Providing psychosocial support to pediatric patients and their families at the end of life represents one of the most challenging yet vital aspects of healthcare practice. Despite the presence of grief and loss training in many pediatric healthcare professionals’ educational backgrounds, opportunities for practical training experience in delivering end-of-life care remain limited. This study explored the use of simulation-based training to enhance the self-reported knowledge, skills, and comfort levels of child life specialists in providing psychosocial care during end-of-life situations.

Forty-three child life specialists participated in the simulation-based training, which was combined with traditional didactic instruction, and the associated research study. Pre- and post-training surveys were used to assess impact of the training on child life specialists’ self-reported knowledge of end-of-life care and comfort in providing this care.

A statistically significant increase was seen in all measured aspects of self-reported knowledge and comfort in providing end-of-life care following the training.

Simulation combined with traditional instruction methods provides an effective way to train healthcare professionals in providing high-stakes psychosocial care while protecting patients and families from the added strain of trainees and excess staff presence during sensitive times.

To identify stakeholders’ perceptions of the role of the nurse educator in Hospital Disaster Management (HDM), determine the core competencies required for their effective participation, and establish training areas to enhance their participation during disasters.

A qualitative hermeneutic-phenomenological design was adopted with 38 stakeholders comprising doctors, clinical nurses, nurse administrators, and nurse educators in tertiary hospitals and nursing colleges in Kerala, India. The responses were collected through in-depth interviews with 15 respondents and focus group discussions with 4 different groups in December 2023.

Themes identified included preparedness gaps, underuse of secondary stakeholders, training and coordination capabilities, training needs, fear of clinical competence and safety, role confusion, elitism, and social responsibility, totaling 7 themes. Participants identified roles, preparedness, variable clinical exposure, and the necessity of planned competency development as unsatisfactory. The nurse educators were able to contribute to training, supervision, documentation, and psychosocial support, provided they are well prepared.

Nurse educators can be of great help to HDM, but are not being used to their full potential due to unclear role expectations and limited readiness. Their competencies can be enhanced and incorporated into institutional disaster plans to build surge capacity and improve coordination in hospital disaster responses.

To estimate the incidence of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) in Italian long-term care facilities (LTCFs) and to evaluate whether an artificial intelligence (AI) approach, through unsupervised machine learning (ML), could stratify residents into clinically distinct groups with differing susceptibility to HAIs.

Prospective cohort study with 12-month follow-up.

24 LTCFs in Italy, participating in the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control 12-month longitudinal study on HAIs in LTCFs, 2022–2023.

395 residents enrolled across the participating LTCFs.

Incidence measures of HAIs (rate and ratio) were estimated, using generalized estimating equations. A hierarchical cluster analysis based on residents’ clinical and demographic characteristics was implemented as an unsupervised ML approach.

Overall, 75 HAIs per 100 residents (95% CI, 70.3–78.3) and 0.23 HAIs per 1,000 resident-days (95% CI, 0.11–0.76) were estimated. Respiratory tract infections (29.5%, 95% CI 24.2–31.1), COVID-19 (26.3%, 95% CI 22.1–28.4), and urinary tract infections (15%, 95% CI 11.0–35.4) were the most frequent. Clustering identified two reproducible resident groups: Group 1 (39%), more independent and cognitively preserved, with fewer comorbidities and lower infection incidence; and Group 2 (61%), more dependent and clinically complex, with higher incidence of HAIs. Cluster stability was high (mean ARI = 0.83).

This study confirms the high burden of HAIs in Italian LTCFs and provides exploratory evidence that AI-based clustering can identify reproducible HAI susceptibility profiles in a setting where such approaches have been scarcely applied.

To evaluate the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a clinical program designed to teach informal caregivers of older Veterans with pain and mild-to-moderate dementia or mild cognitive impairment (MCI), pain management, pain coping and pain communication skills.

Twenty caregivers of older Veterans with pain and dementia or MCI and the Veterans themselves participated in a 5-session program taught by trained Veterans Affairs (VA) clinicians. All sessions were conducted remotely using video-technology, with caregivers and Veterans. Two sessions were conducted with individual Veteran-caregiver dyads, and three sessions were conducted with caregiver groups. Caregivers and Veterans completed baseline and post-intervention measures. Qualitative interviews of 10 caregivers who completed the program were also conducted and focused on identifying themes related to caregiving for their loved ones with pain and dementia and related to participating in the program.

The program was well received and almost all caregivers identified videoconferencing as the preferred venue for participating in such a program. They most valued learning about dementia and participating with other caregivers. Pre-post analyses revealed significant improvements in perceived caregiving competence and self-efficacy for managing pain. Challenges encountered included scheduling related to caregivers’ multiple competing responsibilities and lack of familiarity with tele-conferencing technology.

Patients with pain and mild to moderate dementia or MCI have been relatively ignored in current literature. Our preliminary findings suggest that a program delivered by trained healthcare professionals to caregivers and Veterans using tele-conferencing could benefit caregivers.

Hazardous materials (HazMat) incidents pose significant risks to public health, safety, and the environment. This study aimed to characterize the temporal trends, geographic distribution, operational settings, and incident types of HazMat events reported in Oman.

This retrospective descriptive study analyzed data from the national HazMat incident records maintained by the Civil Defence and Ambulance Authority (CDAA). All reported chemical, biological, or radiological incidents between June 1, 2019, and November 30, 2024, were included.

A total of 55 HazMat incidents were recorded during the study period. Reported incidents increased over time, with the highest annual counts observed in 2023 (14 incidents) and 2024 (17 incidents). Muscat Governorate accounted for 39 incidents (71%). Residential neighborhoods were the most common operational setting (26/55, 47%), followed by other public areas (9/55, 16%), while airports, educational institutions, industrial areas, and transportation corridors each accounted for 5 incidents (9%). Gas leaks were the most frequently reported incident type, involved in 28 incidents (51%).

HazMat incidents in Oman increased over the study period and were concentrated in Muscat Governorate. Incidents occurred across diverse operational settings, particularly residential and public environments, while gas leaks represented the most frequently reported incident type.

Governance structures in radiotherapy are central to ensuring patient safety, yet significant variation exists in how errors are reported, analysed and mitigated globally. This literature review evaluates current international approaches to radiotherapy error governance, highlighting barriers to consistent reporting and opportunities for system-wide improvement.

A structured search of peer-reviewed literature and policy documents was undertaken using a Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses methodology. The search yielded 42 relevant articles, reviewed for themes relating to governance frameworks, safety culture, incident reporting systems and technology’s role in error reduction.

Findings reveal inconsistent adoption of Safety I and Safety II models, underreporting due to blame culture, and limited integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into governance frameworks. Successful strategies included pre-treatment peer review, multidisciplinary safety boards and AI-assisted risk management tools. Despite advancements, gaps persist in standardising incident definitions, fostering transparency and promoting a just culture.

The review suggests the need for international alignment on governance practices, wider integration of AI and proactive learning from near misses. Radiographers and radiation oncology teams are urged to engage in shaping safety governance through open reporting, system design and education. Implications for practice: Improved governance not only reduces harm but also supports continuous quality improvement in radiotherapy services.