Demographic profile Related studies

Age Study shows age doesnt necessarily affect decision making. Many people believe that getting older means losing a mental edge, leading to poor decision making. But a new study from North Carolina state university shows that when it comes to making intuitive decisions- using your gut instinct older adults fare as well as their juniors (Hess, 2010). The researcher tested groups of young adults (aged 17-28) and community- dwelling older adults (aged 60-86)- meaning they live in the community, rather than in a nursing home- to see how they fared when making decisions based on institutive evaluation. For example, study participants were asked to choose from a list of apartments based on each apartment over all positive attributes. Under such conditions, young and older adults were equally adept at making decisions. But not every decision can

be made that way, says Dr. Thomas Hess, a professor of psychology at NC State and co- author of the study. Some decisions require more active deliberation. For example, those decisions that require people to distinguish pieces of information that is important from those that are unimportant to the decision at hand. And when it comes to more complex decision- making; Hess says, older adults face more challenges than their younger counterparts. In one portion of the study, participants were given a list of

specific criteria to use in selecting an apartment. That list was then taken away, and each participant had to rely on his or her memory to incorporate the criteria into their decision- making. However, there was considerable variation among older adults who [participated in the study. Some did very well at the complex decision- making. Older adults with a higher education did a better job of remembering specific criteria and utilizing them when they made decisions, says lead author Tara Queen, a psychology Ph. D student at NC state university, they made better choices. This tells us the effects of age on decision- making are not universal, Hess says. When it comes to combining intuitive decisions, like choosing a dish to order from a menu, young and old are similar. But even then, it appears that any negative effects of aging will be more evident in those with lower levels of education. The study said to be related because age consider as a variable for the parents to measure the quality care they perceived to the NICU patients, through increasing age it also increases their experiences. They are the one who will be confronted in the treatment especially when the patient cannot longer decide for the plan of care. Age difference on more likely to crop up when it comes to complex decision- making, such as choosing a health care plan on a complex array of information.

Skills A study of professionals nurses perceptions of the skills required to render comprehensive primary health care services. As multidisciplinary health team members, professionals nurse play a vital role in the delivery of primary health care services. They require specific knowledge and skills to function effectively in the primary health care settings. In south Africa, however, professional nurses followed various training programs. This has made it difficult for the professional nurses to be competent in rendering the full spectrum for the professional nurses to be competent in rendering the full spectrum of comprehensive primary health care services, focusing on preventive, promotive, curative as well as rehabilitative care. In a setting where professional nurses have different qualifications it is possible that they not recognize their own limitations (Greef, 2006). The research aimed to explore and describe the perception of professional nurses about the skills required and their own level of skills to render comprehensive primary health care services. A further aim of research was to formulate guidelines for the facilitation of trains professional nurses to truly render quality comprehensive primary health care services, based on the findings. A qualitative design was followed. Participants were identified by means of purposive voluntary sampling and data was collected by utilizing a semi- structured interview scheduled. Twenty two participants were interview

field notes were written. Ethical aspects and confidentiality were taken into consideration. The researcher and a co- coder analyzed the transcribed interviews by means of open coding. The findings indicated that the more comprehensively the professional nurses were trained, the more competent they felt. The less comprehensively trained, the more negative they

experienced their worked. They viewed their skills as ranging from adequate to inadequate, depending on their training. The conclusion was drawn that professional nurses perception for nursing research, education and practice, including guidelines to facilitate trained professional nurses to truly render comprehensive primary health care were formulated. The above study is said to be related because nurses should posses a higher degree skills especially in NICU where patients care classification are in intensive care and a serious health condition. The more comprehensively the professional nurses were trained, the more competent they are.

Related study Attitudes In the study entitled, How should I touch you?.A qualitative study of attitudes on intimate touch in nursing care conducted by Chad O Lynn (2012), in group interviews, participants said they want information,

autonomy, and control. The objective of the study is to know the patients preferences for how nurses should perform tasks involving touch especially intimate touch involving private and sometimes anxiety- provoking arouse of patients bodies. Some studies suggest that patients have more concerns about intimates touch from male than female nurses. This study sought to elicit the attitude of laypersons on intimate touch provided by nurses in

general and female nurse in particular. A maximum- variations sample of 24 adults was selected and semi structured interviews were conducted in four focus groups. Interviews were recorded and transcribed; thematic analysis was performed. The result four themes emerged from the interviews. Ask me about gender, and touch me professionally, not too fast and nit to slow. Participants said they want to contribute to decisions about whether intimate touch is necessary, and when it is they want information from and rapport with their nurses. Participants varied in their responses to questions on the nurses gender. They said they want a firm but not rough touch and for nurses to

ensure their privacy. These findings suggest that nurses and other clinicians who provide intimate care should be more aware of patients attitude on touch. Further research on the patients perspective is warranted. Communication In the study entitled, a proactive communication strategy facility in France compare interventions. A recent multicenter study in France compared the effects of an end-of- life family conference incorporating a proactive communication strategy with those resulting from the standard family conference used at each facility. In the proactive strategy, clinicians followed detailed guidelines in conducting the family conference, which included listening, acknowledging what family members said and felt, asking questions that would help them understand the patients as a person, and eliciting questions. They also provided a brochure on bereavement. As reported in the February 1 2007, issue of the new England journal of medicine, the researchers found that patients in the proactive intervention group received fewer nonbenificial treatments. they also found that the proactive strategy resulted in longer meetings in which families had more opportunities to speak and to express emotions, felt more supported in making difficult decisions, experienced more relief from guilt, and were more likely to accept realistic goals of care.

Three months after each patients death, one family member was interviewed and assessed for symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as well for anxiety and depression. Use of the proactive strategy was associated with fewer PTSD- related symptoms snd symptoms for anxiety and depression.

Related studies Communication In the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), parents rely primarily on communication with health care providers when making decisions about their child care ( Kowalski, Lief, Mackley, Spear, & Paul, 2006: Wocial, 2000). In general, parents want to know as much information as possible about their childs condition (Harrison, Kushner, Berizies, Rempel & Kimack, 2005, Kavavarough 2005). Similar findings regarding decisional support have been shown by other investigators who examined the role of neonatal nurse in decision making (Monteroso et al,. 2005). In this study, nurses described their role as advocate for the infant and family. Characteristics of an advocate included effective communication skills, neonatal nursing knowledge and experience,

empathy and respect for the family, and assertiveness and confidence and being a team member.

Lit rerated study Behavior In a study by Wocial, that explored 20 parents perceptions of their involvement with life support decisions in the NICU, parents experience was influenced by their impressions of provider. According to Wocial, nurses and other clinicians created a context of caring for the parents experience in the NICU. In this study parents perceived that providers were caring when demonstrated behaviors that showed that the mothers and their infants were important. These behaviors included providing emotional support, and modify hospital rules to allow for, spending time with parents, displaying emotions, and modifying hospitals rules to allow for prolonged family presence. Creating this context of caring promoted trust between parents and health care professionals and enabled parents to be actively involved in decisions making and feel confident about the decisional that were made.