Nurse prescribing in primary care: a metasynthesis of the literature

Abstract

An extensive literature search was undertaken in April 2015 (20-24), which included UK and non-UK studies since 1999. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied to search for studies in which participants included nurse prescribers who practiced in primary or community care settings. Studies that only used a quantitative methodology and those not available in English were excluded. The literature search yielded 124 papers, with 50 papers remaining after the initial screen of full papers against the inclusion/exclusion criteria. The papers were reviewed and graded for their quality, with a further 13 papers excluded. A three-step qualitative analysis technique of metasynthesis was applied to the remaining 37 papers. Identification of similarities and differences enabled first-order interpretations to be identified, which were grouped into broader themes (second-order interpretations) by identifying concepts that applied to two or more studies. Further interpretation through synthesis of translation enabled third-order interpretations to emerge. Findings From the metasynthesis of the 37 papers, nine themes emerged: patient-centred care; benefits to the service; the need for knowledge; professional accountability and boundary setting; safety consciousness; barriers to effective prescribing; role preservation; power-shifts and inter-professional relationships; and culture of prescribing.

Development and Validation of the Nurse Prescribing Self-Efficacy Scale

“…Evidence suggests that higher levels of self-efficacy are associated not only with skills acquisition (Brannagan et al, 2013) but also with making behavioral changes towards achieving a goal after receiving an educational intervention (Grønning et al, 2014; Jiang et al, 2019). On the contrary, low levels of self-efficacy have been considered a barrier to task performance and goal achievement (Boswell et al; 2020; Cope et al, 2020; Hernández-Padilla et al, 2016; Nuttall, 2018). Assessing nurses’ self-efficacy can contribute to highlight their educational needs and inform the development of new educational programs in nurse prescribing (Hall et al, 2020; Wilson et al, 2015).…”

Policy proposals for a new welfare: the development of the family and community nurse in Italy as the key to promote social capital and social innovation

“…In other countries, the right to prescribe medicines has been extended in recent years to other healthcare professionals, such as nurses or pharmacists (Cooper et al , 2011). Nurses can legally prescribe medications in Australia, Botswana, Canada, Finland, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, The Netherlands, UK, USA and Zimbabwe (Gielen et al , 2014; Weeks et al , 2016; Nuttall, 2017; Romero-Collado et al , 2017).…”

“…-Nurse prescribing engenders conflict and disagreement with physicians (Cooper et al, 2011) -Nurse prescribing has a positive impact on several elements such as integrating care within a holistic approach, better quality of care, service benefits (Nuttall, 2017). (Marcadelli and Artioli, 2010).…”

Paving the Way for the Implementation of a Decision Support System for Antibiotic Prescribing in Primary Care in West Africa: Preimplementation and Co-Design Workshop With Physicians

“…According to the WHO, the adaptation of electronic CDSS is particularly low in LMICs [ 23 ]. Interventions to implement CDSS are challenging because of cultural and structural constraints, and these challenges are even more pronounced in primary care where prescribing can be done by a variety of health care professionals or when resources are limited [ 14 , 24 ]. West Africa hosts about 381 million people and includes 16 countries, among them some of the lowest income countries in the world [ 25 , 26 ].…”