Establishment of a low birth weight registry and initial outcomes.

The study was conducted to evaluate a regional, prospective database of information on mothers of low birth weight (LBW) infants. The database informs on unidentified or under-reported modifiable risk factors from which evidence-based, targeted community intervention strategies could be designed to lower the rate of low birth weight in the region. The LBW Registry is based on informed consent, a semi-structured face-to-face (FTF) interview with the mother of the newborn LBW infant, medical record review, and birth certificate worksheet data collection.

Organizational dimensions of hospital nursing practice: longitudinal results.

Assessment of nurses' perceptions regarding key aspects of their work environment informs nurse administrators and helps keep a finger on the organizational pulse so that they can plan effectively for staffing needs and quality care. Longitudinal assessment of nurses' perceptions of the realities of the work environment is even more critical to inform nurse administrators for decision making and planning, especially during turbulent times. The authors report on a hospital's experience in selecting, evaluating, and, at times, discarding instruments to attain the best information on their nurses' perceptions regarding their work environment.