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Biomedical subjects

I Kiikkala

Publications and source records attributed to I Kiikkala.

11 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1994

Nursing research: on what basis?

In the past 150 years nursing science has developed into a discipline of its own which has integrated features of various stages of theory development. So far most nursing theories, originally borrowed from other disciplines, have been adapted and moulded to suit the nursing context. The theories developed after Nightingale, such as developmental, need-oriented, interaction, system-oriented and simultaneity theories have come about this way. They have depicted the areas of interest in nursing which has thus been defined as the domain of main concepts and their interconnections. The methodological characteristics of research in science are derived on the basis of ontological and epistemological principles. The domain of nursing science is assumed to be an integral whole which is not divided into parts even for the purpose of research. Scientific data are obtained from this undivided world by means of man's human signification. In research, this undivided world is approached from the phenomenological tradition of science: particular topics are thematized as something, while the other aspects of the phenomenon are excluded. The accumulating scientific data are integrated to form a holistic body of knowledge which helps in understanding the phenomena in greater depth and from different perspectives. The historical development of nursing science reveals problems and conflicts which are derived from the tradition of empirical science of the last few decades. Research solutions following the empiricist tradition offer only limited opportunities to focus on the central research objects of nursing.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Data Interpretation, Statistical↗
PubMed1994

[Nursing leaders' expectations concerning their nursing staff in situations involving change].

The purpose of the study is to generate, in the context of a health centre hospital, knowledge about the expectations that nursing leaders have of their nursing staff in a situation involving change. The goal is to change the model of care delivery to primary nursing and to use research-based knowledge as the point of departure for the development work. The study is based on the theory of primary nursing and it tries to answer questions like "What do nursing leaders expect of their nursing staff" and "How do these expectations manifest themselves in practice?" A total of 26 nursing leaders who were involved in the development work wrote free-form essays to answer the research questions. These data were then categorized by using component analysis. According to the results, what is expected of nurses is, most importantly, patient-centred practice involving commitment to primary nursing, an ability and the will to cooperate, and flexibility and preparedness for changes. The content of the components was described in a form in which it is expected to appear in practice. The research results show that nurse education and nursing leadership need to be developed in a direction which will ensure that nurses are able to practise in accordance with what is expected of them.

Humans↗
PubMed1994

[Concepts bridge practice, teaching, leadership and research].

Concepts are abstract phenomena expressed by terms. They are used as tools for thinking and communication. In nursing science they are the basic elements of theory by which the domain of science and it's interests are articulated. In nursing science the recognition of essential concepts are accomplished both in the client and client-nurse dimensions and nursing practice-nursing environment dimensions. Working for the recognition of concepts helps nurse practitioners of different sectors to better understand the aims of the other.

Concept Formation↗
PubMed1994

[Concept development in theory development].

A concept development is the first part of the theory development. Concepts are linked together and form hierarchical, compositional, functional and heterogenous concept systems. In illustrating concept systems, diagrams, tables and figures are used. Concept systems are maps to help nurses, teachers and managers in examining the interests of nursing science in detail, to understand more profound way, and to produce still more new aspects for the interest.

Concept Formation↗
PubMed1994

[Nurses' ethical development].

The ethical development of a nurse by choices on different levels is discussed in this article. The article is based on the descriptions of 17 nurses. The first important is the choice of a profession. The ethically positive or negative experiences received as a nurse student make their effect on the second choice. The third one occurs on the level where a professional nurse makes his/her own decisions in which it could be necessary to work against the traditional working models. The fourth choice reinforces the former one on situations where the nurse in a goal-directed way enhances his/her readiness to work by fulfilling the values of nursing. In this process independence, courage and expert knowledge are emphasized.

Choice Behavior↗
PubMed1992

[Knowledge and skills of newly graduated nurses].

Nursing education was recently reformed in Finland. By now nurses who have graduated from the new programmes have already entered nursing practice. The purpose of this study is to describe the following two aspects: 1) How do the newly graduated nurses assess their own skills and knowledge on completion of their nursing studies and what is their assessment four months later? 2) What skills and knowledge did the nurse managers expect the nurses to have and what, in fact, did they discover when the new nurses began their work in practice? The data were collected by questionnaires, measuring the competencies of professional nurse (Clayton 1983) from a sample (N = 30), which consisted of registered nurses (response rate was 67%), specialized in medical-surgical nursing, and their nurse managers. The nurses had graduated from two different colleges of nursing. Data were analysed by the means and differences of the means. On completion of their studies the nurses felt that their best skills and knowledge were related to the hygienic care of the patient, while their weakest area was in implementing specialized care. In their assessment made four months after graduation the nurses felt that in terms of the different areas of nursing practice their skills and knowledge had improved to some degree. The nurse managers, on the other hand, expected the newly graduated nurses to have better skills and knowledge than what was actually discovered. Furthermore, the nurse managers were clearly more critical in their assessment than the nurses themselves.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Clinical Competence↗
PubMed1992

[Nursing strategies in health promotion of long-term patients].

The purpose of the study, carried out in the Health Centre of Järvenpää, was to examine how directors of nursing and nurse managers perceived the health status of their long-term patients and how they thought health could be promoted by means of nursing strategies. The approach of the study was phenomenological, and the data were produced by the nurses themselves who wrote down their own ideas on the subject. The resulting qualitative data were then analyzed and interpreted by means of theme and model analysis. According to the conceptions of the directors of nursing and nurse managers, the long-term patient continues to enjoy certain aspects of health; this can be perceived as wellbeing. The patient accepts his current situation, participates in his care and meets his needs. Promoting health by means of nursing strategies is possible. 1) if the nursing practitioner knows both the past and present of her patient as well as his needs and wishes, and 2) if the organization facilitates implementation of individual patient care; a well functioning primary p6rsing model was seen as an ideal system. The following nursing strategies for promoting health came up in the study: the way of performing the work, protecting the patient against social death, creating a beneficial care environment and supporting the patient in the final stages of his life. The nursing care of long-term patients was regarded as demanding. The results of the study seem to imply that the way the nursing leaders perceive the health status and health promotion of long-term patients may differ from the perceptions of nursing practitioners.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Aged↗
PubMed1991

[Humanistic nursing care].

The purpose of this study is to describe the degree of humanistic nursing care in different health care facilities as perceived by specialized nurses, registered nurses and licensed practical nurses. The problems of study are as follows: 1) What is the degree of humanistic nursing care as perceived by specialized nurses, registered nurses and practical nurses? 2) Do the nurses' perceptions of humanistic nursing differ between types of hospitals? The materials were gathered by a questionnaire which was compiled on the basis of the scale of humanistic nursing created and tested by Fenton (1987). In this scale, humanistic nursing is divided into four dimensions, including empathy, status equality, holistic selves, and shared decision-making and responsibility. The scale consisted of 70 statements describing patient and nursing staff behaviors, which were placed in a questionnaire with a 5-point Likert format. Fenton's scale was translated into Finnish as accurately as possible. Of the four dimensions of humanistic nursing care, the one-way analysis of variance revealed a statistically significant difference in the sum index for two dimensions and highly significant difference for one dimension by types of hospitals. The means of the equal status sum index differed in a statistically significant way among different hospitals. The sum index for status equality in nursing and the means computed for the statement measuring status equality in the nurses' own ward indicated that the nursing staff employed in central hospitals and health centers regard nursing as much more equal than those working in district hospitals. The central hospital nursing staff considered nursing care slightly more equal than those working in health centers.

Community Health Nursing↗