Women's Choices Regarding Use of Their Newborns' Residual Dried Blood Samples in Research.

Objective: To determine the proportion of informed choices women made about donating their newborns' blood samples for research.

Design: A quantitative analysis of informed choice using data on women's knowledge and attitudes from a descriptive, cross-sectional survey.

Setting: The state of Michigan.

Mothers' Decisions About Donating Newborns' Blood Spots for Research: A Qualitative Study.

Residual dried blood spots from millions of newborns are being stored and used for research. The state of Michigan proactively developed a broad consent process for research use of newborns' blood spots. However, the extent to which mothers make informed choices about this research is unclear.

Participants' Understanding of Informed Consent for Biobanking: A Systematic Review.

Nurses are increasingly asked to obtain consent from participants for biobanking studies. Biobanking has added unique complexities to informed consent. The purpose of this systematic review was to evaluate participants' level of understanding of the information presented during the informed consent process unique to the donation of biological specimens for research.

Outcome after tracheostomy for respiratory failure in the elderly.

The purpose of this study was to determine hospital and postdischarge survival and functional status at follow-up in elderly patients receiving tracheostomy for respiratory failure and to determine if these outcomes differed between the younger elderly (65-74 years) and the older elderly (> or = 75 years). This was a retrospective chart review with prospective administration of the SF-36 conducted in 228 patients aged 65 years or older who had undergone tracheostomy to facilitate mechanical ventilation for respiratory failure at a tertiary care, university-affiliated, urban medical center. Demographics, comorbidities, hospital survival, liberation from mechanical ventilation, long-term survival, and functional status were determined.