Nursing Practice Today

Challenges and Opportunities for HIV Screening with the Support of Health Digital Technology: A Scoping Review

Suarnianti - Suarnianti — 2025-08-17

Background and Aim:

HIV screening is a critical step in the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS, yet challenges related to accessibility, efficiency, and service quality persist in many regions. With the rise of digitalization across sectors, digital technology offers significant potential to address these challenges, such as through digital health applications. This review aims to evaluate the challenges and opportunities in applying digital technologies in HIV screening, focusing on improving accessibility, privacy, and healthcare quality.

Methods and Materials:

A scoping review was conducted using systematic searches in PubMed, Scopus, DOAJ, Wiley Online Library, Cochrane Library, and EBSCOhost for studies published between 2015 and 2024. Relevant studies were categorized based on results and geographical context, with particular attention to challenges and opportunities related to technology accessibility, privacy, and infrastructure reliability.

Results:
Ten studies involving over 3,500 participants were analyzed, including randomized controlled trials, observational studies, and program evaluations. Major challenges identified were limited technology access, especially in low-resource areas, along with concerns about privacy and technology reliability. Despite these barriers, the studies highlighted significant opportunities to enhance healthcare services through digital technologies, particularly when adapted to local contexts and supported by user training.

Conclusion:
Digital technologies have strong potential to improve HIV testing by addressing current challenges and enhancing service efficiency and quality. Further research is needed to investigate their clinical effectiveness in depth and ensure sustainable implementation across diverse settings.

Accepting Myocardial Infarction Diagnosis as an Important Challenge During Transition Process: A Qualitative Study

Roya Khorrami Estakhri — 2025-08-05

Background & Aim: The increasing prevalence of myocardial infarction has turned this disease into a global epidemic. With the diagnosis of myocardial infarction and health-illness transition, changes are made in a person's life. Special attention is needed to manage non-acceptance of a newly diagnosed disease and achieve a healthy transition. This study was conducted with the aim of investigating the causes of acceptance or non-acceptance of the first myocardial infarction.

Methods & Materials: This qualitative study utilized the directed content analysis approach based on Meleis transition theory. Data were collected between June 2023 and January 2024 through in-depth, semi-structured individual interviews with 11 participants selected through purposive sampling. Data analysis followed the three-step method proposed by Elo and Kyngas.

Results: The analysis revealed four main categories: Nature of Transition, Transition Condition, Patterns of Response and Nursing Therapeutics. In this study, the transition condition is discussed.

Conclusion: Illness Acceptance is accepting the possible problems that may happen due to getting sick and then starting a new life. In the meantime, it is necessary to improve some of the factors that affect the level of acceptance of a person and facilitate acceptance and reduce the obstacles as much as possible.

Emotional eating of adolescent students: A concept analysis

Chawapon Sarnkhaowkhom — 2025-08-05

Background & Aim: Emotional eating is discussed in nursing, including psychiatric and public health nursing, particularly for its behavioral and psychosocial implications at the population level. However, its interpretation and usage can differ significantly across these areas. To enhance the validity of measurements and inform effective interventions in nursing and public health, it is crucial to achieve a clearer understanding of emotional eating. This study aimed to define and clarify the attributes of emotional eating among adolescent students.
Methods & Materials: This study employed Walker and Avant’s eight-step method for concept analysis. A comprehensive literature review was conducted using Thai and international databases, including ThaiLIS, ThaiJo, CINAHL, PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus. The search was guided by keywords such as emotional eating, binge eating, and overeating. Based on predefined criteria, 45 studies published between 2014 and 2023 were selected for analysis.
Results: Emotional eating is defined as the excessive intake of food in response to emotional states, both positive and negative, instead of being driven by physical hunger or social circumstances. The attributes of emotional eating in adolescent students encompass emotional responses, excessive eating, unhealthy food selection, and coping with stress and responding mood management. Antecedents included social-emotional problems, perceived stress, perceived self-efficacy, and eating styles and patterns. Consequences involve changes in physical health and well-being, along with unhealthy eating behaviors and compulsive eating.
Conclusion: The insights gained from this study enhance conceptual understanding for nursing assessments and tailored interventions designed to promote healthier eating practices among adolescent students.

Insomnia and the use of sleep medications among nurses in northwest Iran: A web-based survey of prevalence and correlates

Atefe Asadpour Asl — 2025-08-05

Background & Aim: There is a growing global reliance on sleep medications among healthcare professionals, raising concerns about dependency and health outcomes. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of insomnia, sleep medication usage, and their correlates among nurses.
Methods & Materials: This cross-sectional study employed a web-based survey to recruit 1,213 nurses from university hospitals in East Azerbaijan Province, Iran, via institutional portals. Participants completed the Insomnia Severity Index and a profile of insomnia medication usage. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, analytical tests, and multiple linear regression in SPSS 21 (p< 0.05).
Results: Among 1,213 participants (84.3% female, mean age 36.9 ± 8.5 years), the majority had subclinical (52.6%) or moderate (38.3%) insomnia. While 41.2% reported using non-drug methods for insomnia, 73.5% did not use any sleep medication. Among medication users, benzodiazepines (10.5%) and herbal remedies (9.5%) were most common. Nurses working rotating shifts (t = -5.93, p< 0.001) and those with >3-night shifts per week (F=19.41, p< 0.001) had higher insomnia severity scores. Multiple linear regression revealed that female gender (β= 1.780, p= 0.009), married status (β= 0.740, p= 0.009), non-use of benzodiazepines (β=-1.284, p = 0.004), and use of non-drug methods (β = -1.789, p< 0.001) were significantly associated with higher ISI score.
Conclusion: Nurses exhibit high insomnia rates and medication dependence, necessitating urgent integration of non-drug approaches like optimized shifts and sleep hygiene programs to reduce severity and improve well-being.

Concept analysis of moral disengagement among nurses in the intensive care unit: A hybrid model

Ali Khanipour-Kencha — 2025-08-05

Background & Aim: Moral disengagement may result in unethical behavior, compromising patient safety in Intensive Care Units. This study aims to provide a clear and culturally grounded definition of moral disengagement among Iranian ICU nurses.
Methods & Materials: This research employed a hybrid concept analysis model based on Schwartz-Barcott and Kim’s approach in three phases: 1) Theoretical phase: A comprehensive literature review was conducted using relevant keywords in Iranian and international databases. Sixteen relevant peer-reviewed articles were selected and analyzed using conventional content analysis based on Graneheim and Lundman’s method. 2) Fieldwork phase: In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 ICU nurses selected via purposive sampling. Data were coded and analyzed using qualitative content analysis to extract themes. 3) Final analysis phase: The data from the previous phases were integrated to develop a refined and context-based definition.
Results: In the theoretical phase, key attributes included moral justification, cognitive reconstruction, detachment from ethical standards, and absence of moral emotions. Fieldwork analysis yielded 301 codes categorized into three main themes and seven subthemes, emphasizing illegitimate legitimization through commitment avoidance, self-justification, and cognitive reconstruction, as well as assurance of job and psychological security, and feelings of individual and organizational satisfaction. The findings from these phases contributed to the final definition.
Conclusion: Moral disengagement among ICU nurses is defined as: “The employment of protective mechanisms of justification, pleasant cognitive reconstruction of the event, and commitment avoidance to legitimize unethical activities aimed at preserving job security, psychological safety, and individual and organizational satisfaction.” This definition offers a practical foundation for future research and ethical interventions in critical care.