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Background: Pregnant women hospitalized with preterm labor (PJL) complications experience increased stress. Prior researchers have attempted to provide stress management strategies with use of various media players to deliver stress coping interventions. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of a mobile device delivered stress coping app designed to reduce stress in a sample of high-risk pregnant women hospitalized with complications of PTL. Methods: A descriptive study using a prospective mixed methods one-group pre/posttest design. Fifteen pregnant women used the mobile device app for 8 consecutive days. The app included study measures, educational overview of concepts, four guided imagery audio files to be listened to daily, and a stress self-assessment scale to be used before and after each use. Measures included: Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), Visual Analog Stress Scale (VASS), Coping Self-Efficacy Scale (CSES), and semistructured interviews. Results: There was a significant drop in VASS scores when comparing scores before and after listening to the app (p < 0.0001). There were no significant differences between the baseline and Day 8 scores of PSS or CSES. All participants reported benefits from using the app and provided suggestions for improvement. Clinical Implications: The intervention reduced immediate stress and provided a respite from the stress response in this population. Maternal child nurses may consider incorporating stress coping interventions as standard care practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS), one of the most common rheumatic disorders, is estimated to affect up to 15 million people in the United States, 80% to 90% of whom are women. The syndrome is characterized by the presence of chronic widespread pain and various concurrent symptoms, which may include fatigue, cognitive disturbances (memory problems, difficulty concentrating, confusion), distressed mood (anxiety, depression), nonrestorative sleep, and muscular stiffness. Symptom management appears to be best addressed using a multimodal approach, with treatment strategies tailored to the individual. While medication may provide adequate symptom relief for some patients, experts generally recommend integrating both pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic approaches. Some patients may benefit from the adjunctive use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) modalities. Because symptom remission is rare and medication adverse effects can complicate symptom management, well-informed nursing care practices and patient education are essential. This article describes the existing treatment guidelines, discusses pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic approaches (including CAM-based modalities), and outlines nursing approaches aimed at enhancing patient self-management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the study of assessing and addressing the mental health needs of hospitalized patients. It states that the goal of baccalaureate undergraduate psychiatric-mental health nursing (PMHN) course is to create a clinical experience that reflects nursing's commitment to the whole. How to select clinical units, clinical faculty, and structure of the pilot project is described. Qualitative evaluations of clinical rotations across all the sections remained similar is also concluded.

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic pain disorder affecting 2% of the population in the United States. An- other 16 million Hispanics suffer from generically identified rheumatic diseases that likely include FM. Because there are few reported studies of Hispanics with FM, a pilot study using a repeated- measures pretest-posttest design investigated the effects of a 10-week mind-body intervention (visual imagery with relaxation) on symptom management. The change in means from baseline to week 10 demonstrated improvement in self-efficacy for managing pain and other symptoms and functional status. Visual imagery with relaxation is a mind-body intervention that may be used for symptom management in this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]