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The Situation-Background-Assessment-Recommendation (SBAR) protocol was used to improve shift reports and interdisciplinary rounding. On a medical-surgical unit, observations were conducted before and after implementation. Both processes were significantly shorter and more consistent. SBAR enabled more focused and efficient communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to investigate eating and exercise habits of families with young children, their knowledge of health and obesity risks, and their attitudes toward prevention and intervention efforts. Parents and caregivers (N=205) of children aged 3 to 10 years completed a survey online or on paper. Participants were recruited from preschools and Head Start centers in the Southwestern United States. Results indicated that many parents and children were overweight, but most parents incorrectly labeled their overweight and obese children as being of healthy weight. Parents showed uncertainty and lack of knowledge regarding healthy eating, portion sizes, physical activity recommendations, obesity trends, and health risks. They rated themselves as most responsible for addressing childhood obesity, but support for various intervention efforts varied. Based on parent responses, the main barriers toward healthy weight status were food cost, lack of knowledge, and lack of time. Researchers and medical professionals should be mindful of these barriers when designing obesity prevention efforts and advising families on healthy lifestyles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Toothbrushing is associated with the prevention of pneumonia in hospitalized patients. However, little is known about patients' perspective. The aim of this study was to understand patients' toothbrushing beliefs and practices, and how to promote engagement in this health behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nearly one-third of children in the United States (U.S.) are overweight or obese and at a higher risk for numerous comorbidities. School nurses are ideally positioned to contribute to strategic childhood obesity prevention (COP) efforts, but there are substantial variations with their involvement in COP practices. The research question posed was: "Are personal, professional, and/or job-related characteristics associated with school nurse engagement in child-level or school-level childhood obesity prevention practices?" In this descriptive cross-sectional study, Florida school nurses (N = 171) were recruited via email and two professional conferences to complete an anonymous online or paper survey. Items included questions about various characteristics and how often they performed certain COP practices. Engagement in COP practices was measured on a Likert-type scale with response options of 1 = never; 2 = rarely; 3 = sometimes; 4 = often. Data analyses included correlations, t tests, and ANOVA to determine associations between personal, professional, and job-related characteristics with child-level and school-level school nurse COP practices. Significant associations (p < 0.05) were found between school nurse COP practices and professional characteristics that indicated additional education (i.e., highest nursing degree, COP education, professional organization membership, and national certified school nurse certification). The number of students provided care, age, years in current position, and experience as a nurse and school nurse positively correlated to child-level COP practices, while socioeconomic levels of school(s) were inversely correlated to these practices. Findings support the need for funding and providing additional COP educational opportunities to increase school nurse involvement in preventing childhood obesity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary purpose of this exploratory, cross-sectional study was to determine the degree of agreement between parents' and adolescents' rating of adolescents' asthma-related quality of life (QOL). A secondary aim was to compare the degree of agreement between parent-adolescent dyads in two countries; 15 dyads each were recruited from Kentucky and Iceland. Both adolescent and adult participants completed separate paper surveys at the time of the adolescent's clinic appointment. The QOL instrument used (PedsQLTM 3.0 Asthma Module) contains the subscales of asthma symptoms, asthma treatment, worry, and communication. Parent-adolescent differences were determined using paired t-tests; associations were assessed with intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs). Twosample t-tests investigated between-country differences in parent-child consistency in the assessment of the adolescent's asthma-related QOL. Adolescents rated their QOL higher than their parents did, but not significantly. The ICC of the QOL score for the 30 dyads was 0.39. The degree of agreement was high for asthma symptoms, but low for asthma treatment, worry, and communication. U.S. parents tended to underrate their child's QOL, while parents from Iceland overrated it (p = 0.007). Family-centered interventions may improve parents' understanding of how asthma affects QOL in adolescents, and such interventions may have to be tailored for cultural differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fall prevention is vital to the safety of medical-surgical patients. This study supported the effectiveness of a tailored video intervention in engaging hospitalized adults in fall prevention activities and provides nurses with an educational strategy to enhance patient safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Learners often are able to demonstrate cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) skills at the time of the instruction, but skill performance often is temporary and forgotten rapidly without use or practice. Many medical-surgical nurses do not perform CPR with enough frequency to maintain proficiency, indicating a need for a CPR practice schedule. The effectiveness of the Resuscitation Quality Improvement (RQI)® mobile simulation station for gaining compression skills and ventilation rate is described. Spreading CPR practice over a longer period of time may increase retention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pediatric acute care nurses questioned the practice of weighing disposable infant diapers immediately after voiding. This study asked the research question, "Does volume of saline, diaper configuration, and/or size of diaper statistically effect changes in diaper weights over time?" The method was an experimental, laboratory model. Pre-set volumes of saline were added to disposable diapers that were then left folded or unfolded. Each diaper was weighed immediately post-wetting and re-weighed at hourly intervals for seven hours. Data were analyzed using a repeated measures analysis of variance (RMANOVA) with balanced data (F-test). Diaper weight changes over time were statistically significant for all time points and for all volumes regardless of diaper size; however, the changes in weight were small and without clinical significance. It is appropriate to weigh diapers at the end of eight hours without risk of altering subsequent fluid management of patients in open-air, non-humidified environments. This practice has led to more efficient use of nurses' time with fewer interruptions for patients and families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ability to increase palliative and hospice services in the United States requires comprehensive, standardized education for clinicians. With a rise in the number of patients living with serious illnesses, medical-surgical nurses would benefit from more palliative and end-of-life care education. In this study, nurses' comfort in addressing physical, emotional, and spiritual needs for patients receiving palliative and hospice care was examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the health and online risk behaviors of adolescents who bully, are victims of bullying, and those who report being both a bully and victim (bully-victim). Methods: This descriptive correlational study used a secondary analysis design from a larger study of high school students. This sample consisted of 975 adolescents (48% female and 52% male) who reported one or more experiences of bullying in person. Results: Findings revealed significant differences (p<0.0001) between type of bully as well as type of victim. Bullies were more likely to report having trouble in school, vandalize property, smoke cigarettes, and engage in illicit drug use. Those who reported being a bully-victim were more likely to drink alcohol while driving, post personal information online, view inappropriate material online, and sext. Victims reported participating in some health and online risk behaviors, but were less likely to engage in these behaviors compared to bullies and bully-victims. Conclusion and Implications: Although all groups reported participating in health and online risk behaviors, bullies had overwhelmingly higher health risk behaviors, while the bully-victim group reported higher online risk behaviors. Findings from this study suggest important areas of intervention with adolescents who bully, are victimized, and partake in health and online risk behaviors. Specifically, nurses as well as community leaders can develop interdisciplinary educational programs that focus on prevention, risk reduction, and safety, as well as implement an evidence-based practice model that incorporates a screening tool, brief interventions, and referrals for treatment for at-risk adolescents with correlational risk behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A lack of communication during nursing shift report and memory lapse were found to be contributing factors in errors in the monitoring of therapeutic heparin infusions. The process of drawing blood also was found to be a contributing factor. Standardized nursing shift report and standardized anti-Xa testing draw times were implemented to improve monitoring of heparin infusions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental stress management for hospital nurses is a complex and dynamic challenge that can affect professional practice, employee wellness, teamwork effectiveness, and patient safety and outcomes. The results of this study failed to demonstrate occupational exposure to aromatherapy was associated with a decrease in hospital nurse anxiety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on a study that aims to develop a pain management value index using timed electronic documentation data to determine the value of postoperative pain management and to quantify the relationship of pain management outcomes and nursing resources used to achieve such outcomes. Topics discussed include the Theory of Symptom Management (TSM), the patient and pain management characteristics in different hospitals and the pain management value index by pain severity group.

A pre-test post-test control group design was used to compare the effectiveness of high-fidelity simulation (HFS) with traditional static mannequins as a teaching strategy for pediatric staff nurse education. Thirty-three nurses from a metropolitan pediatric Magnet® hospital completed the study that evaluated knowledge retention, skill performance, and team confidence during the American Heart Association's (AHA) Pediatric Emergency Assessment, Recognition and Stabilization (PEARS) course. Written exams, competency and skill performance measures, and the Mayo High Performance Teamwork Scale (MHPTS) were used to compare the outcomes between the two groups. Results indicated that knowledge retention was maintained, skill performance improved, and teamwork performance scores increased in the experimental group. This study provides a foundation supporting the use of HFS as an effective teaching modality when educating pediatric staff nurses in the identification and intervention of the deteriorating pediatric patient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study which examines nurse managers' job satisfaction and intent to leave their positions. Nurse managers who were members of the North Carolina Organization of Nurse Leaders and the American Organization of Nurse Executives were asked to participate in the study. It notes that nurse managers are generally satisfied with their jobs although many are actively planning to leave their positions for continued growth opportunities or due to burnout and stress.

The article focuses on the study regarding the use of clinical decision support system (CDSS) to assist nurses of hypoglycemia patients. The study employs an interrupted time series design, electronic health records, and SPSS vl9. Results reveal that the use of CDSS can meet the need to specific guidelines that allows nurses to document in an accurate nad efficient manner and give a means of tracking documentation compliance.

With "Manifestations of Poor Glycemic Control" included in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (2010) present on-admission criteria, hospitals are at a pivotal point in needing to evaluate current methods and outcomes of glycemic management. This study provides one hospital's comparison of two methods of hyperglycemia management: basal insulin and basal-bolus insulin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Skin prevalence audits revealed annual increases in incidence of pressure ulcers of the ear. A research study was conducted to assess correlates of the problem. Study results guided clinical practice changes that reduced the incidence to zero. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this exploratory survey study was to determine the perspectives of patients and family visitors about the reasons for and nature of patient- and family-initiated call lights, call light use, and response time to call lights. Fifty-three percent of participants (n=63) perceived most of their call lights mattered to their safety. Participants believed answering call lights should be a priority among patient care tasks as a critical aspect of nursing staff roles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article highlights a study which used a within-unit-over-time methodology to estimate the effects of unit-level nurse staffing on unplanned readmissions and emergency department (ED) visits within 30 days post-discharge. It emphasizes that nurse managers, directors, and administrators should understand the impact of registered nurse (RN) staffing on patient outcomes. Also discussed is a proposal by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to reduce readmission/ED visits.

The article presents a study which examines the contribution of nurse practitioners to the efficiency of rural health clinics in delivering health services to medically underserved areas in the U.S. It mentions the use of quantitative measurement to identify the productivity of nurse practitioners (NP). It states that two data sources used to correlate the efficiency of RHCs and the NP productivity, which include Area Resource File (ARF) System and Medicare Cost Report.

Purpose: To test the feasibility of providing a cultural school-based substance abuse intervention for Cherokee adolescents and to examine the relationship between Cherokee self-reliance, substance abuse, and stress.Research Design: A 10-week group intervention was implemented over a 3-year period for Cherokee adolescent substance abusers. Pre-intervention, immediate post-intervention, and 90-day post-intervention measures of Cherokee self-reliance, substance abuse, and stress were administered to 108 Cherokee adolescent high school students who participated in the intervention.Findings: Immediate and 90-day post-intervention substance abuse rates were significantly lower than pre-intervention rates. Cherokee self-reliance scores were significantly increased. Perceived stress scores were significantly lower immediately post-intervention but increased 90-day post-intervention. Conclusions: The Teen Intervention Project - Cherokee is an effective and culturally appropriate school-based intervention for Cherokee adolescent substance abusers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]