The EPICS Family Bundle and its effects on stress and coping of families of critically ill trauma patients.

Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate impact of the EPICS Family Bundle on stress and coping.

Background: Critical care nurses frequently deal with family stress, but may be without knowledge and skills needed to assist families to cope.

Methods: A non-equivalent control group design was used, with a convenience sample of 84 family members of critically ill patients.

Use of the internet in staff development and its application in helping critical care nurses to lower family stress.

A systematic review evaluated use of the Internet in nursing staff development and the feasibility of using the Internet to teach critical care nurses how to help families. Use of the Internet to provide staff development had varying success. The keys to success are careful development of the program according to needs and capabilities of the users, strong education pedagogical principles, and constant evaluation for success in order to make alterations as they are needed.

Using evidence-based performance improvement in the community hospital setting.

Lack of research expertise and participation in the nonacademic setting hinders evidence-based performance improvement in community hospitals. Research opportunities are limited in small hospitals, and staff nurses often are unfamiliar with research terminology and practice. This article explores one community hospitals success in bringing a research focus into its performance improvement initiatives.

A review of organizational culture instruments for nurse executives.

Nurse executives are aware of the complexities of organizational culture. It impacts the nursing work environment and patient care safety and quality. The authors describe several widely available tools that nurse leaders can use to assess organizational culture in the work environment.

Managed care and patient safety: risks and opportunities.

Objective: Patient safety practices have primarily focused on providers, such as hospitals and ambulatory or long-term care. Based on the premise that most medical errors and patient safety problems arise from system issues, and that managed care constitutes the largest, most integrated system in health care, the authors examine the role of managed care in making patient care safer.

Study Design: Review of the literature and analysis of the role of managed care in patient safety.

Cueing into infant pain.

Unfortunately the history of pain management in infant care has included decades of inadequate analgesia for a wide range of medical procedures, including major surgery. This was justified in part on fear of drug and analgesic risks to the infant, as well as the commonly held belief that infants do not respond to, or remember, painful experiences. Today we understand that infant pain is encoded into observable manifestations through which an infant communicates behavioral and physiological changes such as altered vital signs, characteristic cries, and facial expressions.

What quality improvement professionals need to know about IRBs.

Healthcare quality improvement (QI) studies are systematic analyses of processes and outcomes. As such, they meet one of the federal regulatory criteria defining research. They also meet the second criterion in many instances, generalizability of findings, even if it was not the study's original intent.

Co-bedding versus single-bedding premature multiple-gestation infants in incubators.

Objective: To compare the physiological stability and behavioral effects of co-bedding with those of single-bedding premature multiple-gestation infants in incubators as well as the psychological effects on their parents.

Design: Prospective, randomized, repeated measure.

Participants: Convenience sample of 16 infants and 8 parents in the co-bedded group, and 21 infants and 11 parents in the control group.

Components of developmental care and the evidence for their use in the NICU.

Developmental care, a philosophy of care that requires rethinking the relationships between infants, families, and healthcare providers, is in place in the majority of neonatal intensive care units in the United States. Developmental care includes a variety of activities designed to manage the environment and individualize the care of the premature infant based on behavioral observations. The goal is to promote a stable, well-organized infant who can conserve energy for growth and development.

Meta-analysis and decision analysis bridge research and practice.

Research synthesis methods provide meaningful quantitative data through systematic review of the research literature and translation of these findings into practice implications. Meta-analysis has been the gold standard for translation of research findings into practice. Decision analysis has emerged as an alternative to and extension of meta-analysis.

Gene therapy in the post-Gelsinger era.

As gene therapy research races to a first cure of a genetic-based disease, the research community has struggled with the aftermath of the well-publicized death of Jesse Gelsinger from complications of an experimental treatment. In a wrongful death lawsuit against the University of Pennsylvania and its researchers, Jesse Gelsinger's family alleged violations of federal regulations and research ethics. This article reviews gene therapy research, examines the role of the key players in this tragedy, and provides suggestions for preventing future misfortunes.

A comparison of nurses' needs/concerns and hospital disaster plans following Florida's Hurricane Floyd.

Introduction: The idea for this study was inspired by the response to Hurricane Floyd. Nurses are relied upon and expected to fulfill responsible roles during disaster situations, but little is known about the needs or concerns that nurses experience when they meet expectations and function as disaster responders.

Methods: Official copies of disaster protocols from 4 area hospitals were reviewed, and 4 focus groups consisting of ED nurses from respective hospitals provided information about nurses' concerns or needs in response to Hurricane Floyd.

The relationship between continuous quality improvement and research.

The adoption of new care processes can take years despite high-quality research findings that support the change in clinical practice. Healthcare quality professionals, with their leadership and continuous quality improvement (CQI) skills, are critical champions in accelerating and supporting the change toward evidence-based practice. Heightened attention to the relationship between CQI, research, and research utilization is vital.