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The authors developed a program for older adults to improve spatial awareness and sense of balance while promoting person--environment interaction. Motivating Moves, a 20-min program of 14 movement sequences set to original music, was offered to 4 groups of older adults (N= 66, mean age = 80.97, SD = 7.34) during 6 weekly 1-hr sessions. Participants learned new movements during the first 5 weeks, and all movements were reviewed in the 6th week. Program evaluation was based on attendance-pattern data, self-report measures of program satisfaction, and focus-group interviews. Approximately 64% of enrollees (n = 42) completed the program, and attendance rates were high (>89%) for these individuals. Participants reported benefits of Motivating Moves, such as enhanced posture awareness, improved sense of balance, and increased social interaction. Issues related to developing and offering a movement program with music are reviewed, with attention to potential difficulties and suggestions for program implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emotionally close relationships can be disrupted at any time in the life cycle. When a relationship of attachment is disrupted following an event that renders a loved one forever changed from the hoped-for child or from the known person, recurrent sadness, or chronic sorrow, is a frequently encountered response. The genesis of sadness is one's recognition of a negative disparity between the person who was known prior to the onset of disability (or the imagined, hoped-for child) and the now-disabled person. Though each episode of sadness resolves somewhat over time, renewed recognition of a negative disparity in the disabled loved one triggers sadness again. Besides being recurrent, the sadness of chronic sorrow is also permanent, variable in intensity between situations and persons, and interwoven with periods of neutrality, satisfaction and happiness. The concept is analysed and contrasted with the prevalent model of linear, time-bound grief. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Nursing faculty are challenged to create learning experiences that both reflect the complexities of the current health care system and are relevant. Experiential learning opportunities should promote engagement in health care that extends beyond direct patient care to advocacy in larger systems., Method: To meet this challenge, faculty developed course assignments for students at baccalaureate, master's, and doctoral levels in which students worked with state Action Coalitions to implement the Institute of Medicine Future of Nursing report's eight recommendations. With faculty guidance, student teams developed and implemented projects or conducted research to assist the coalitions in their grassroots initiatives., Results: Students at all program levels reported high levels of satisfaction and engagement with these unique projects. Students reported understanding the importance of the Future of Nursing recommendations and intended to continue participating in statewide initiatives., Conclusion: Experiential learning opportunities at all program levels can engage students in learning more about advocacy, health care trends, and leadership., (Copyright 2016, SLACK Incorporated.)

This hermeneutic phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of young African American HIV-infected women. Eleven women between the ages of 21 and 35 participated. One pattern, Infected Lives, and three themes--Living Alone With HIV, Living With Unresolved Conflicts, and Living With Multiple Layers of Betrayal--emerged. The pattern and themes portray the very complex and challenging experiences faced by these young women living with HIV infection. They have experienced isolation, abandonment, betrayal, and discrimination in their interpersonal and social systems. They often dealt with conflicts of hope and anguish in the relationships with their children, and portraying strength, while feeling fragile. These complexities negatively influence the ability to fully engage in self-care activities. Implications for future research include further investigation about the experiences of psychological distress experienced post-diagnosis, development and evaluation of holistic nursing interventions, and evaluative research on mass media educational campaigns to reduce HIV-related stigma., (© The Author(s) 2014.)

Objectives: The Institute of Medicine's Future of Nursing report advocates for full nurse leader representation across multiple settings to address current challenges in our health care system. The purpose of this study was to examine nursing leadership development needs among Kansas registered nurses (RNs)., Methods: Data were collected through an online survey and analyzed using quantitative and qualitative methods., Results: Nearly 1,000 Kansas RNs participated. Most reported holding one or more leadership positions. Prevalent leadership goals were health care organization volunteer administrative roles. The most frequently identified barrier to developing leadership roles was time constraints. Many wanted to develop skills to serve on a board, 20% were interested in personal leadership development, and 19% in policy development., Conclusions: Based on the findings, the Kansas Action Coalition leadership team is developing programs to address the leadership needs of Kansas RNs. By building capacity in advanced leadership roles, RNs will be better prepared serve as full partners and lead efforts to promote the health of Kansans., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The purpose of this article is to analyze the St. Johns Mercy Medical Center (SJMMC)-Saint Louis University School of Nursing (SLUSON) dedicated education unit (DEU) project for partnership effectiveness. The DEU, an innovative and collaborative academic-service partnership, reconceptualizes the role of the faculty and staff nurse in the clinical educational process. In a DEU, the staff nurse provides the clinical instruction to the student, and the faculty member coaches the staff nurse on the teaching-learning process. Rather than explore the effectiveness of the DEU as an innovative clinical pedagogy, this article analyzes the relationship between the academic and service institutions for strategic effectiveness. The analysis is based on themes found across three successful and distinct academic partnerships and other evaluative models from business, government, and alliance research. The themes and models provide the frameworks needed to analyze the SJMMC-SLUSON academic-service partnership for structure, process, and outcomes. This analysis can serve as a guide for the development of academic-service partnership practices to facilitate successful, sustainable, and replicable partnerships that benefit both institutions., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The concurrent nursing and faculty shortages continue to be critical issues for the nation's health care system. As academic nursing programs struggle with maintaining and increasing enrollment in the midst of a faculty shortage, one solution is to expand the faculty's capacity through innovative academic-service partnerships. Schools and clinical partners identified as having implemented innovative partnerships were invited to participate in this descriptive study. Site visitations to schools in Florida and Texas were conducted to gain in-depth knowledge of the clinical education model, the academic-service partnership, and the strengths and challenges associated with planning, implementing, and sustaining programs. Four underlying features were common across the successful implementation: supportive relationships, goodness of fit, flexibility, and communication. Consideration of the four features will be useful as nursing programs and their clinical partners are developing, implementing, and evaluating new models for increasing educational capacity and lessening the nursing shortage., (Copyright 2011, SLACK Incorporated.)

The acute shortage of RNs is both well established and projected to continue. Two primary factors contributing to the nursing shortage are insufficient numbers of faculty and insufficient clinical sites for students. Innovative academic-service partnerships are realigning these scarce resources to improve the quality of clinical education and build cultures of safety. Relationships among students, staff nurses, faculty, and the institutions where they practice are central to students' socialization, professional role development, and transition to practice. Five recommendations to strengthen these professional relationships are suggested to: reenvision nursing student-staff nurse relationships, reconceptualize the clinical faculty role, enhance development for school-based faculty and staff nurses working with students, reexamine the depth and breadth of the clinical component, and strengthen the evidence for best practices in clinical nursing education. Five key outcomes are suggested to evaluate both traditional and emerging approaches to clinical nursing education., (Copyright 2009, SLACK Incorporated.)

This project had a dual purpose: 1) to facilitate student learning about qualitative research methods, and 2) to promote collegiality and professional development among senior nursing students in Canada and the United States through the use of distance technology. In each of three project years, students at St. Francis Xavier University (STFX) in Nova Scotia initiated the experience by working in small groups to develop websites about different methodological approaches in qualitative research. Site information included an overview of the selected approach, discussion of trustworthiness issues, citation of journal articles in which authors used the approach, additional references, and some personal information about the student developers. Also working in small groups, University of Kansas students identified and read related research articles, reviewed website information, and responded to the STFX groups about the usefulness of site information in increasing understanding of qualitative methods and using the information for evaluation of research. The experience promoted active use of qualitative research concepts and facilitated the development of skills in evaluating research article content and website content. Participation in the activity fostered positive perceptions about the value and use of research and helped students appreciate the similarities in courses, programs, and professional requirements and values among international peers.

When diagnosis of dementia occurs earlier in the disease process, more time is available for treatment aimed at maintaining patient function and delaying decline, and for family education about the disease and its management. Primary care providers often, however, face challenges in making timely diagnoses. Nineteen practitioners in mostly rural areas of a mid-western state were interviewed about their experiences in diagnosis and treatment, to develop a more comprehensive understanding of barriers encountered by providers in non-metropolitan areas. Participants estimated that the time from symptom onset to diagnosis ranged from several months to one year, largely dependant upon family recognition. Limitations in access to consultants and limited or non-existent community support and education resources were major impediments to diagnosis and treatment, respectively. Like their colleagues in more urban communities, denial among family members, or families who were absent or uncooperative, created additional challenges for providers in making and communicating diagnoses and in supporting home-based or institutional care. Conversely, supportive and motivated families played a central role in positive patient care experiences. Participants agreed that support and education services were important for family caregivers, but generally had few resources to offer families, which constrained their ability to provide optimal care. Identifying challenges faced by rural practitioners is essential to planning appropriate interventions for consultative support and educational outreach.

Fatigue is a complex symptom prevalent in informal caregiving. When role demands exceed caregiver resources, fatigue ensues and caregiving can be compromised. The purpose of this study was to compare perceptions of fatigue among older adults (N = 92) caring for spouses with Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, or cancer with a control group of older adults (N = 33) whose spouses required no extra care. Caregiving elders reported more fatigue, less energy, and more sleep difficulty than did control participants. All caregiving groups reported similar levels of fatigue, energy, sleep, and self-reported health even though there were marked differences regarding spousal status. Health care providers can support older caregivers in monitoring their own health and in recognizing the need for services that support the caregiving role.

In response to a long history of problems with defining and measuring fatigue, the University of Kansas School of Nursing established a Center for Biobehavioral Studies of Fatigue Management to facilitate the study of fatigue in diverse populations. The purpose of this article is to review past efforts to define and measure fatigue and the conceptual problems relevant to currently used measures of fatigue. Several distinct characteristics and corresponding measures of fatigue are identified and a definition and framework for the study of fatigue are discussed. Future research on fatigue must attend to the conceptual distinctions among various measures and the measures of fatigue most appropriate to the goals of a study.

Purpose: To introduce the symptom interpretation model (SIM) and facilitate understanding symptoms from an intrapersonal perspective. Determining an individual's interpretation of symptoms is critical to understanding the resulting decisions., Organizing Construct: SIM is based on an illness representation model, knowledge structures theory, and propositions about reasoning. Individuals name and assign meaning to environmental stimuli. Based on this interpretation, behaviors are selected for symptom management., Methods: Theory derivation was used to develop SIM for understanding comparisons of known and new symptoms in a behavioral outcomes context., Conclusions: Symptom familiarity reinforces patterns about symptom management. SIM enriches understanding of symptom experiences. Comprehensive assessment, including the intraindividual perspective, is essential to successful symptom management.