Three instruments to assess fatigue in children with cancer: the child, parent and staff perspectives.

The purpose of this study was to develop and test three instruments to measure fatigue in children with cancer from the perspectives of the child, parents and staff. The study consisted of three phases: instrument development, content validation, and estimations of psychometric properties of the three fatigue instruments. One hundred forty-nine children between the ages of 7-12 years presently receiving chemotherapy for cancer, 147 parents and 124 staff participated in this study.

Tobacco cessation intervention in a nurse practitioner managed clinic.

Tobacco cessation counseling by health care professionals has been associated with increased tobacco cessation rates. In this study we compare the effectiveness of two smoking cessation approaches administered by nurse practitioners--a stepped care approach (n = 34) and a routine care approach (n = 41), using a pre- and post-test control group study design. Additionally, this study was guided by the "stages of change" construct of the transtheoretical model.

Identifying and addressing medical errors in pain mismanagement.

Background: There is strong evidence in the pain management literature that undertreatment of pain is pervasive despite several approaches, including use of national guidelines, to completely correct the problem. Although the concept of medical errors has primarily been concerned with adverse events, it is not unreasonable that mismanagement of pain could also be classified as a medical error.

Errors Of Pain Management: Error types can be classified as errors in assessment and documentation, errors in treatment and management, and errors in patient education.

Qualitative assessment of hospitalized patients' satisfaction with pain management.

Patient evaluations of effectiveness of care and satisfaction with care are useful outcome indicators of pain management. The subiective, multidimensional nature of pain is best evaluated when outcome measures include the richness of qualitative data to more fully capture the range of patient experiences. A descriptive qualitative component was added to the American Pain Society Patient Outcome Questionnaire--Modified (1995) to determine critical indicators in the pain experience affecting patient satisfaction.