Children diagnosed and treated for cancer experience a profound life-transformation as they are confronted with unprecedented physical, psychosocial and emotional challenges. Children’s experience of diagnosis and treatment is often accompanied by a lack of participation and reduced control. Extensive research has been conducted on a variety of supportive interventions. Only a limited amount of research, however, has investigated the potential of animal-assisted activities (AAAs) to afford specialised support for the child hospitalised with cancer. Moreover, of this limited research, few studies explore AAAs in relation to participation and control. The purpose of this study was to explore and describe how participation and control are experienced during animal-assisted activities by children hospitalised with cancer. Paediatric oncology patients between the ages of 8 and 14 with any type of cancer were offered the opportunity to participate in the study, which comprised of animal-assisted activities at the facility where patients received their medical care. Five children were included in the final sample. Data were gathered by means of non-participant observations, participant interviews, graphic questionnaires and field notes. Data were then analysed in accordance with steps proposed by Tesch (1990: 142-145), which involved coding according to categories and related themes. Five major themes emerged, including (1) approach to animals, (2) body awareness, (3) level of engagement, (4) level of dependence and (5) communication. Nine sub-themes were derived from data analysis. Under “approach to animals”, the sub-themes were (i) taking the lead, (ii) grooming and affection and (iii) laughter and spontaneity. The sub-themes of “body awareness” were (iv) protection of body and (v) comfort. The sub-themes of “level of engagement” were (vi) initiative and (vii) choice. Finally, the sub-themes of “communication” were (viii) verbal communication and (ix) non-verbal communication. The study provides insight into the participation and control experienced during animal-assisted activities by children hospitalised with cancer. When the initial and final AAA sessions were compared, changes were noted in terms of the children’s approaches to the dog, their body awareness, their level of engagement, their level of dependence and their communication. These changes are associated with an enhanced sense of participation and control, aspects that are often reported to be diminished in children who are diagnosed, treated and hospitalised with cancer. AAAs should therefore be considered an effective means of supporting children hospitalised with cancer. / MA (Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Children diagnosed and treated for cancer experience a profound life-transformation as they are confronted with unprecedented physical, psychosocial and emotional challenges. Children’s experience of diagnosis and treatment is often accompanied by a lack of participation and reduced control. Extensive research has been conducted on a variety of supportive interventions. Only a limited amount of research, however, has investigated the potential of animal-assisted activities (AAAs) to afford specialised support for the child hospitalised with cancer. Moreover, of this limited research, few studies explore AAAs in relation to participation and control. The purpose of this study was to explore and describe how participation and control are experienced during animal-assisted activities by children hospitalised with cancer. Paediatric oncology patients between the ages of 8 and 14 with any type of cancer were offered the opportunity to participate in the study, which comprised of animal-assisted activities at the facility where patients received their medical care. Five children were included in the final sample. Data were gathered by means of non-participant observations, participant interviews, graphic questionnaires and field notes. Data were then analysed in accordance with steps proposed by Tesch (1990: 142-145), which involved coding according to categories and related themes. Five major themes emerged, including (1) approach to animals, (2) body awareness, (3) level of engagement, (4) level of dependence and (5) communication. Nine sub-themes were derived from data analysis. Under “approach to animals”, the sub-themes were (i) taking the lead, (ii) grooming and affection and (iii) laughter and spontaneity. The sub-themes of “body awareness” were (iv) protection of body and (v) comfort. The sub-themes of “level of engagement” were (vi) initiative and (vii) choice. Finally, the sub-themes of “communication” were (viii) verbal communication and (ix) non-verbal communication. The study provides insight into the participation and control experienced during animal-assisted activities by children hospitalised with cancer. When the initial and final AAA sessions were compared, changes were noted in terms of the children’s approaches to the dog, their body awareness, their level of engagement, their level of dependence and their communication. These changes are associated with an enhanced sense of participation and control, aspects that are often reported to be diminished in children who are diagnosed, treated and hospitalised with cancer. AAAs should therefore be considered an effective means of supporting children hospitalised with cancer. / MA (Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Darbo tikslas. Įvertinti Kauno miesto bei rajono Slaugos ir palaikomojo gydymo ligoninių slaugos darbuotojų pasitenkinimą darbu. Tyrimo metodika: tyrimas buvo vykdomas penkiose Kauno miesto bei rajono Slaugos ir palaikomojo gydymo ligoninėse 2012 m. liepos – rugsėjo mėnesiais, apklausiant bendrosios praktikos slaugytojus ir slaugytojų padėjėjus. Tyrimui buvo naudojama anoniminė anketa, kurią sudarė 21 klausimas. Gautos 126 pilnai užpildytos anketos ir tai sudarė 72,4 proc. visų išdalintų anketų. Taip pat buvo naudojamas kokybis tyrimas, užduodant 5 interviu klausimus, 4 slaugos administartorėms. Statistinė duomenų analizė buvo atlikta naudojantis programiniu statistinių duomenų analizės paketu ,,SPSS Statistics 20.0“. Rezultatai. Tyrimo metu nustatyta, kad slaugos darbuotojai yra vidutiniškai patenkinti savo profesine veikla (vid. 5,14 balo). Nustatyta, kad statitiškai reikšmingai savo profesinę veiklą palankiau vertina bendrosios praktikos slaugytojai, nei slaugytojų padėjėjai (p=0,001). Slaugos darbuotojai nėra patenkinti gaunamu atlyginimu (vid. 3,58 balo), darbo krūviu (vid. 3,45 balo), karjeros galimybėmis (vid. 3,93 balo). Palankiausiai buvo vertinamas atostogų (vid. 5,73 balo) ir darbo grafikas (vid. 5,63 balo). Darbo pasitenkinimui didžiausią įtaką turi: geri santykiai su bendradarbiais (71,4 proc.), geros darbo sąlygos (59,5 proc.), gaunamas atlyginimas (53,2 proc.), komplimentai iš pacientų ir jų artimųjų (52,4 proc.). Respondentų nuomone, optimalus aptarnaujamų... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Aim of the study. To evaluate the job satisfaction by the nursing staff of the nursing and supportive treatment hospitals in Kaunas city and Kaunas district. Methods: The survey was carried out in 5 nursing and supportive treatment hospitals in Kaunas and its district from July to September, 2012. An anonymous questionnaire, consisting of 21 questions, was used for the survey and its respondents were nurses and nurse‘s assistants. The total number of 126 nurses and nurses‘assistants took part in the study, which was 72.4% of all distributed questionnaires. Furthermore, the qualitative study was done by asking four nursing administrators 5 interview questions. The statistical analysis of data was performed by the application of statistical package SPSS Statistics 20.0. Results. The study showed that the nurses and their assistants are approximately satisfied with their professional activity (average 5.14 score). It was found out that the nurses were more satisfied with their job than the nurses’ assistants (p=0.001). The nursing staff are not satisfied with the payment (average 3.58 score), workload (average 3.45 score), career opportunities (average 3.93. score) whereas holidays (average 5.73 score) and work schedule (average 5.63 score) were assessed sympathetically. The study showed that the main reasons affecting the job satisfaction should be good relations with colleagues (71.4%), good working conditions (59.5%), payment (53.2%), compliments from patients (52.4%)... [to full text]

Darbo tikslas: ištirti palaikomojo gydymo ir slaugos ligoninės sveikatos priežiūros specialistų požiūrį į saugos kultūrą. Uždaviniai: ištirti palaikomojo gydymo ir slaugos ligoninės sveikatos priežiūros specialistų požiūrį į saugos kultūros sritis; išanalizuoti palaikomojo gydymo ir slaugos ligoninės sveikatos priežiūros specialistų požiūrį į saugos kultūrą, atsižvelgiant į sociodemografinius ir profesinius veiksnius; nustatyti palaikomojo gydymo ir slaugos ligoninės sveikatos priežiūros specialistų požiūrio į saugos kultūrą skirtumus, atsižvelgiant į gydymo įstaigos charakteristikas. Tyrimo metodika. 2013 metų kovo – gegužės mėnesiais atlikta vienmomentinė kiekybinė apklausa, naudojant JAV Pitsburgo universitete sukurtą Požiūrio į saugą klausimyną (The Emergency Medical Services Safety Attitudes Questionnaire – EMS-SAQ). Tyrime dalyvavo 138 sveikatos priežiūros specialistai, dirbantys penkiose palaikomojo gydymo ir slaugos ligoninėse (atsako dažnis – 80,8 proc.). Tyrimui atlikti gautas LSMU Bioetikos centro leidimas. Rezultatai. Vyriausieji respondentai (>49 m.), lyginant su 30–39 m. grupe, reikšmingai didesniais įverčiais vertino pasitenkinimo darbu, komandinio darbo ir saugos klimato sritis (atitinkamai p<0.05). Sveikatos specialistai reikšmingai dažniau pasitenkinimo darbu ir komandinio darbo sričiai skyrė teigiamo vertinimo balus, t.y. ≥75, kai jų darbo stažas dabartinėjė ligoninėje buvo >11 metų, lyginant su tais, kurie dirbo trumpiau. Komandinio darbo sritis vertinta... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Aim of the study. To analyse the attitudes of health care professionals towards safety culture in nursing and supportive treatment hospital. Objectives: to explore the attitudes of health care professionals in nursing and supportive treatment hospital towards safety culture; to analyse the attitudes of health care professionals towards safety culture in relation to their socio-demographic and professional characteristics; to determine the differences in attitudes towards safety culture among health care professionals in relation to institutional characteristics of the hospitals. Methods. The cross-sectional quantitative survey was conducted from March to May, 2013, using the Emergency Medical Services Safety Attitudes Questionnaire (EMS-SAQ) that was developed in Pittsburgh University, USA. The study included 138 health care professionals from five nursing and supportive treatment hospitals with the response rate of 80.8 %. Permition to perform this study was issued by the LUHS Bioethics Centre. Results. The attitudes towards the job satisfaction, teamwork and safety climate was evaluated significantly higher by the oldest respondents (> 49 y.), compared with the group of 30-39 y., p<0.05. Health care professionals significantly more often have got positive attitudes towards the job satisfaction and teamwork, i.e. ≥ 75, when their work experience in the current hospital was over 11 years, compared with those who have been employed for shorter periods of time. The teamwork... [to full text]