Background: Vascular diseases, including atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) and stroke, increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease and cognitive impairment. Serum biomarkers, such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), may be indicators of cognitive health.
Objective: We examined whether vascular risk was associated with levels of cognition and serum biomarkers in older women with cardiovascular disease (CVD).
High pain intensity is commonly experienced by patients with serious advanced illness. Impediments to improving pain intensity in home hospice include poor adherence to a pain management regimen due to caregivers' lack of knowledge and self-efficacy (confidence) in administering analgesics. e-PainSupport is a self-administered, digital application directly linked to patients' medical records.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs
March 2024
Objective: To describe associations among background determinants of physical activity, modifiable theoretical determinants of physical activity, and measures of physical activity during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy among Black women.
Design: Longitudinal cohort.
Setting: Medical center obstetric clinic.
Am J Hosp Palliat Care
October 2024
e-PainSupport is a digital pain management application (app) designed to facilitate better pain management in hospice. Early testing revealed caregivers found it was easy to use and successful in communicating patient pain and caregiver administration of analgesics to hospice nurses. However, caregiver knowledge of analgesic management remained low.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Cardiovasc Nurs
June 2024
Background: Recruiting participants with cardiovascular disease into research during the COVID-19 pandemic was challenging, particularly those at risk of health disparities.
Objective: During the pandemic, 12 cohorts of older women with cardiovascular disease were recruited from cardiology clinics into a lifestyle intervention trial to prevent cognitive decline. Objectives were to ( a ) describe the results of modified recruitment/screening strategies to overcome pandemic-related challenges and ( b ) evaluate differences in age, race, and ethnicity between patients recruited/randomized, recruited/not randomized (entered recruitment but not randomized because of being ineligible or not interested), and not recruited (clinic patients who met preliminary criteria but did not enter recruitment).
Collaboration between Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) scholars and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) scholars is crucial to efficiently advance and disseminate nursing science. Also, DNP-PhD collaboration can help achieve priorities outlined in the recent National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) Strategic Plan. The purpose of this series of case studies is to describe exemplars of ongoing DNP-PhD collaborations across three NINR-funded trials (1 completed, 2 ongoing) testing physical activity interventions for women at risk for cardiovascular disease.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe purpose of this study was to explore the associations between social determinants of health, health behaviors, and physical and mental health among African American and Hispanic caregiving grandmothers. We use cross-sectional secondary data from the Chicago Community Adult Health Study, originally designed to understand the health of individual households based on residential context. In a multivariate regression model, discrimination, parental stress, and physical health problems were significantly associated with depressive symptoms in caregiving grandmothers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) affected many aspects of randomized controlled trials, including recruiting and screening participants. The purpose of this paper is to (a) describe adjustments to recruitment and screening due to COVID-19, (b) compare the proportional recruitment outcomes (not completed, ineligible, and eligible) at three screening stages (telephone, health assessment, and physical activity assessment) pre- and post-COVID-19 onset, and (c) compare baseline demographic characteristics pre- and post-COVID-19 onset in the Working Women Walking program. The design is a cross-sectional descriptive analysis of recruitment and screening data from a 52-week sequential multiple assignment randomized trial (SMART).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Physical activity (PA) is a promising method to improve cognition among middle-aged and older adults. Latinos are at high risk for cognitive decline and engaging in low levels of PA. Culturally relevant PA interventions for middle-aged and older Latinos are critically needed to reduce risk of cognitive decline.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Latinos are the fastest growing minority group of the older adult population. Although physical activity (PA) has documented health benefits, older Latinos are less likely to engage in leisure time PA than older non-Latino whites. Dance, popular among Latinos, holds promise as a culturally relevant form of PA.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe purpose of the current study was to investigate the association between self-reported physical activity (minutes/week) and cognitive functioning in a sample of African American older adults living with HIV. A secondary analysis of baseline data collected from clinically stable African American older adults living with HIV (aged >50 years; = 124) enrolled in the Rush Center of Excellence on Disparities in HIV and Aging study was conducted. Participants completed a battery of 19 cognitive function tests that were used to create summary scores of global cognition and five cognitive domains.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Allergy Clin Immunol Pract
December 2021
Background: Black women are disproportionately affected by both physical inactivity and asthma. Lifestyle physical activity (PA) interventions targeted for Black women with asthma are lacking.
Objective: To assess the feasibility and acceptability as well as preliminary effects of a lifestyle PA intervention culturally tailored for Black women with asthma.
Background: New or worsening frailty is a common problem in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) during the prolonged time awaiting kidney transplantation. Structured physical activity in the dialysis setting has been shown to mitigate frailty, but little is known about the benefits of home-based exercise. The purpose of this systematic review was to summarize the effects of home-based exercise interventions on indicators of frailty (weakness, slowness, low physical activity, perceived exhaustion, and shrinking) among patients diagnosed with ESRD.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Critical care nurses experience higher rates of mental distress and poor health than other nurses, adversely affecting health care quality and safety. It is not known, however, how critical care nurses' overall health affects the occurrence of medical errors.
Objective: To examine the associations among critical care nurses' physical and mental health, perception of workplace wellness support, and self-reported medical errors.
Objective: To describe and understand exercise practices, beliefs about exercise, support for exercise, barriers to exercise, and preferences for a group exercise program in the context of individual and environmental factors among Black women during pregnancy.
Design: Mixed-methods design.
Setting: Large university-affiliated urban midwifery practice.
Background: African American women have lower levels of leisure time physical activity compared to White American women. Interventions to improve physical activity have mixed benefits for African American women, even when guided by theory. Understanding how theoretical constructs used in physical activity interventions relate to changing behavior may provide direction for more successful interventions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBlack female adolescents and women have disproportionately higher rates of obesity than their racial/ethnic counterparts. There is an urgent need to address obesity prevention in Black adolescent females through interventions that enhance lifestyle physical activity and improve dietary behaviors. Middle adolescence presents an important opportunity to strengthen the daughter-mother bond and improve healthy behaviors such as physical activity and dietary intake.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Cognitive impairment (CI) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) disproportionately affect women compared to men, and CVD increases risk of CI. Physical activity and cognitive training can improve cognition in older adults and may have additive or synergistic effects. However, no combined intervention has targeted women with CVD or utilized a sustainable lifestyle approach.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Cognitive impairment disproportionately affects older women with cardiovascular disease (CVD). Physical activity (PA) and cognitive training (CT) may have synergistic effects in combined interventions. However, no combined intervention has targeted women with CVD or utilized a sustainable and preferable lifestyle approach.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Physical inactivity is associated with worse asthma outcomes. African American women experience disparities in both physical inactivity and asthma relative to their white counterparts. We conducted a modified evidence-based walking intervention supplemented with mobile health (mHealth) technologies to increase physical activity (PA).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Physical activity monitors, motivational text messages, personal calls, and group meetings, have proven to be efficacious physical activity interventions. However, individual participant response to these interventions varies drastically. A SMART design (sequential multiple assignment randomized trial) provides an effective way to test interventions that start with an initial treatment and then transition to an augmented treatment for non-responders.
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