Development and evaluation of a modified brief assertiveness training for nurses in the workplace: a single-group feasibility study

There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

Abstract

Background

Effective communication has a great impact on nurses’ job satisfaction, team relationships, as well as patient care/safety. Previous studies have highlighted the various beneficial effects of enhancing communication through assertiveness training programs for nurses. However, most programs take a long time to implement; thus, briefer programs are urgently required for universal on-the-job-training in the workplace. The purpose of this feasibility study was to develop and evaluate a modified brief assertiveness training program (with cognitive techniques) for nurses in the workplace.

Methods

This study was carried out as a single-group, open trial (pre-post comparison without a control group). Registered nurses and assistant nurses, working at two private psychiatric hospitals in Miyazaki Prefecture in Japan, were recruited. After enrolling in the study, participants received a program of two 90-min sessions with a 1-month interval between sessions. The primary outcome was the Rathus Assertiveness Schedule (RAS), with secondary measurements using the Brief Version of the Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale (BFNE) and the Brief Job Stress Questionnaire (BJSQ). Assessments were conducted at baseline and after a 1-month interval (pre- and post-intervention).

Results

A total of 22 participants enrolled in the study and completed the program. The mean total score on the primary outcome (RAS) significantly improved from −12.9 (SD = 17.2) to −8.6 (SD = 18.6) ( p = 0.01). The within-group effect size at the post-intervention was Cohen’s d = 0.24; this corresponds to the small effect of the program. Regarding secondary outcomes, there were no statistically significant effects on the BFNE or any of the BJSQ subscales (job-stressors, psychological distress, physical distress, worksite support, and satisfaction).

Conclusions

This single-group feasibility study demonstrated that our modified brief assertiveness training for nurses seems feasible and may achieve a favorable outcome in improving their assertiveness. Further controlled trials with longer follow-up periods are required in order to address the limitations of this study.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12912-017-0224-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Related collections

Most cited references 49

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

Cultural differences in perceived social norms and social anxiety.

Nina Heinrichs, Ronald M. Rapee, Lynn A. Alden … (2006)

Cultural considerations in social anxiety are a rarely investigated topic although it seems likely that differences between countries in social norms may relate to the extent of social anxiety. The present study investigated individuals' personal and perceived cultural norms and their relation to social anxiety and fear of blushing. A total of 909 participants from eight countries completed vignettes describing social situations and evaluated the social acceptability of the behavior of the main actor both from their own, personal perspective as well as from a cultural viewpoint. Personal and cultural norms showed somewhat different patterns in comparison between types of countries (individualistic/collectivistic). According to reported cultural norms, collectivistic countries were more accepting toward socially reticent and withdrawn behaviors than was the case in individualistic countries. In contrast, there was no difference between individualistic and collectivistic countries on individuals' personal perspectives regarding socially withdrawn behavior. Collectivistic countries also reported greater levels of social anxiety and more fear of blushing than individualistic countries. Significant positive relations occurred between the extent to which attention-avoiding behaviors are accepted in a culture and the level of social anxiety or fear of blushing symptoms. These results provide initial evidence that social anxiety may be related to different cultural norms across countries.

0 comments Cited 68 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

Quantity and Quality of Homework Compliance: A Meta-Analysis of Relations With Outcome in Cognitive Behavior Therapy.

Nikolaos Kazantzis, Craig Whittington, Leah Zelencich … (2016)

Homework assignments have been shown to produce both causal and correlational effects in prior meta-analytic reviews of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), but this research area has been characterized by a focus on the amount of compliance (i.e., quantity), and little is known about the role of skill acquisition (i.e., quality). A landmark study by Neimeyer and Feixas (1990) showed stronger homework-outcome relations when quality was assessed, but previous reviews have not considered whether the same pattern is evident across studies. Seventeen studies of CBT (N = 2,312 clients) published following calls for research on homework quality were included in the current meta-analysis. In the present review, homework compliance relations were demonstrated when outcome was assessed at posttreatment (quality Hedges' g = 0.78, 95% Confidence Interval [CI] = 0.03 to 1.53, k = 3, n = 417; quantity g = 0.79, 95% CI = 0.57 to 1.02, k = 15, n = 1537) and at follow-up (quality g = 1.07, 95% CI = 0.06 to 2.08, k = 3, n = 417; quantity g = 0.51, 95% CI = 0.28 to 0.74, k = 7, n = 1291). All effect sizes were different from 0, ps < .05. Differences that were obtained in homework-outcome relations among sources of compliance data (client, therapist, objective) were tentative due to overlapping CIs, but suggest a potential moderating effect. If confirmed by further research, the present findings would suggest that trial methods capable of assessing both quantity and quality have been an important omission in research on homework-outcome relations in CBT.

0 comments Cited 62 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

Reducing medication errors and increasing patient safety: case studies in clinical pharmacology.

D. P. Benjamin (2003)

Today, reducing medication errors and improving patient safety have become common topics of discussion for the president of the United States, federal and state legislators, the insurance industry, pharmaceutical companies, health care professionals, and patients. But this is not news to clinical pharmacologists. Improving the judicious use of medications and minimizing adverse drug reactions have always been key areas of research and study for those working in clinical pharmacology. However, added to the older terms of adverse drug reactions and rational therapeutics, the now politically correct expression of medication error has emerged. Focusing on the word error has drawn attention to "prevention" and what can be done to minimize mistakes and improve patient safety. Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary has several definitions of error, but the one that seems to be most appropriate in the context of medication errors is "an act that through ingnorance, deficiency, or accident departs from or fails to achieve what should be done." What should be done is generally known as "the five rights": the right drug, right dose, right route, right time, and right patient. One can make an error of omission (failure to act correctly) or an error of commission (acted incorrectly). This article now summarizes what is currently known about medication errors and translates the information into case studies illustrating common scenarios leading to medication errors. Each case is analyzed to provide insight into how the medication error could have been prevented. "System errors" are described, and the application of failure mode effect analysis (FMEA) is presented to determine the part of the "safety net" that failed. Examples of reengineering the system to make it more "error proof" are presented. An error can be prevented. However, the practice of medicine, pharmacy, and nursing in the hospital setting is very complicated, and so many steps occur from "pen to patient" that there is a lot to analyze. Implementing safer practices requires developing safer systems. Many errors occur as a result of poor oral or written communications. Enhanced communication skills and better interactions among members of the health care team and the patient are essential. The informed consent process should be used as a patient safety tool, and the patient should be warned about material and foreseeable serious side effects and be told what signs and symptoms should be immediately reported to the physician before the patient is forced to go to the emergency department for urgent or emergency care. Last, reducing medication errors is an ongoing process of quality improvement. Faculty systems must be redesigned, and seamless, computerized integrated medication delivery must be instituted by health care professionals adequately trained to use such technological advances. Sloppy handwritten prescriptions should be replaced by computerized physician order entry, a very effective technique for reducing prescribing/ordering errors, but another far less expensive yet effective change would involve writing all drug orders in plain English, rather than continuing to use the elitists' arcane Latin words and shorthand abbreviations that are subject to misinterpretation. After all, effective communication is best accomplished when it is clear and simple.

0 comments Cited 46 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

All references

Author and article information

Contributors

Yohei Nakamura: youhei_nakamura@med.miyazaki-u.ac.jp

Naoki Yoshinaga: naoki-y@med.miyazaki-u.ac.jp

Hiroki Tanoue: hiroki_tanoue@med.miyazaki-u.ac.jp

Sayaka Kato: skato@med.miyazaki-u.ac.jp

Sayoko Nakamura: sayoko_nakamura@med.miyazaki-u.ac.jp

Keiko Aoishi: keiko_aoishi@med.miyazaki-u.ac.jp

Yuko Shiraishi: s-yuko@iuhw.ac.jp

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): BMC Nurs

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): BMC Nurs

Title: BMC Nursing

Publisher: BioMed Central (London )

ISSN (Electronic): 1472-6955

Publication date (Electronic): 6 June 2017

Publication date PMC-release: 6 June 2017

Publication date Collection: 2017

Volume: 16

Electronic Location Identifier: 29

Affiliations

[1 ]ISNI 0000 0001 0657 3887, GRID grid.410849.0, Department of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, Graduate School of Nursing Science, , University of Miyazaki, ; 5200 Kihara, Kiyotake, Miyazaki City, Miyazaki 889-1692 Japan

[2 ]ISNI 0000 0001 0657 3887, GRID grid.410849.0, Organization for Promotion of Tenure Track, , University of Miyazaki, ; 5200 Kihara, Kiyotake, Miyazaki City, Miyazaki 889-1692 Japan

[3 ]ISNI 0000 0001 0657 3887, GRID grid.410849.0, Department of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, School of Nursing, Faculty of Medicine, , University of Miyazaki, ; 5200 Kihara, Kiyotake, Miyazaki City, Miyazaki 889-1692 Japan

[4 ]ISNI 0000 0001 0657 3887, GRID grid.410849.0, Center for Medical Education and Career Development, Faculty of Medicine, , University of Miyazaki, ; 5200 Kihara, Kiyotake, Miyazaki City, Miyazaki 889-1692 Japan

[5 ]ISNI 0000 0004 0596 7181, GRID grid.416001.2, Department of Nursing, , University of Miyazaki Hospital, ; 5200 Kihara, Kiyotake, Miyazaki City, Miyazaki 889-1692 Japan

[6 ]ISNI 0000 0004 0531 3030, GRID grid.411731.1, Faculty of Nursing, , International University of Health and Welfare, ; 1-7-4 Momochihama, Sawara, Fukuoka City, Fukuoka 814-0001 Japan

Article

Publisher ID: 224

DOI: 10.1186/s12912-017-0224-4

PMC ID: 5461750

PubMed ID: 28096737

SO-VID: 571109f7-91c9-4967-8614-7dbe21ce1834

License:

Open AccessThis article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver ( http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.

History

Date received : 9 August 2016

Date accepted : 1 June 2017

Funding

Funded by: Program to Disseminate Tenure Tracking System from the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology

Award ID: N/A

Funded by: Grant from the Mitsubishi Foundation

Award ID: 28339

Custom metadata

ScienceOpen disciplines: Nursing

Keywords: assertiveness,assertiveness training,nurse,education,workplace

Data availability:

ScienceOpen disciplines: Nursing

Keywords: assertiveness, assertiveness training, nurse, education, workplace

Comments

Comment on this article

scite_

Cited by 6

See all cited by

Most referenced authors 451

See all reference authors

Development and evaluation of a modified brief assertiveness training for nurses in the workplace: a single-group feasibility study

Read this article at

Abstract

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Electronic supplementary material

Related collections

Hogrefe Open Access

Most cited references 49

Cultural differences in perceived social norms and social anxiety.

Quantity and Quality of Homework Compliance: A Meta-Analysis of Relations With Outcome in Cognitive Behavior Therapy.

Reducing medication errors and increasing patient safety: case studies in clinical pharmacology.

Author and article information

Contributors

Journal

Affiliations

Article

History

Funding

Categories

Custom metadata

Comments

Comment on this article

Similar content 60

Cited by 6

Most referenced authors 451