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Purpose: Comfort Measures Only (CMO) is a label commonly used in the USA that guides the care of a hospitalized patient who is likely to die. The CMO label has unclear and inconsistent meaning, calling to question the experiences and practices of hospital-basedalliative care providers. The purpose of this study was to understand the meaning of CMO as experienced by hospital-based palliative care providers., Methods: Using hermeneutic phenomenological research, we investigated eight palliative care experts' common experiences and shared practices of using CMO order sets in their hospital work settings. Data were collected through individual face-to-face interviews, and were analysed by an interpretive team., Results: Four related themes and one constitutive pattern of "Dealing with Dying" reflect the meaning of comfort-measures-only practices. The themes are: comfort care as morphine drip; enacting a traditional binary pattern of care: all or nothing; supporting patient and family at end of life vs. CMO; and evolving culture-a better way to care for the dying., Conclusion: Palliative care providers and non-palliative clinicians understood and practiced end of life care in sharply different ways with dying in hospital settings, raising new questions that analyse, modify and extend extant knowledge.

Prenatal exposure to the Zika virus (ZIKV) is associated with a significant risk of neurological impairment for infants. ZIKV serves as a cautionary model with significant parallels to the current coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. A limited literature search was performed to compare and contrast the clinical and psychosocial aspects of infection with ZIKV and COVID-19. There are significant parallels between ZIKV disease and COVID-19 in terms of limited diagnostic techniques, therapeutics, and prognostic uncertainties. Both infections are associated with a significant risk of adverse outcomes for either the pregnant individual or the fetus. Existing social and economic inequalities amplify the risk burden of ZIKV disease and COVID-19 in vulnerable communities. Although each pathogen has unique features, there are underlying common principles with regard to the recognition, communication, and mitigation of risk of infection. Misinformation spread by social media platforms has undermined public health efforts and patient adoption of recommended mitigation strategies. Health care providers can provide partnership, social support, and evidence-based information to enhance health-seeking behaviors, thereby minimizing the risks for pregnant and reproductive-aged persons., (© 2021 by the American College of Nurse-Midwives.)

Persistent fetal occiput posterior (OP) position is a topic of interest with implications for intrapartum management. Although studies report a low incidence of persistent OP position, anecdotal evidence suggests an increase in prevalence given changes in maternal demographics. Clinicians are often familiar with interventions such as position changes and the use of props and a rebozo to address persistent OP position in early labor; however, midwives remain uncomfortable with the techniques of digital and manual rotation. This article reviews current evidence and recommendations for the management of persistent OP position in the second stage of labor. Further research is needed to guide clinicians on the optimal timing and techniques for digital and manual rotation., (© 2020 by the American College of Nurse-Midwives.)

One thousand people die every day in India as a result of TB, a preventable and treatable disease, even though the Constitution of India, government schemes, and international law guarantee available, accessible, acceptable, quality health care. Failure to address the spread of TB and to provide quality treatment to all affected populations constitutes a public health and human rights emergency that demands action and accountability. As part of a broader strategy, health activists in India employ Public Interest Litigation (PIL) to hold the state accountable for rights violations and to demand new legislation, standards for patient care, accountability for under-spending, improvements in services at individual facilities, and access to government entitlements in marginalized communities. Taking inspiration from right to health PIL cases (PILs), lawyers in a New Delhi-based rights organization used desk research, fact-findings, and the Right To Information Act to build a TB PIL for the Delhi High Court, Sanjai Sharma v. NCT of Delhi and Others (2015). The case argues that inadequate implementation of government TB schemes violates the Constitutional rights to life, health, food, and equality. Although PILs face substantial challenges, this paper concludes that litigation can be a crucial advocacy and accountability tool for people living with TB and their allies., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest: None declared.

Background: Nosocomial infections caused by multidrug-resistant organisms are commonly associated with longer hospital stays up to 12 to 18 days and annual estimated costs of $5.7 billion to $6.8 billion. One common mode of transmission is cross-contamination between patients and providers via surface contaminants on devices such as telemetry systems., Objectives: To determine the effect of a cleaning protocol on colonization of surface contaminants on electrocardiographic telemetry systems in 4 cardiovascular step-down units and to compare colonization in medical vs surgical units., Methods: A prospective, randomized, case-controlled study (the Descriptive Evaluation of Electrocardiographic Telemetry Pathogens [DEET] study) was designed to evaluate microbial colonization on telemetry systems before and after cleaning with sodium hypochlorite wipes. Each randomly selected telemetry system served as its own control. Nurses used a standardized culture technique recommended by personnel in infection control. Colonization before and after cleaning was analyzed by using the McNemar test and frequency tables. A standard cost-comparison analysis was conducted., Results: A total of 30 telemetry systems in medical units and 29 in surgical units were evaluated; 41 telemetry systems (69%) were colonized before the intervention, and 14 (24%) were colonized after it (P < .001). Before cleaning, surface organisms were present in 14 instances (35%) in surgical units and in 27 instances (66%) in medical units (P < .001). The cleaning strategy was cost-effective., Conclusions: The cleaning intervention was effective, and cost-comparison analysis supported implementing a cleaning strategy for reusable leads rather than investing in disposable leads.

Background: The purpose of this study was to explore the theoretical linkages between symptom experiences and meaning associated with medication adherence. The specific objectives were to evaluate the key constructs of Meaning-Response theory for understanding medication adherence in patients with chronic heart failure; to assess the influence of symptom persistence on the meaning associated with prescribed medicines; and to explore the extent to which meaningful associations improve medication adherence. Among patients with heart failure, poor medication adherence occurs in over half of the population, resulting in high rates of symptom exacerbation, avoidable hospitalization, and death. Nurses play a key role in facilitating self-management skills, but patients' perceptions of the relationship between symptoms and medicines is not clear., Methods: Using a prospective mixed methods design, the study assessed patients' (n=10) perception of chronic heart failure symptoms and medication adherence. Patients completed guided interviews related to six concepts of meaning ascribed to medication use and four standardized measures of medication-related beliefs, behaviours, symptoms, and satisfaction., Results: This study suggests that patients' perception of meaning associated with medication taking was categorized as positive, negative, or absent. Symptom persistence influenced a majority of patient beliefs in the efficacy medicines, and patients with more positive meaningful associations with their medicines were more likely to remain adherent during the course of this study., Conclusions: Development of meaningful associations with medicines may improve long-term adherence with prescribed medication in heart failure.

Collaborative practice between obstetrician-gynecologists and certified nurse-midwives has been successful at the Family Beginnings obstetric unit at Group Health for at least three reasons. Each provider group is able to practice independently and thus give the kind of maternity and women's health care sought by the local community. The legal framework in Washington State supports a wide range of maternity care practices and includes a reasonable provider insurance scheme. The boundaries between different groups operating within distinct scopes of practice are well-defined and communicated. This allows providers to smoothly share or transfer clients from midwife to obstetrician and back as needed in each case. The success of the Family Beginnings model is demonstrated by a favorable comparison with national and Washington State metrics of delivery outcomes. Replicating the model elsewhere depends on building support for collaborative maternity care across the obstetric and midwifery professions in states where an appropriate legal framework exists, and in institutions where policies for credentialing nurse midwives are in place. Where these supports do not exist, all practitioners jointly advocating for more enlightened approaches is recommended.