Quality improvement: Antimicrobial stewardship in pediatric primary care.

Background: Antimicrobial resistance is the resistance of microorganisms to antibacterial, antiviral, antiparasitic, and antifungal medication resulting in increased healthcare costs with extended hospital stays in the United States. The goals of this quality improvement project were to increase the understanding and importance of antimicrobial stewardship by nurses and health care staff and increase pediatric parents'/guardians' knowledge of the proper use of antibiotics and differences between viruses and bacterial infections.

Methods: A retrospective pre-post study was conducted in a midwestern clinic to determine if an antimicrobial stewardship teaching leaflet increased parent/guardian antimicrobial stewardship knowledge.

Habit and Routine Interventions with Emerging Adults with Diabetes: An Integrative Review.

Although theoretical and empirical writings on habits and routines are a promising body of science to guide interventions, little is known about such interventions among emerging adults with type 1 diabetes. Thus, an integrative review was conducted to describe interventions in relation to habits and routines, their influence on outcomes, and users' perspectives. A medical librarian conducted a search.

Enhanced New Mothers Network Cell Phone Application Intervention: Interdisciplinary Team Development and Lessons Learned.

Single, low-income, African American mothers experience challenges caring for themselves and their infants. Nurse researchers, providing creative and theoretically based approaches for complex client health care, are increasingly becoming interdisciplinary leaders on research teams. The first purpose of this article was to describe this interdisciplinary team's development of a cellular (cell) phone application (app), the Enhanced New Mothers Network (ENMN).

Low-Income, African American, Adolescent Mothers' Depressive Symptoms, Perceived Stress, and Social Support.

The purpose of this descriptive repeated-measures study was to describe depressive symptom patterns and report changes over time in levels of perceived stress and social support depending on patterns of depressive symptoms in single, low-income, African American, adolescent mothers during the initial, 6-month postpartum period. Thirty-five adolescent subjects between the ages of 16 and 22 years old were recruited at health care clinics in two Midwestern cities. Data collections by advanced practice nurses were completed at 1 week, 6 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months postpartum at mothers' homes.

An Integrative Review of Postpartum Depression in Rural U.S. Communities.

Aim: This study's aim is to synthesize and summarize the literature on postpartum depression (PPD) in U.S. rural populations.

Social Support and Psychosocial Well-being Among Low-Income, Adolescent, African American, First-Time Mothers.

Aims: The aims of this study are to describe for single, low-income, adolescent, African American new mothers how (1) primary sources of social support changed over time, (2) the level of social support (emotional, informational, tangible, and problematic) from these primary sources changed over time, and (3) social support from the primary supporter was associated with mothers' psychosocial well-being (self-esteem and loneliness) over time.

Design: A secondary analysis was conducted of data from a previous social support intervention study.

Sample: The sample consisted of 35 single, low-income, adolescent (mean [SD] age, 18.

Awakening: a qualitative study on maintaining weight loss after bariatric surgery.

Aims And Objectives: To describe the experiences of adults who were successful in maintaining weight loss after bariatric surgery.

Background: The majority of studies examine a homogenous demographic group of postbariatric surgical patients who have gone through initial weight loss, which occurs within the first 12-24 months post surgery. Maintenance of weight loss begins 24 months after bariatric surgery; however, there is a paucity of research examining experiences during this period.

Nurse-Led Trauma-Informed Correctional Care for Women.

Purpose: Incarcerated women are a vulnerable and unique population of special concern to nurses as they have high rates of mental illness. In this article, the authors discuss how trauma exposure contributes to mental illness in incarcerated women through abuse, socioeconomic factors, and the prison environment, how this trauma exposure manifests in the inmate survivor, and the related implications for practice.

Conclusions: A history of trauma and victimization is related to complex mental health issues which affect the majority of justice-involved women.

Health promotion text blasts for minority adolescent mothers.

Purpose: To examine use of technology for delivering a health promotion intervention via text blasts in single, low-income, adolescent, minority mothers and to describe their perceptions and experiences with the intervention.

Study Design And Methods: A qualitative descriptive design was used for this study. Health promotion information was sent weekly in the form of text blasts and/or pictures to five mothers during the first 6 months postpartum.

You can't put a dollar amount on presence: young, non-resident, low-income, African American fathers.

Aims And Objectives: The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to describe the lived experiences of young, non-resident, low-income, African-American fathers.

Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a convenience sample of 6 men enrolled in the Omaha Healthy Start, Fathers for a Lifetime Program.

Results: The following themes were identified: (a) A Work in Progress: Fatherhood Investment; (b) A Little Island by Myself: Barriers to Fathering; (c) I'm Going to be There From Day One to Infinity: Presence; and (d) The Tomorrow Dad: Not Like my Dad.

Effects of an internet intervention on mothers' psychological, parenting, and health care utilization outcomes.

Aims And Objectives: The purpose of this pilot study was to test the effects of an Internet-based intervention, the New Mothers Network, on single, low-income, adolescent, African American mothers' psychological, parenting, and health care utilization outcomes.

Background: The study was based on social support theory.

Methods: For mothers in the Intervention Group, MSNTV™ was installed in subjects' homes and connected to the Internet.

Mexican American mothers' eating and child feeding behaviors.

Objective: The purpose of this study of Mexican-American mothers of 2-6 year old children was to explore the relationships among maternal attitude, perceived behavioral controls, mother's intent, mother's regulation of her own Simple Carbohydrate Intake (SCI), and mother's child feeding behaviors. The overall objective was to increase understanding of the complex process of intention to eat healthy.

Methods: A prospective exploratory design using a convenience sample of a cohort of 82 Mexican-American mothers was used in this study.

Online support for single, low-income, African American mothers.

Purpose: To enhance understanding of the phenomenon of being a single, low-income, African American mother through their discussions and use of an Internet-based social support intervention.

Study Design And Methods: The New Mothers Network discussion forum was made available to 20 mothers in their homes for 6 months after the infant's birth. Nineteen mothers posted 174 messages to research nurses and to one another.

Community leaders' perceptions of Hispanic, single, low-income mothers' needs, concerns, social support, and interactions with health care services.

Hispanic, single, low-income mothers are a vulnerable population who are often identified as having difficult transitioning to motherhood and successfully using the U.S. health care system.

New mothers network: the provision of social support to single, low-income, African American mothers via e-mail messages.

Electronic mail (e-mail) is being investigated as a health care intervention for mothers caring for their infants. The purpose of this study is to describe themes representing the content of e-mail messages written by 12 single, low-income, African American mothers to nurses participating in the New Mothers Network Study. Three themes that emerged were (a) life's logistics: day-to-day concerns; (b) relationships of support; and (c) personal reflections about being a new mother.

New Mothers Network: the development of an Internet-based social support intervention for African American mothers.

Many single, low-income, African American mothers lack social support, experience psychological distress, and encounter difficulties caring for their infants during the transition to parenthood. The purpose of this article is to describe the development of a theoretically-based social support Internet intervention, the New Mothers Network, for improving single, low-income, African American mothers' health and parenting abilities. Conceptual and practical information is provided to describe the evolution of the intervention.

Using the concept of family strengths to enhance nursing care.

This article was written to help nurses better understand the family strengths framework and encourage them to incorporate family strengths into the nursing care they give. In times of stress or crisis for families, nurses can use the conceptual framework of family strengths as a mechanism to promote strong, healthy relationships. The family strengths perspective identifies and builds on positive attributes in family functioning.

Community leaders' perceptions of single, low-income mothers' needs and concerns for social support.

Purposes of this study were to (a) assess and describe needs and concerns of single, low-income mothers during their transition to parenthood from the perspective of 16 Midwestern community leaders working closely with families and (b) evaluate social support mechanisms that are available for families. Focus group questions were organized around social support theory to gather information. The following themes evolved from focus group discussions: (a) social support issues (emotional, tangible, informational, and appraisal support; positive and negative support); (b) personal barriers to success (stress, low self-esteem, isolation, and inadequate parenting competence); and (c) system barriers (fear of the system and insensitive and ineffective services).

Effects of high-risk pregnancies on families.

Purpose: To examine the psychosocial impact a high-risk pregnancy has on the family and to identify family strengths and how these strengths help families meet the challenges inherent in high-risk pregnancies.

Study Design And Method: A descriptive study using naturalistic inquiry was used to interview women who were currently pregnant and had differing high-risk obstetric health issues. Data collection for this study included semi-structured, one-on-one audiotaped interviews, observations, and a biographic profile completed by the participant.

Needs, concerns, and social support of single, low-income mothers.

The purposes of this qualitative pilot study were to describe needs and concerns of single, low-income mothers and to evaluate social support mechanisms these mothers valued during the transition to parenthood. Qualitative analysis consisted of word and context interpretation from focus group data. The following themes resulted from the discussion: (a) transition: resilience, finding new direction, and an array of emotions and mixed feelings; (b) stress: loss, isolation, and barriers; and (c) social support: positive and negative social support, and the need for informational, appraisal, emotional, and tangible support.

Effects of the New Fathers Network on first-time fathers' parenting self-efficacy and parenting satisfaction during the transition to parenthood.

The effectiveness of an Internet-based intervention, the New Fathers Network, was tested in improving first-time fathers' parenting self-efficacy and parenting satisfaction during the first 8 weeks following their infants' birth as compared with no intervention (Comparison Group). Parenting self-efficacy and satisfaction scores for the Intervention Group significantly improved from 4 to 8 weeks; parenting self-efficacy and satisfaction scores for the Comparison Group to which no intervention was given did not change significantly. Participants were primarily satisfied with the New Fathers Network.

Marital and parenting satisfaction and infant care self-efficacy during the transition to parenthood: the effect of infant sex.

The purpose of this follow-up study was to examine the effect of infant sex on changes in and differences between parents' reports of infant care self-efficacy and parenting and marital satisfaction from 4 months to 12 months after the birth of their first child. A convenience sample of 32 couples was selected from 44 couples who participated in a longitudinal study of the development of parenting satisfaction and infant care self-efficacy during the first 4 months after the birth of a first child (Brage Hudson, Elek, Fleck, 2001). Couples completed a demographic questionnaire, the Infant Care Survey (ICS, Froman Owen, 1989), the What Being the Parent of a New Baby is Like--Revised Questionnaire (WPBL-R, Pridham Chang, 1989), and the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS, Spanier, 1976, 1989) 4 and 12 months postpartum.

Chewing tobacco use: perceptions and knowledge in rural adolescent youths.

The purposes of this pilot study were to describe the incidence of chewing tobacco use among rural midwestern adolescents and to describe rural midwestern adolescents' perceptions and knowledge about chewing tobacco use. A Smokeless Tobacco Use Survey was administered to 34 adolescent subjects who attended 5th-8th grades in two rural towns. None of the subjects reported trying chewing tobacco products.