Nursing ethics for prevention and control of major infectious disease outbreaks:Chinese expert consensus

Background Major infectious disease has become a serious threat to people’s health worldwide.As the world’s largest healthcare workforce and the core forces fighting against the epidemic,nurses are on the frontline of this battle.A number of ethical issues have given rise to numerous concerns that have largely affected nurses in different ways as they respond to the epidemic.In addition,excessive expectations from people can exert undue pressure,which can easily lead to burnout in nurses.Methods In this consensus,the expert panel method was used to develop and reach a consensus.The members involved in the formation of the consensus included an expert discussion panel and a consensus writing expert group,a methodologist,and four secretaries.After 16 rounds of online expert consultation and two rounds of expert panel meetings,the writing team analyzed and reviewed the 78 amendments suggested by the experts to develop a consensus on nursing ethics for prevention and control of major infectious disease outbreaks based on the ethical vision of life care.Results This expert consensus focuses on five essential domains:the responsibilities and rights of nurses,the nurse-patient relationship,the doctor-nurse relationship,and the relationship between society and nurses throughout the epidemic.Conclusions We hope this consensus can help nurses better understand and respond to the ethical issues and challenges in public health emergencies,and raise reasonable public expectations of the roles and responsibilities of nurses in these situations.

Mobile health applications for the care of patients with breast cancer:A scoping review

Objectives:In recent years,the use of mobile health applications(mHealth apps)to deliver care for patients with breast cancer has increased exponentially.This study aimed to summarize the available evidence on developing mHealth apps to care for patients with breast cancer and identify the need for systematic efforts.Methods:A scoping review was performed according to Arksey and O’Malley’s framework,aiming to identify eligible research studies in PubMed,CINAHL,and Web of Science between January 2010 and December 2020.All identified studies were screened,extracted,and analyzed independently by two reviewers.Results:A total of 676 studies were retrieved,and eight eligible studies were finally included.Four themes emerged:the involvement of patients and health professionals in the phases of design and development,patients’preferences,the characteristics of patients,and the motivators to use mHealth apps.The results indicated promising prospects for using mHealth apps to care for patients with breast cancer and identified the need for systematic efforts to develop and validate relevant apps.Conclusions:The attributes of patient characteristics,needs,and patient-reported outcomes data are vital components for developing mHealth apps for patients with breast cancer.Additionally,collaborative efforts,including patients,nurses,and other significant health professionals,should develop mHealth apps for breast cancer care.Additional research focusing on the design and development of mHealth apps for patients with breast cancer is warranted.

Symptom trajectories in patients with breast cancer:An integrative review

Objective This study aimed to synthesize the available knowledge of symptom trajectories in patients with breast cancer and identify predictors associated with these trajectories.Methods Whittemore and Knafl’s integrative review method was employed to guide a systematic search for literature in four databases(PubMed,Embase,Web of Science,and CINAHL).The retrieved articles’publication time was limited to 2010 to 2020,and only peer-reviewed English articles were included.Results Twenty-seven articles were included.The findings of the relevant studies were analyzed using thematic analysis.They were grouped into two themes:symptom trajectories of patients with breast cancer(symptom trajectories in patients with breast cancer,in patients who underwent surgery,and in patients who received cancer-related treatment)and associated factors(socioeconomic factors,health characteristics,cancer-related treatment characteristics).Newly diagnosed patients tended to report high trajectories of depression and persistent sleep disturbance.Most patients who underwent surgery reported significant sleep disturbance and anxiety shortly after surgery.For patients who received cancer-related treatment,only a small proportion had a high level of physical activity after cancer-related therapy over time.A high body mass index,a low relationship quality,parental responsibilities,insufficient social support,a low educational background,and an unhealthy lifestyle may increase the risk of negative symptom trajectories in patients with breast cancer.Additionally,old patients were more likely to report cognitive impairment after chemotherapy,while young patients tended to report trajectories of persistent sexual dysfunction.Concurring symptoms and poor health status also contributed to adverse symptom trajectories.Conclusion The findings of this review add to the body of knowledge of the interindividual variability of symptom trajectories in patients with breast cancer.Despite the overall similarity in appraisal at baseline,the patients reported varied symptom trajectories over time.It is recommended that nurses consider sociodemographic,clinical and cancer-related treatment characteristics and perform targeted early preventive interventions for patients with breast cancer.