Background: Healthcare workers and students on training who are directly involved in treating and nursing patients face a great risk of acquiring blood-borne infections from the workplace. Needle prick injuries (NPI) are the commonest route by which such infections are transmitted from patients to healthcare providers. Nursing students on training are no exception, as they get exposed to accidental needle pricks and contamination during their hospital activities. Lack of appropriate resources, knowledge and skills, coupled with the unavailability of the universal standard precautionary procedures and compliance thereof, constitute high risks for needle prick injuries. Adequate knowledge and adherence to safety practices could prevent the occurrence of NPI and the related consequences. A survey was conducted among nursing students at a specific university in Gauteng to assess their knowledge of NPI, to identify and describe factors that contribute to the occurrence of NPI, and to discover the circumstances of needle prick accidents among the targeted group of students. Methods: A cross-sectional quantitative survey was conducted among nursing students from the second to the fourth year of study registered at the specific university for the 2007 academic year. Questionnaires were hand delivered to a convenient sample of nursing students attending mandatory nursing classes. Those who consented signed a consent form. Participants completed and handed back the questionnaires to the researchers on the same day that they were delivered. Data collected included factors contributing to NPI and high-risk procedures leading to NPI, as perceived by these students. A knowledge assessment of NPI guidelines, policies and protocols and prevalence of NPI among these students was also done. Results: A response rate of 96 (74%) was achieved. The average age of the respondents was 23 years, with a minimum age of 18 and a maximum age of 35. The sample consisted of more females than males. The majority of respondents were in the second year of study. The majority (56%) rated needle recapping, disposing used needles (28.1%) and cleaning sharp instruments (56.3%) as extremely high-risk procedures. Furthermore, 30.2% of the respondents thought suturing and blood taking (33.3%) were high-risk procedures for NPI, while 25% rated administering injections, 35.5% rated blood transfusion and 74.8% rated the lack of adequate containers for sharps disposal to be highly associated with the risk of NPI. A significant proportion of the respondents rated the lack of knowledge about NPI (policies and protocols) at institutions of clinical training as an extremely high risk, followed by the lack of accompaniment and in-service training. Only 16.0% of the respondents had suffered NPI and only 8.3% had reported the incident. Conclusion: Procedures rated as high risk were considered to be most likely associated with the occurrence of NPI. Appropriate guidelines, adequate knowledge and the enforcement of compliance with standard precautionary measures cou...

The goal of this article was to describe the experience of black fathers concerning support for their wives/partners during labour. The research design entailed an exploratory, descriptive, qualitative study that was contextual to clinical nursing. A phenomenological approach to nursing research was utilized, whereby unstructured interviews were conducted with ten black fathers. Two groups of black fathers were purposively selected for the study. Group 1 consisted of fathers who provided support to their wives/partners during labour and Group 2 consisted of fathers who did not provide support during labour. A literature control was undertaken to verify and recontextualize data. The results indicate that most of the fathers in Group 1 experienced negative feelings of nervousness, helplessness and anxiety due to lack of information concerning childbirth. These were coupled with positive feelings such as excitement, overwhelming delight and a sense of miracle. Most of the fathers in Group 2 expressed a feeling of wanting to be there. Lack of information, fear and cultural factors were identified as stumbling blocks. Conclusions drawn from the study included positive attitudes that needed to be enhanced as well as negative attitudes that needed counteracting. The guidelines were based on overcoming the following: cultural taboos; lack of knowledge and fears concerning childbirth; lack of interest in childbirth; and childbirth being regarded as a woman’s department

Midwives have been criticised for neglecting the expectations and needs of fathers. They either ignore the fathers or pressure them into becoming more involved than they would choose, if allowed to provide support to the mothers during labour. Whilst midwives are providing woman-centred care, it is important that they remember to involve the fathers in decision-making and to acknowledge their role, expectations and needs, because the birth of a child is one of the most important events in a person’s lifetime. This study focused on fathers’ expectations of the care provided to mothers by the midwives during labour. A qualitative, explorative, descriptive and contextual study design was utilised. In-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with fathers about the care provided to their partners or wives by midwives. Data were then analysed with an open descriptive method of coding that is appropriate for qualitative research. The results of the interviews were subsequently positioned within a holistic health-promotive nursing theory that encompassed body, mind and spirit. The results revealed that fathers saw the provision of comfort and support as the two main aspects for mothers in labour that they expected from midwives. The findings were that midwives should improve their communication skills with the mothers, as well as with the fathers if they are available. Fathers expected midwives to encourage them to accompany the mother during labour and to facilitate bonding between father, mother and baby. The results of this study should assist midwives to provide holistic quality care to mothers and fathers during labour.<p><strong>Opsomming</strong></p><p>Vroedvroue word daarvan beskuldig dat hulle nie voldoen aan die verwagtinge en behoeftes van die vaders nie. Vaders word, óf deur hulle geïgnoreer, óf druk word op hulle uitgeoefen om meer betrokke te raak as waarmee hulle gemaklik is, indien hulle wel toegelaat word om moeders te ondersteun tydens die kraamproses. Vroedvroue verskaf moeder-gesentreerde sorg, maar dit is nogtans belangrik dat hulle onthou om die vaders te betrek in die besluitneming en hulle rol, verwagtinge en behoeftes te erken omdat die geboorte van ‘n kind een van die belangrikste gebeurtenisse in hulle lewens is. Die studie het gefokus op vaders se verwagtinge van die sorg wat verskaf word aan moeders tydens kraam. ‘n Kwalitatiewe, eksploratiewe, beskrywende en kontekstuele navorsingsontwerp is gebruik. Data is ingesamel deur in-diepte onderhoude met vaders te voer oor die sorg wat aan hul vroue of metgeselle tydens die kraamproses verskaf word deur vroedvroue. Data is daarna geanaliseer deur ‘n oop beskrywende metode te gebruik wat toepaslik is vir kwalitatiewe navorsing. Die resultate van die onderhoude is vervolgens geposisioneer binne ‘n holistiese, gesondheids-bevorderende teorie wat verwys na liggaam, psige en gees. Die resultate toon dat gemak en ondersteuning die twee hoofkategorieë is wat verskaf moet word deur vroedvroue aan moeders tydens die kraampro...

Background: To place a dependent with severe dementia in a nursing home is a painful and difficult decision to make. In collectivistic oriented societies or families, children tend to be socialised to care for ageing parents and to experience guilt and shame if they violate this principle. Leaving the care to professional caregivers does not conform with the cultural expectations of many ethnic groups and becomes a sign of the family’s moral failure. Research design: Qualitative design with individual in-depth interviews with nurses, family members and dementia care coordinators in Norway, Montenegro, Serbia and South Africa. Braun and Clarke’s six analytic phases were used. Ethical considerations: The project was approved by the Regional Committee for Research, South-Eastern Norway; the Norwegian Centre for Research Data; the Ethics Committee; University of Limpopo, MEDUNSA Campus, South Africa; and by the local heads of the respective nursing homes or home care services. Interviewees were informed orally and in writing and signed an informed consent form. Findings: Healthcare professionals tend to be contacted only when the situation becomes unmanageable. Interviewees talked about feelings of obligation, shame and stigma in their societies regarding dementia, particularly in connection with institutionalisation of family members. Many lacked support during the decision-making process and were in a squeeze between their own needs and the patients’ need of professional care, and the feeling of duty and worry about being stigmatised by their surroundings. This conflict may be a source of pre-decision regret. Conclusion: Family caregivers need help to understand the behaviours of persons with dementia and how to access the formal and informal services available. Thus, they may provide effective support to patients and family carers alike. Supportive interventions for caregivers need to be tailored to meet the individual needs of both the caregiver and the persons with dementia.

To receive human milk, most preterm infants initially receive the mothers’ expressed milk through a nasogastric tube. However, breast milk feeding the preterm infant and making the transition to direct breast-feeding come with significant challenges. The study explored and described the experiences of mothers of preterm infants regarding initiation and expressing breast milk, tube feeding practices, and transition to breastfeeding during the infants’ stay in a kangaroo care unit (KMC) of an academic hospital in South Africa. Using a qualitative design, focus group interviews were conducted with 38 mothers of preterm infants after discharge from the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). We analyzed transcripts following the 5 steps for qualitative thematic data analysis. Tube feeding and breastfeeding preterm infants was challenging and exhausting for the mothers. Many described their experiences of initiating expression and sustaining milk supply as negative. They had constant concerns about their ability to produce adequate milk volumes to feed their infants. They had immense dislike of expressing, which they described as physically exhausting, stressful, and painful. Those who had initiated breastfeeding were highly motivated to breastfeed their preterm infants. They described breastfeeding as a positive bonding experience that they derived pleasure from. The mothers’ dislike of expressing was overshadowed by their emotional obligation toward their preterm infants. Although the KMC unit promotes breastfeeding, mothers encountered problems and struggled to initiate expression and sustain milk production. Mothers of extreme and very preterm infants need support to continue with milk expression during the long NICU and KMC stay.