Measurement of Convexity Characteristics: A Transdisciplinary Consensus Conference.

While convex skin barriers have been used in patient care for decades, regulatory bodies and manufacturers have not established consistent parameters for measuring the most essential characteristics of a convex skin barrier. A transdisciplinary panel of manufacturers, engineers, marketing specialists and clinical subject matter experts from the United States was convened to address this gap. An initial consensus meeting was held to establish consensus around measurement parameters for 5 characteristics of convex skin barriers: depth, slope, flexibility, compressibility, and tension location.

Good Things Don't Always Come in Small Packages: Comprehensive Care of Patients With Class 3 Obesity: An Integrative Review.

The epidemic of obesity and morbid obesity is straining the American health care system's ability to provide quality patient care. Patients with Class 3 (also referred to as morbid or severe) obesity require specialized equipment, unique approaches in the delivery of care, and understanding of the biopsychosocial pathophysiologic mechanisms underlying their condition. This article defines Class 3 obesity, its pathophysiology, and discusses issues that arise when providing quality care of these individuals including safe patient handling, right-sized equipment, and empathetic interpersonal care.

Factors Affecting Psychosocial Adjustment in Persons With a Recent Ostomy.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to examine the influence of personal and clinical factors on psychosocial adjustment in persons living with an ostomy for less than 1 year.

Design: A cross-sectional survey.

Subjects And Setting: The study sample comprised 183 adult individuals who had a colostomy, ileostomy, or urostomy for less than 1 year, residing in the Northeastern United States.

Quantification of sertraline maternal/fetal ratio and amniotic fluid concentration using a pregnancy physiologically based pharmacokinetic model.

Aims: Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are indicated for a variety of psychiatric conditions which may require treatment during pregnancy. Knowledge of appropriate SSRI dosages that maintain maternal therapeutic benefit and minimize fetal risk are needed. Assessment of fetal exposure to drugs is challenging since sampling is often limited to a single concentration from the umbilical cord at delivery.

SOCIAL BULLYING IN NURSING AND HEALTH SCIENCES ACADEMIA: A QUALITATIVE STUDY.

Academic social bullying in nursing and health professions schools is an understudied area yet emerging research shows it is prevalent. This qualitative study derived from two larger quantitative studies targeting the development and validation of an instrument measuring academic social bullying and whose purpose was to understand the phenomenon in greater depth from narrative comments. Survey design with open ended questions was utilized to obtain content and construct validation along with reliability data for a de-novo instrument measuring academic social bullying.

Critical Connections Among Embedding of Childhood Adversity and Adult Chronic Gastrointestinal and Genitourinary Disorders: A Review of the Literature.

Background: A gap in the literature exists demonstrating associations between adverse child experiences (ACEs) as potential a priori contributing factors and gastrointestinal (GI)/genitourinary (GU) disorders.

Purpose: A narrative review of the literature was conducted to explore critical connections between ACEs and GI/GU disorders with a working hypothesis of a dose-responsive relationship existing among them.

Methods: A literature search was conducted using MEDLINE, Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature, PubMed, and Web of Science using search terms adverse childhood experiences, childhood adversity, obesity, gastrointestinal disorders, and genitourinary disorders, and secondary searches of obesity and specific GI/GU disorders (eg, irritable bowel syndrome, pelvic pain).

Application of physiologically based pharmacokinetic modeling for sertraline dosing recommendations in pregnancy.

Pregnancy is a period of significant change that impacts physiological and metabolic status leading to alterations in the disposition of drugs. Uncertainty in drug dosing in pregnancy can lead to suboptimal therapy, which can contribute to disease exacerbation. A few studies show there are increased dosing requirements for antidepressants in late pregnancy; however, the quantitative data to guide dose adjustments are sparse.

Psychometric Development of an Instrument Measuring Social Bullying in Nursing Academia: Item Development and Content Validation.

Background: Social bullying in academic nursing schools is an understudied area, yet extant research shows it is prevalent.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to generate a formal definition for academic social bullying and content validate an instrument measuring it in academic nursing.

Methods: Classic psychometric theory and survey design were used to develop an instrument measuring academic social bullying.

Connections Among Biologic Embedding of Childhood Adversity, Adult Chronic Illness, and Wound Care: A Review of the Literature.

Unlabelled: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) biologically embed by altering brain development and influencing epigenetic mechanisms. These experiences may generate health risk factors.

Purpose: A literature review was conducted to compare ACE-generated health risk factors with risk factors for wound development and aberrant healing, as well as to identify a gap in literature regarding critical connections between ACEs, chronic illness, and wound development/healing, with associated practice implications.

Addressing the Perioperative Nursing Shortage Through Education: A Perioperative Imperative.

Perioperative nurse leaders are facing an unprecedented nursing shortage. Very few baccalaureate nursing programs in the United States prepare graduates for perioperative nursing, and many current perioperative nurses are retiring from practice or leaving the field for other reasons. It is a challenge for nursing administrators to fill the vacant positions because it takes several months to orient a novice perioperative nurse and it involves significant costs.

Reconsideration of 2008 decision: Food and Drug Administration approval of etanercept for systemic treatment of moderate to severe pediatric psoriasis.

Although systemic etanercept was approved in 2004 for adults, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) denied approval for use in children with psoriasis in 2008. Revision of the FDA's risk-benefit assessment in response to understanding of disease burden, unmet medical need, and the effect of off-label use in children with psoriasis led to the 2016 approval as the first systemic biologic product for the treatment of children aged 4-17 with moderate to severe psoriasis. This article delineates the thinking that led to this reconsideration.

Attitude Isn't the Only Thing, It's Everything: Humanistic Care of the Bariatric Patient Using Donabedian's Perspective on Quality of Care.

Comprehensive care of bariatric patients is challenging. Although structural knowledge exists about safe care given correct equipment and supplies, care processes also must be humane. The literature suggests morbidly obese patients may fear the health system because of past negative experiences.

Application of a modified diabetes prevention program with adolescents.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to increase type 2 diabetes (T2DM) awareness and decrease T2DM risk factors by examining effectiveness of a modified version of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) with adolescents.

Design And Sample: A quasi-experimental one-group, pretest/posttest design was used to determine impact of the modified DPP on adolescents. Study intervention was incorporated into the health education curriculum at a public charter school and implemented over 11 weeks.

Pharmacologic Impact (aka "Breaking Bad") of Medications on Wound Healing and Wound Development: A Literature-based Overview.

Patients with wounds often are provided pharmacologic interventions for their wounds as well as for their acute or chronic illnesses. Drugs can promote wound healing or substantively hinder it; some medications cause wound or skin reactions. A comprehensive review of extant literature was conducted to examine the impact of drug therapy on wound healing and skin health.

Management Approaches to Stomal and Peristomal Complications: A Narrative Descriptive Study.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify optimal interventions for selected complications based on WOC nurse experts' judgment/expertise.

Methods: A cross-sectional quantitative descriptive design with qualitative, narrative-type components was used for this study. Following validation rating of appropriateness of interventions and quantitative rankings of first-, second-, and third-line approaches, participants provided substantive handwritten narrative comments about listed interventions.

The Food and Drug Administration Office of Women's Health: Impact of Science on Regulatory Policy: An Update.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration Office of Women's Health (FDA OWH) has supported women's health research for ∼20 years, funding more than 300 studies on women's health issues, including research on diseases/conditions that disproportionately affect women in addition to the evaluation of sex differences in the performance of and response to medical products.