Knowledge, attitudes, and practices of baccalaureate nursing students regarding oral health assessment.

Good oral health is important to overall health. Oral and pharyngeal cancers account for 2% of all cancers, yet no significant improvement in mortality has been demonstrated over the past 30 years. Nurses are in a unique position to integrate and conduct oral health assessments across a wide range of practice settings.

The significance of motherhood for adolescents whose mothers have breast cancer.

Purpose/objectives: To describe adolescents' experiences of living with mothers with breast cancer.

Research Approach: Qualitative.

Setting: Northeastern United States.

Geriatric nursing education in community health: CareLink--partnering for excellence.

The purpose of the study was to evaluate how participation in the CareLink program influenced the community health knowledge and skill of baccalaureate nursing students regarding the care of community-dwelling older adults. Students were assigned three to four clients each during their 14-week clinical placement with a home care agency, situated in a naturally occurring retirement community or senior center. Students contracted with their clients to set goals and provided standardized health assessments and teaching.

CARELINK: partners in a caring model: a cardiac management program for home care.

As a model of care, CARELINK promotes self-care and self-management of chronic illnesses for homebound older adults no longer eligible for skilled nursing services. A case-study method is used to highlight the key constructs and outcomes related to the model. The benefits of applying the CARELINK model as a cardiac management program for home care are discussed.

Cervical cancer: patterns of long-term survival.

Purpose/objectives: To describe the quality of life (QOL) experienced by long-term survivors of cervical cancer and the factors that promoted their adaptation.

Design: Qualitative.

Setting: Homes and offices in the northeastern United States.

Improving oral health in women: nurses' call to action.

The purpose of this article is to discuss the most significant oral health and related problems experienced by women, and to provide a Nurse's Plan of Action to respond to these largely preventable diseases. Oral health is integral to women's overall health and well-being, with poor oral health being associated with cancer, heart disease, diabetes, depression, and the birth of preterm, low-birthweight babies. Poor nutrition and lifestyle, principally tobacco and heavy alcohol use, can further increase the risk for oral diseases.

Promising outcomes in teen mothers enrolled in a school-based parent support program and child care center.

Background: This study described a cohort of teen mothers and their children attending an urban high school with a parent support program and school-based child care center. Specific aims of the study were to describe maternal characteristics and outcomes, and child developmental and health outcomes.

Methods: A volunteer sample of 65 adolescent mothers enrolled in the parent support program and their children were interviewed, surveyed, and assessed.

Increasing activity to reduce obesity in adolescent girls: a research review.

Objective: To provide a systematic review of physical activity intervention research conducted with adolescent girls (12-19 years of age and/or in middle or high school) in the United States and Canada during the past two decades.

Data Sources: Published articles in English were identified in searches using MEDLINE, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, PsycLIT, EMBASE, Science Citation Index, and the Cochrane Controlled Trials Register, with the keywords adolescent health, obesity, physical activity, and exercise, between the dates of May 1980 and November 2003.

Study Selection: Research studies with interventions that started within the adolescent time period.

Postpartum depression as profiled through the depression screening scale.

Purpose: To describe in greater depth the profiles of the dimensions of the Postpartum Depression Screening Scale (PDSS), with a focus on those women identified with postpartum depression (PPD), and to provide a discussion of the implications for early detection in the community.

Method And Design: Subanalysis of data from 150 new mothers who completed the PDSS and had a DSM-IV diagnostic interview conducted by a nurse psychotherapist. Data analysis focused on exploring the profiles of women who were diagnosed with PPD as well as those who were not.

Adolescent motherhood: a meta-synthesis of qualitative studies.

Purpose: To synthesize qualitative studies on the phenomenon of adolescent motherhood.

Methods: Databases were searched for qualitative studies regarding the experience of adolescent motherhood (years 1990-2001). Noblit and Hare's (1988) meta-ethnographic comparative method was used for synthesizing the research.

Adolescent mothers' depression after the birth of their babies: weathering the storm.

This phenomenological study explored the experiences of adolescent mothers with depression following the birth of their babies. A sample of 20 English-speaking participants, between the ages of 16 and 18, were asked to reflect upon and describe their thoughts, feelings, and perceptions about being depressed after the birth of their babies. Significant statements were extracted from each of the transcribed interviews and meanings formulated that reflected the intent of the statements.

Epidural analgesia side effects, co-interventions, and care of women during childbirth: a systematic review.

The purpose of this article is to profile research findings targeting the intrapartum care implications of the most common side effects and co-interventions that go along with the use of epidural analgesia during labor. Randomized, controlled trials published in English from 1990 to 2000 that addressed each of the targeted side effects and 3 specified co-interventions were evaluated for inclusion in this report. Side effects such as pruritus, nausea, and hypotension during labor are common, but they are usually mild and necessitate treatment infrequently.

The relationship between social support and adolescent mothers' interactions with their infants: a meta-analysis.

Objective: The purpose of this meta-analysis was to statistically summarize the results of independent quantitative studies regarding the relationship between social support and adolescent mothers' interactions with their infants.

Data Sources: The following sources were selected from 1980 to 1999: citations from bibliographies of previously located articles, dissertations abstracts, the Social Sciences Citation Indexes, and researchers at a regional conference; online sources used were CINHAL, MEDLINE, ERIC, Psych Lit, and Social Work Abstracts.

Study Selection: Of a potential sample of 31 studies, 14 were excluded because they did not meet the sampling criteria, and 4 were deleted as outliers.

The Female Sexuality Questionnaire: instrument development.

The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a measure of female sexuality, the Female Sexuality Questionnaire (FSQ). A survey design was employed for the study. The sample included 262 adult women ages 18 to 81 (M = 32).

Integrating cultural values, beliefs, and customs into pregnancy and postpartum care: lessons learned from a Hawaiian public health nursing project.

Determining the elements of culturally competent health care is an important goal for nurses. This goal is particularly integral in efforts to design better preventive health care strategies for pregnant and postpartum women from multiple cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Learning about the values, beliefs, and customs surrounding health among the targeted groups is essential, but integrating this knowledge into the actual health care services delivery system is more difficult.

A model for professional nursing in organizations: the Rainbow.

This paper presents a model of professional nursing in organizations that provides cohesive direction to the development of patterns that shape how nursing is structured in an organization. Such cohesive direction can foster integration between the practice and the discipline components of nursing. The model can influence the structure of nursing on a macro level within the organization and on a micro level by influencing patterns of nursing care delivery.

Early Postpartum Discharge: Implications for Canadian program development.

Early postpartum discharge (EPD) programs could soon become normative for low-risk women in Canada. To meet new mothers' health care, educational, and psychosocial needs, EPD programs must reflect a deeper understanding of the immediate postpartum period. Structured teaching in hospital must be replaced by a fluid, individualistic approach to mother-infant care.