To explore the enablers of and barriers to implementing advanced practice nursing in primary health care in Germany and Brazil.
A qualitative cross-country comparative study.
Nine focus groups were conducted: 4 in Brazil and 5 in Germany with 48 participants (23 primary health care policy stakeholders and 25 nurses practicing in primary health care and general practitioners) between May 2022 and June 2023. The data were analysed by content analysis using a deductive–inductive approach.
Our findings reveal a need for clarity around the concept, specific roles and responsibilities of advanced practice nurses in primary health care. Although there is still no regulation in place for practising advanced practice nursing in either country, clear drivers can be observed, with Germany strengthening community health nursing and Brazil following clinical protocols in nursing practice. Dialogue among stakeholders—at both the policy and practitioner levels—is essential to bridge communication gaps. Additionally, involving patients in the implementation process is crucial for the holistic integration of advanced nursing roles.
Political, organisational and financial barriers persist, such as the need to establish both legal foundations and regulatory frameworks, enhance political participation within the nursing profession, and involve stakeholders in dialogue and consensus-building efforts. Giving advanced practice nursing a higher priority on political and research agendas—with policy adjustments and input from practitioners—can help integrate advanced practice nursing into primary health care.
Our findings highlight that actively involving nursing as an equal partner in political discourse is seen by stakeholders as crucial to drive the implementation process forward sustainably.
This study addresses the lack of data on the enablers and barriers to implementing advanced practice nursing in primary health care in Germany and Brazil. It underscores the need for clearer definitions of advanced practice nursing in primary health care, as well as sufficient regulation and funding. Dialogue is essential to bridge gaps and foster mutual understanding. The findings support future practice development and research, especially in countries that have introduced advanced nursing practice roles in primary health care.
The COnsolidated criteria for REporting Qualitative research (COREQ).
No involvement of patient and public contribution.
Our study highlights the growing adoption of expanded nursing responsibilities even in countries that have not yet formally implemented advanced practice nursing roles.
Evaluate the effect of IV line labels on nurses' identification of high-alert medications in a simulated scenario of multiple infusions for critically ill patients.
Randomised crossover simulation experimental study.
A study was conducted on 29 nurses working in intensive care for over 6 months. They were given two critical scenarios in a simulated environment, one with labels and the other without labels, involving multiple intravenous infusions. The nurses had to identify the medications infused into the critical patients' intravenous lines and disconnect a specific line. The data were collected and analysed to evaluate the errors made by the nurses in identifying and disconnecting the medications and the time they spent carrying out the tasks. The Wilcoxon test was used to analyse the variation in outcome before and after the intervention.
Approximately one-third of the study participants incorrectly identified the intravenous lines in both scenarios. There was no significant difference in the average number of errors between the scenarios with and without labels. However, the time taken to perform the tasks in the scenario with labels was 1 min less than in the scenario without labels, suggesting a potential efficiency gain.
The labels on the intravenous lines allowed for quick drug identification and disconnection. The professionals performed similarly in correctly recognising the high-alert medication intravenous lines, in the scenarios with or without labels.
The label can be used as a technology to prevent misidentification of high-alert medications administered to critically ill patients through intravenous lines, thereby enhancing medication safety in healthcare institutions.
No Public Contribution.
To conduct a concept analysis of ‘safe mobility’, with specific application in hospitalised older adults, identifying its defining attributes, antecedents and consequences.
The promotion of safe mobility is essential for maintaining the functionality of hospitalised older adults. However, this idea is not yet clearly defined in the scientific literature, requiring a conceptual analysis for better understanding and applicability in nursing practice.
Concept analysis.
The concept analysis methodology of Walker and Avant was employed, consisting of eight steps. Sources from the scientific literature (BDENF/VHL, Scopus, CINAHL/EBSCO, Embase, Web of Science, PEDro, MEDLINE/PubMed and CAPES Thesis and Dissertation Catalogue, as outlined in a scoping review previously published by the authors) and terminologies from dictionaries and nursing practice, such as SNOMED CT, ICNP, NANDA, NIC and NOC, were analysed.
The concept of ‘safe mobility’ does not have a consolidated definition but was identified through three defining attributes: active movement, prevention of fall-related harm and prevention of immobility-related harm. The antecedents include the older adults' conditions, adaptation of the hospital environment, training of the multidisciplinary team, patient behaviour and family involvement. The consequences involve the maintenance of functionality, improvement of quality of life, reduction of hospital length of stay and costs, as well as a decrease in rates of readmission, referrals to long-term care institutions and mortality.
The concept analysis revealed that safe mobility involves promoting active movement and preventing harm related to both immobility and falls.
Strategies based on this concept can improve the quality of life of older adults, reduce complications and optimise hospital costs.
This concept analysis examines existing literature and does not require patient-related data collection. The methodological approach does not necessitate collaboration with the public.
Surgical oncology patients often experience doubts and uncertainties in the preoperative and postoperative periods, which can be addressed remotely through telenursing. Expanding telenursing services could contribute to more comprehensive perioperative care. We conducted a scoping review to characterise these telenursing services, identify their outcome indicators and examine the content of the care delivered.
A scoping review was conducted in accordance with the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) recommendations.
MEDLINE (PubMed), EMBASE, CINAHL, SCOPUS, Web of Science and Virtual Health Library (VHL), with searches performed up to 5 May 2025.
We included studies that implemented telenursing interventions in the preoperative or postoperative period in adult oncology patients.
Two independent reviewers used a standardised search to select and extract data from the included studies. Study characteristics were presented descriptively using absolute and relative frequencies, and the content of telenursing interventions was organised into a circular thematic matrix.
A total of 37 studies were included, published between 1996 and 2024, conducted in 12 countries and primarily focused on postoperative telenursing via telephone or video calls. Preoperative care focused on psychosocial support and guidance related to surgical preparation. Postoperative topics included surgical wound care; handling of devices such as drains, ostomy bags and catheters; instructions for returning to work and support groups for financial and social assistance. Outcome indicators were primarily related to care, including levels of anxiety, stress, depression and quality of life.
Oncologic surgical telenursing remains primarily focused on postoperative care and the delivery of personalised support. Reporting on the protocols used, frequency and duration of sessions, nurse training and profiles, integration with in-person care workflows and operational cost data could strengthen the knowledge base for perioperative telenursing in oncology.
Asthma is a major personal and public health problem worldwide, with a significant impact on patients’ quality of life and health systems. The prevalence of asthma in children is 9.1% and in adolescents is 11%. Greater literacy among children is related to better asthma control. There are many validated Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) related to asthma, but there are only a few, and no gold standard, to measure children and adolescents’ knowledge of asthma. Therefore, the purpose of this systematic review is to evaluate the most suitable asthma self-knowledge PROMs for the paediatric population with asthma.
The inclusion criteria will be children and adolescents diagnosed with asthma (population), validated PROMs about asthma self-knowledge (intervention), between each PROM (comparison) and measurement properties (outcome) (validity, reliability, interpretability and responsiveness). The search process will be conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE and SCOPUS. The risk of bias evaluation will be done independently by two authors with the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments risk of bias checklist, and the quality of evidence will be evaluated based on the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation approach.
Ethics approval is not applicable for this study since the data that will be collected are secondary data and are already in the public domain. The results will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publication and conference presentations.
CRD42024577500.
Understanding skin microclimate—the temperature and humidity at the interface between the skin and other surfaces—is critical for preventing pressure injury (PI). This prospective case series evaluated the performance of a hydrofibre multilayer foam dressing with silicone coating in managing the sacral microclimate in intensive care patients with intact skin at high PI risk when used with a standard PI prevention protocol. Sacral temperature and humidity were measured using a thermographic imaging camera and electrical bioimpedance device, respectively. These data were collected daily for a maximum of 7 consecutive days. Data of 25 patients were analysed. The mean sacral humidity during the first 4 days of dressing use was 20.7%. Its levels reduced on Days 5 and 6 and later returned to Day 2 levels on Day 7. The sacral temperature showed no sudden change with dressing use. Correlations between sacral microclimate and smoking, alcohol, systemic arterial hypertension, and diabetes mellitus were determined. There was no evidence of PI among the participants during the 7-day follow-up. The hydrofibre multilayered foam dressing with silicone coating effectively managed the sacral microclimate in high-risk intensive care patients, highlighting its potential utility in PI prevention protocols.
Guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) for heart failure (HF) reduces adverse events, but is underused. Global barriers to GDMT optimisation include low frequency of visits, clinician inertia and poor patient knowledge, which may be mitigated by digital health interventions (DHI). In Brazil, low digital literacy and reduced access to technology may compromise these potential DHI’s beneficial effects. Our objective is to develop and test the effectiveness of a DHI to optimise GDMT in patients recently hospitalised for HF in the Brazilian public health system (Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS)).
This is a randomised, controlled, multicentre, parallel-group, clinical trial in which 154 patients being discharged from an HF-related hospitalisation will be randomised. Inclusion criteria are ≥18 years of age, reduced ejection fraction HF (EF
This study was approved by the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais. Recruitment started in November 2023, and patients involved will sign an informed consent form. Results will be presented at scientific meetings and published in scientific journals in 2025, and will be disclosed in social media and presented to public health stakeholders.
Universal Trial Number U1111-1295-1864 Brazilian Clinical Trials Registry (https://ensaiosclinicos.gov.br/rg/RBR-10vpf9bm).
Wound care is a complex procedure and the related research may include many variables. Deficiencies in the sample inclusion and exclusion criteria may limit the generalizability of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) for wound patients in the real world. This study aimed to evaluate deficiencies in reporting the inclusion and exclusion criteria and the characteristics of patients in RCTs of pressure injuries (PI) therapeutic interventions. We conducted a systematic methodological review in which 40 full text RCTs of PI treatment interventions published in English, from 2008 to 2020, were identified. Data on the general characteristics of the included RCTs and data about inclusion/exclusion criteria and characteristics of patients were collected. The inclusion/exclusion criteria were categorized into five domains (definition of disease, precision, safety, ethical/legal and administrative). Study duration (in weeks) was 8.0 (quartile 1: 2.0; quartile 3: 48.0); only 5.0% of the trials mentioned race, skin colour or ethnicity, and 37.5% reported the duration of the wound. Only 9 (22.5%) studies reported the drugs that the included patients were using and 10 (25.0%) RCTs reported adverse events. The presence of the five domains was observed only in 12.5% of RCTs and only 12 (30.0%) had the precision domain. Much more research is required in systematic assessments of the external validity of trials because there is substantial disparity between the information that is provided by RCTs and the information that is required by clinicians. We concluded that there are deficiencies in reporting of data related to inclusion/exclusion criteria and characteristics of patients of RCTs assessing PI therapeutic interventions.
Objetivo principal: Conocer la percepción de la persona sometida a una cirugía general programada sobre su preparación preoperatoria. Método: Estudio cualitativo y exploratorio. Se realizaron diez entrevistas semiestructuradas con personas que se habían sometido a una cirugía general programada en los últimos seis meses en un hospital universitario de la región central de Portugal. Para analizar los datos se utilizó la técnica del análisis de contenido. Resultados principales: Surgieron cinco unidades temáticas, percepción de la experiencia quirúrgica, sentimientos/emociones percibidas, necesidades de información, expectativas sobre los cuidados de enfermería preoperatorios y perspectivas sobre la existencia de una consulta de enfermería, que se subdividieron en varias categorías y subcategorías. Conclusión principal: Algunas personas siguen viendo la experiencia quirúrgica como algo traumático y consideran el entorno quirúrgico como un generador de estrés. Este estudio refuerza la relevancia del personal de enfermería en la preparación de las personas en situaciones perioperatorias y puede proporcionar importantes contribuciones a la estructuración de una consulta de enfermería.
Objetivo principal: Identificar los factores que subyacen al juicio clínico de las enfermeras sobre el empoderamiento del cuidador. Metodología: Estudio cualitativo y exploratorio. Los participantes fueron 10 enfermeras expertas que pertenecían a un grupo que apoya a sus colegas en el diseño de los cuidados apoyados en modelos teóricos y enfermeras expertas en el empoderamiento de los cuidadores, en un hospital universitario. Se realizaron entrevistas semiestructuradas con grabación de audio. Los datos se analizaron mediante la técnica de análisis de contenido. Resultados principales: Emergieron tres temas, las enfermeras, los cuidadores y las dificultades y limitaciones, que se subdividieron en ocho subtemas. Se identificaron factores facilitadores, así como limitaciones y dificultades asociadas a la asunción y gestión del rol de cuidador. Conclusión principal: El empoderamiento del cuidador es un proceso complejo, en el que los cuidados de enfermería se centran más en la persona dependiente y menos en el cuidador, lo que demuestra que es un área que requiere mayor atención y conceptualización por parte de las enfermeras.
Objetivo: describir las facilidades y dificultades de los técnicos de enfermería para realización del electrocardiograma (ECG) después del entrenamiento en servicio. Métodos: investigación cualitativa, realizada en una unidad cardiovascular de un Hospital Universitario de Salvador - Bahía, Brasil, con 10 técnicos de enfermería. Resultados: el análisis permitió identificar tres categorías: formación como facilitador de la práctica asistencial; uso adecuado de ECG en la rutina de servicio después del entrenamiento; escasez de recursos materiales necesarios para realizar el ECG. Los resultados mostraron que además de los beneficios para los usuarios del servicio, el curso de ECG también puede ofrecer al profesional algunas ventajas, como un mayor conocimiento y un aprendizaje favorecido. Conclusión: las facilidades fueron descritas como ampliación del conocimiento y favoreciendo el aprendizaje de las técnicas correctas para la realización del procedimento, conduciendo a una disminución de errores y el uso adecuado del dispositivo. Las dificultades estaban relacionadas con la escasez de materiales y las precarias condiciones de algunos dispositivos.