Decision Style Inventory Application in Parent/Guardian Vaccination Decision-Making: A Pilot Study.

Introduction: Cases of preventable diseases continue to occur globally. Much literature is present about barriers and factors that influence vaccination, but little is known about psychologically ingrained decision-making styles and their relationship with vaccination decisions.

Design/methods: This quantitative descriptive cross-sectional pilot study aimed to explore using an established tool, the Decision Style Inventory (Rowe & Mason, 1987), in parents/guardians of children 2 months to 20 years old.

Island communities and disaster resilience: Applying the EnRiCH community resilience framework.

Objective: To explore the beliefs, attitudes, and perspectives of community resilience in St. Kitts and Nevis.

Design: Qualitative Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis using the EnRiCH Community Resilience Framework for High-Risk Populations (EnRiCH Framework) to identify factors that enhance or create barriers to community resilience to disasters in St.

The Emergency Nurses Association: 50 Years of Advocacy and Advancement.

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Emergency Nurses Association, this article describes the 3 most enduring and impactful policy initiatives in the organization's history. These initiatives were identified through a comprehensive review of the articles published in the Journal of Emergency Nursing as well as in other publications of the Emergency Nurses Association, including position statements and press releases. The top 3 policy issues throughout the Emergency Nurses Association's history were identified as provision of care for vulnerable populations, trauma and injury prevention, and patient quality and safety.

Partnership integration for rural health resource access.

Increasing numbers of older adults are residing in rural areas of the USA. Many of these individuals experience greater rates of chronic diseases and lower income levels compared to their urban-residing counterparts. Aging in rural environments creates greater challenges in the provision of funding, staff and resources to meet the needs of these older adults, and contributes to immense health disparities and health inequities.

Learning Together: Combining Undergraduate and Graduate Simulated Learning for Practicing Physical Assessment Skills.

The effectiveness of using undergraduate nursing students (UNS) as standardized patients for advanced practice nurses (APNs) was studied. First-semester UNS, as part of their health assessment course requirements, participated in APN students' practice and testing sessions as standardized patients for their health assessment course physical exam. Analysis of pre/post experience scores and open-ended questions demonstrated UNS perceived confidence increased in 15 of 21 areas and APN students' confidence increased in three areas.

Analyzing the Usability of the 5-Level Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale By Paramedics in the Prehospital Environment.

Introduction: ED crowding negatively affects throughput, quality of care, and outcomes. Paramedics do not have an evidence-based, feasible triage instrument to guide classification of patients. No studies have compared the Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale (CTAS) used by prehospital paramedics against the Emergency Severity Index (ESI) used by nurses in the emergency department.

Relationships among moral distress, level of practice independence, and intent to leave of nurse practitioners in emergency departments: results from a national survey.

The aims of this research study were to investigate moral distress among emergency department (ED) nurse practitioners (NPs) and examine relationships between moral distress and level of practice independence as well as intent to leave a position. Moral distress has been studied regarding registered nurses and physicians (MDs) but less so in NPs. It is important to explore moral distress in NPs because they tread a unique path between nursing and physician roles.

Gentle Massage Improves Disease- and Treatment-Related Symptoms in Patients with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia.

Objective: Cancer treatment is reported to be stressful, and patients diagnosed with hematologic cancers often exhibit higher levels of anxiety and emotional distress than individuals with other malignancies. Management of these symptoms in patients with hematologic cancer presents significant challenges, as many of them are in and out of the hospital while undergoing high dose chemotherapy. Oncology patients use complementary modalities such as therapeutic massage in an attempt to alleviate disease and treatment-related symptoms, including anxiety and emotional distress.

Risk screening for cardiovascular disease and diabetes in Latino migrant farmworkers: a role for the community health worker.

Diabetes and heart disease are two of the leading causes of death for Hispanics living in the United States (American Heart Association [AHA] in Circulation 123:e18-e209. doi: 10.1161/CIR.

From the trunk of a Volkswagen beetle: a mobile nursing clinic in Appalachia.

Access to health care has been a factor for patients living in isolated mountain regions. The Frontier Nursing service was a pioneer in reaching those patients living in the most remote regions of Appalachia. Geography, demographics, and culture present obstacles for rural residents and health care providers.

Description of healthcare needs at an episodic clinic in rural southwest Virginia.

Introduction: The objective of this study was to describe the population served at an episodic clinic in Southwest Virginia to better understand patient needs at a yearly episodic Remote Area Medical (RAM) clinic that provides free healthcare services.

Methods: The dataset was compiled retrospectively from 2834 medical records from RAM patients between 1 July 2006 and 31 July 2008. Information was de-identified and manually recorded from paper records.

The role of procalcitonin in community-acquired pneumonia: a literature review.

Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a significant clinical and public health problem. Recently, attention has been paid to the potential for procalcitonin (PCT) both to differentiate the diagnosis and to indicate the prognosis of pneumonia. The purpose of this literature review was to evaluate the eligibility of PCT for defining typical bacterial infections and for predicting severity and mortality in trials for CAP.

Use of complementary and alternative healthcare practices among persons served by a remote area medical clinic.

Remote rural communities are often without adequate healthcare resources. To address the need in one area of Appalachia, an annual medical clinic is held to provide free healthcare services to residents of Appalachia. The Appalachian culture has a number of unique features that influence the healthcare practices of persons living in this region.

Differential access to quality rural healthcare: professional and policy challenges.

Using a national dataset, the influence of the community and individual provider characteristics on the availability of healthcare resources in rural areas was evaluated. Disparities continue to exist in the availability of providers including organizational types of providers such as Community Health Centers and Community Mental Health Centers. A lower percentage of nonmetropolitan counties have such centers, and more rural counties within the general grouping of nonmetropolitan counties have fewer of these organizational resources.

Earthquakes in El Salvador: a descriptive study of health concerns in a rural community and the clinical implications: Part III--Mental health and psychosocial effects.

Background: In 2001, the mountain town of San Sebastian, El Salvador experienced a series of earthquakes that affected the livelihood of its people.

Methods: A convenience sample of 100 households of 594 inhabitants of San Sebastian and the surrounding rural farming areas was completed. One study participant for each household was evaluated for mental health and psychosocial changes after the earthquakes.

Earthquakes in El Salvador: a descriptive study of health concerns in a rural community and the clinical implications--part II.

Results reported in Part I of the Earthquakes in El Salvador series (see Disaster Management & Response 2003;1:105-9) indicated clinically relevant findings. The findings indicated a need for greater public health action within all five categories reviewed: healthcare, access to healthcare, housing, food, water and sanitation. Significant results between urban and rural communities indicated a need for broader community aid, public health and sanitation services to rural areas.

Earthquakes in El Salvador: a descriptive study of health concerns in a rural community and the clinical implications, part I.

Introduction: This is the first article in a series that evaluates the health concerns of people living in a Salvadoran rural community after major earthquakes. Part I reviews the background, methods, and results of post-earthquake conditions with regards to healthcare, access to healthcare, housing, food, water and sanitation. Part II reviews the implications of these results and recommendations for improvements within the community.