Neonatal jaundice occurs in about 60% of newborns. If not managed properly, it can progress to severe neonatal jaundice (SNNJ) leading to death or permanent disability. The incidence of SNNJ in Kuching District increased from 119.3 per 100,000 live births in 2005 to 123.3 per 100,000 live births in 2008, which was above the Standard National QAP Indicator of 100 per 10,000 live births. SNNJ can be prevented by early detection and proper management of neonatal jaundice. The objective is to increase the knowledge and practise of early detection of neonatal jaundice by nurses in Kuching District. This was an interventional study covering a period of six months. The sample comprised 113 nurses of all categories working in urban and rural maternal and child health clinics in Kuching District. Tools used in the study were self-administered questionnaires in English and Bahasa Malaysia. The preintervention survey started in July 2009 while the post-intervention survey was done in January 2010. The interventions were done through Continuing Nursing Education sessions and included new nursing formats and new reporting procedures. New vehicles were also provided for home nursing. Data was collected and analyzed using MS Excel program. The pre-intervention survey on nurses showed that only 56.6% were able to identify the risk of factors causing jaundice; 94.6% able to define jaundice; 41.5% able to detect jaundice while 70.8% knew sign of Kernicterus. In term of recommended post natal nursing schedule only 40.7% able to practice the schedule while only 69.0% able to give advice on management of jaundice. Post intervention; 63.2% of nurses were able to identify the risk factors causing jaundice; 97.2% able to define jaundice while 97.2% were able to detect jaundice and 88.6% know sign of Kernicterus. On recommended postnatal nursing schedule, 49.9 % practice the recommended schedule while 92.0% were able to give advice to mother on management of jaundice. The incident of jaundice of Severe Neonatal Jaundice dropped to 78 per 100,000 live births in 2010. The study shows that the interventions taken helped to improve the knowledge and practice of recommended measures to detect neonatal jaundice early. Stronger emphasis must be placed on using the new reporting procedures and new nursing sheets. Continuous monitoring through regular nursing audits by clinic supervisors is also essential to reduce the incidence of SNNJ. Provision of vehicles for all busy maternal and child health clinics for home nursing care is highly recommended.
Knowledge ; Early Diagnosis ; Jaundice, Neonatal ; Nurses ; Nurse's Practice Patterns

PURPOSE: The purpose of the study was to determine the impact of regular nursing rounds on patient satisfaction with nursing care. METHODS: This was a controlled clinical trial in which 100 hospitalized patients in a medical surgical ward were allocated to control and experimental groups through convenience sampling. The experimental group received regular nursing rounds every 1e2 hours. Routine care was performed for the control group. Patient satisfaction with the quality of nursing care was assessed on the second and fifth days of hospitalization in both groups using Patient Satisfaction with Nursing Care Quality Questionnaire. RESULTS: On the second day, patient satisfaction scores of the two groups had no significant difference (p = .499). However, the intervention was associated with statistically significant increased patient satisfaction in the experimental group compared to the control group (p < .001). CONCLUSION: Implementing regular nursing rounds had a positive impact on patient satisfaction. This method may hence improve patient-nurse interactions and promote the quality of nursing care and patient satisfaction.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Humans ; Iran ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Nurse's Practice Patterns/*organization & administration ; *Nurse-Patient Relations ; Nursing Staff, Hospital ; *Patient Satisfaction ; Questionnaires ; Young Adult

PURPOSE: This study was done to develop tool to evaluate the core competencies regarding nursing cancer patients on chemotherapy, and to verify the reliability and efficacy of the developed tool. METHODS: A tool to evaluate the core competencies was developed from a preliminary tool consisting of 112 items verified by expert groups. The adequacy of the preliminary tool was analyzed and refined to the final evaluation tool containing 76 items in 8 core competencies and 18 specific competencies. The evaluation tool is in the form of a self-report, and each item is evaluated according to a 3-point scale. From September 22 to October 14, 2011, 349 survey responses were analyzed using SPSS 20.0 and the WINSTEPS program that employs the Rasch model. RESULTS: Results indicated that there were no inappropriate items and the items had low levels of difficulty in comparison with the knowledge levels of the study participants. The results of factor analysis yielded 18 factors, and the reliability of the tools was very high with Cronbach's alpha=.97. CONCLUSION: The results of this study can be used for training and evaluation of core competencies for nursing cancer patients, and for standardizing nursing practices associated with chemotherapy.
Adult ; Antineoplastic Agents/*therapeutic use ; Female ; Focus Groups ; Humans ; Male ; Neoplasms/*drug therapy ; Nurse's Practice Patterns ; Nurse-Patient Relations ; *Nursing Evaluation Research ; Nursing Staff, Hospital/*psychology ; *Program Development ; Program Evaluation ; Questionnaires