Search

Multiple genetic and environmental factors influence the development of alcoholism. To evaluate the contributions of individual genes to the development of alcoholism in living organisms, rather than in tissue-culture experiments, [...]

Interviewed 28 relatives of nursing home residents about their involvement in care of elderly relatives and perceptions of care provided by nursing home staff. Relatives attributed responsibility for most tasks to nursing home staff; held themselves responsible for some tasks, such as monitoring and evaluating quality of care, and teaching staff to deliver high quality care. (Author/NB)

The authors discuss the Level 1 of the Transparency and Openness Promotion (TOP) guidelines being adopted by the journal to promote transparency and openness and increase reproducibility of research. Topics covered include a brief background on the TOP guidelines that were developed in 2014 aimed to encourage journals to promote open science initiatives, the citation requirements of the standard, and the TOP standards related to transparency of data, research materials and analytic code.

We conducted a bilingual literature review of the existing studies focusing on person-centered dementia care in China. We synthesized key findings from included articles according to three overarching themes: Chinese cultural relevance of person-centered care (PCC), perceived needs for PCC for older adults in China, implementation and measurement of PCC in China, and person-centered dementia care model. We also drew on frameworks, theories, and other contents from the examined articles to develop a person-centered dementia care model with specific relevance to China. The model is a good starting point to help us operationalize globally relevant core principles of PCC in the specific sociocultural context of China. The framework will be informed by more empirical studies and evolve with the ongoing operationalization of PCC. Although PCC is a new concept and has not been vigorously or systematically studied in China, it is attracting increasing attention from Chinese researchers. More empirical studies are needed to link PCC to measurable outcomes, enrich the framework for applying PCC, and construct assessment and evaluation systems to facilitate the provision of PCC across countries and cultures. Global consortia and collaborations with multidisciplinary expertise to develop a PCC common data infrastructure that is internationally relevant for data sharing and comparison are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although medical interpreters are guided by a clear set of medical interpreting standards that are designed to ensure an accurate, clear line of communication between patient and provider, limited research has focused on interpreters' actual experiences: how they integrate the medical interpreting standards into practice, challenges they might face, how they address those challenges, and with what consequences. To address these gaps, we explored experiences of 15 interpreters working in health care settings. As this is a relatively unexplored area and we are exploring social processes, we used grounded theory. Data were analyzed through open, axial, and selective coding. We found all interpreters intended to practice "within" the encounter and valued the medical interpreting standards. However, patient and provider expectations, requests, and a desire to protect patient–provider relationships led to significant deviations from specific elements of the medical interpreting standards. Findings highlight the need to revise medical interpreting standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study explored how nursing home residents define quality of care. Design and Methods: Data were collected through in-depth interviews and were analyzed using grounded dimensional analysis. Results: Residents defined quality in three ways: (a) Care-as-service residents focused on instrumental aspects of care. They assessed quality using the parameters of efficiency, competence, and value. (b) Care-as-relating residents emphasized the affective aspects of care, defining quality as care that demonstrated friendship and allowed them to show reciprocity with their caregivers. (c) Care-as-comfort residents defined quality as care that allowed them to maintain their physical comfort, a state that required minute and often repetitive adjustments in response to their bodily cues. Implications: Residents' perceptions of care quality have implications for long-term care practice. The integration of these perceptions into quality assurance instruments could improve the usefulness of tools designed to obtain resident input. Key Words: Nursing homes, Long-term care facilities, Quality of care, Consumer quality assessment

Knock-in mice were generated that harbored a leucine-to-serine mutation in the [Alpha]4 nicotinic receptor near the gate in the channel pore. Mice with intact expression of this hypersensitive receptor display dominant neonatal lethality. These mice have a severe deficit of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra, possibly because the hypersensitive receptors are continuously activated by normal extracellular choline concentrations. A strain that retains the neo selection cassette in an intron has reduced expression of the hypersensitive receptor and is viable and fertile. The viable mice display increased anxiety, poor motor learning, excessive ambulation that is eliminated by very low levels of nicotine, and a reduction of nigrostriatal dopaminergic function upon aging. These knock-in mice provide useful insights into the pathophysiology of sustained nicotinic receptor activation and may provide a model for Parkinson's disease.

Multiple genetic and environmental factors contribute to the development of alcoholism. Researchers attempting to elucidate the roles of specific genes in alcoholism risk have benefited from advances in genetic engineering. [...]

The aim of this study was to examine the relationships among social support, self-efficacy, and resilience in early career registered nurses. A cross-sectional study was conducted with a convenience sample of 747 early career registered nurses. Data collection was performed between August and November 2015. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Among the three factors of social support, only the impact of coworker support on nurse resilience is fully mediated by self-efficacy; friend support had a significant positive direct effect on self-efficacy and an indirect effect on nurse resilience. This would suggest the importance of administrators/managers understanding how to promote coworker support, increase self-efficacy, foster a positive work climate, and develop effective mentorship programs to improve early career registered nurses resilience and mitigate factors leading to turnover. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]