHOD: A constructivist grounded theory design was selected to address the inquiry at hand. The study was divided into two phases and pragmatic plurality allowed the use of both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods to explore, describe and contextualise the data in order to achieve the overall aim of the study. In phase one, a checklist developed by the researcher was used to describe the demographic profile of the critical care units (n=31) that participated in the study. The perceptions of critical care nurses (n=298) regarding their current practice environment was explored and decribed by using a valid and reliable instrument, the Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index (PES-NWI). In phase two, the elements of a positive practice environment were explored and described by means of intensive interviews with critical care nurses (n=6) working in the critical care environment. Concepts related to the phenomenon under investigation were identified by means of an inductive analysis of the data through a coding process and memo-writing. One core conceptual category and six related categories emerged out of the data. In the final phase of the theoretical sampling of the literature, a set of conclusions relevant to the phenomenon under study was constructed. The conclusions deduced from the empirical findings in both phases of the research process were integrated with those derived from the literature review to provide the foundation from which the theory was constructed. FINDINGS: The findings from the first phase of the research process provided information about the context in which the participants operate and assisted in discovering concepts considered relevant to the phenomenon under investigation. A grounded theory depicting the core conceptual category of "being in controi" and its relation to the other six categories was constructed from the data in order to explain a positive practice environment for critical care units in the private healthcare sector in South Africa. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Nursing))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.