Developing a Productive Workgroup Within a Community Coalition: Transtheoretical Model Processes, Stages of Change, and Lessons Learned.

Background: Addressing complex problems such as health disparities requires collaboration among individuals and agencies. Yet, methods by which productive and cohesive community-based volunteer workgroups are developed and activated to improve health outcomes are often not discussed.

Objective: Using the transtheoretical model (TTM) as a framework, we discuss effective processes for developing an action-oriented community-based workgroup committed to producing evidence-based information relevant to health policy.

The risks of statin use in pregnancy: A systematic review.

Statins are contraindicated in pregnancy; however, as women delay pregnancy and statin use increases the risk of statin exposure in pregnancy is likely to rise. In contrast to some early reports that statins are teratogenic, more recent observational studies have called into question the teratogenic risk of statins. Therefore, whether statins are associated with congenital anomalies or other pregnancy complications remains an important clinical question.

The Case for Lung Cancer Screening: What Nurses Need to Know.

Background: Lung cancer screening with low-dose helical computed tomography (LDCT) can improve high-risk individuals' chances of being diagnosed at an earlier stage and increase survival.

Objectives: The aims of this article are to present the risk factors associated with the development of lung cancer, identify patients at high risk for lung cancer qualifying for LDCT screening, and understand the importance of early lung cancer detection through the use of LDCT screening.

Methods: PubMed and CINAHL® databases were searched with key words lung cancer screening to identify full-text academic articles from 2004-2014.

Turn the Beat Around: A Stroke Prevention Program for African-American Churches.

Objective: The objective was to pilot a socioculturally tailored church-based stroke prevention program delivered by trained community health workers (CHWs) and to test its effects on participant knowledge scores.

Design And Sample: A single-group, pre-post test pilot study was conducted with a convenience sample of 201 adult African-Americans recruited from nine churches in three Alabama counties. Measurements included participant weight, blood pressure (BP), physical activity level; knowledge related to hypertension, heart disease, and stroke; cigarette smoking; and access to care, as well as the Stages of Change constructs within the Transtheoretical Model.

Relations between subclinical disease markers and type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and incident cardiovascular disease: the Jackson Heart Study.

Objective: The presence of subclinical disease measures has been directly associated with the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in whites. African Americans (AAs) in the U.S.

A heart failure initiative to reduce the length of stay and readmission rates.

Purpose/objectives: The purpose of this pilot was to improve multidisciplinary coordination of care and patient education and foster self-management behaviors. The primary and secondary outcomes achieved from this pilot were to decrease the 30-day readmission rate and heart failure length of stay.

Primary Practice Site: The primary practice site was an inpatient medical-surgical nursing unit.

Changes in the treatment of inpatient hyperglycemia: what every nurse practitioner should know about the 2012 standards of care.

Purpose: To provide nurse practitioners (NPs) with a review of the 2012 Standards of Care for the management of hospitalized patients who are hyperglycemic.

Data Sources: The 2012 American Diabetes Association's (ADA) Standards of Care for the treatment of inpatient hyperglycemia and selected evidence-based articles.

Conclusions: Because hyperglycemia occurs at alarming rates in the inpatient setting when hyperglycemia is not controlled, there is a great impact on acute and even chronic conditions.

Obstructive sleep apnea and dyslipidemia: evidence and underlying mechanism.

Introduction: Over the past half century, evidence has been accumulating on the emergence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), the most prevalent sleep-disordered breathing, as a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease. A significant body of research has been focused on elucidating the complex interplay between OSA and cardiovascular risk factors, including dyslipidemia, obesity, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus that portend increased morbidity and mortality in susceptible individuals.

Conclusion: Although a clear causal relationship of OSA and dyslipidemia is yet to be demonstrated, there is increasing evidence that chronic intermittent hypoxia, a major component of OSA, is independently associated and possibly the root cause of the dyslipidemia via the generation of stearoyl-coenzyme A desaturase-1 and reactive oxygen species, peroxidation of lipids, and sympathetic system dysfunction.

Collaborative co-op as a means to expand BSN enrollment & diversity.

The collaborative co-op is an innovative option that emphasizes cultural competence and evidenced-based nursing care. This project provides four summers of more challenging and responsible experiences to enhance students' expertise in supervision and delegation with other members of the health care team. Through experiential learning, students develop an in-depth understanding of differentiated practice roles and the distinct and complimentary responsibilities of the nursing assistant, the practical nurse, and the professional nurse through this highly structured and mentored co-op clinical experience.