Incorporation of Child & Adolescent Mental Health Standardized Patient Simulations to Provide Interprofessional Education for Graduate Students.

Substantial need exists to prepare healthcare professionals to manage the increasing prevalence of mental health conditions, specifically in the child and adolescent population. The primary purpose of this study was to enhance knowledge of health care professionals in the assessment and treatment of common mental health disorders in children and adolescents through the delivery of workshops that provided both didactic and simulation training. This study utilized a repeated measures, quasi-experimental design.

Supporting the Quality of Measurement and Evaluation in Education.

The impetus for the development of a measurement and evaluation team for Robert Morris University, School of Nursing and Health Sciences (SNHS), was to foster faculty and administration commitment in enhancing the quality of measurement and evaluation processes. Many of the SNHS faculty members had experienced incidents of academic inconsistencies with student exam protocols. The measurement and evaluation team was charged to define the goals for faculty to use evidence-based assessment and evaluation strategies that are appropriate for the learner and learning goals, support use of evaluation data to measure the achievement of designated outcomes, and promote curricular excellence through the use of assessment and evaluation data and policies to enhance the teaching and learning process.

Hip Fractures.

Hip fractures are associated with significant morbidity and mortality and a major health problem in the United States (). Eighty percent of hip fractures are experienced by 80-year-old women. Plain radiographs usually confirm the diagnosis, but if there is a high level of suspicion of an occult hip fracture, magnetic resonance imaging or bone scan is the next step to confirm the diagnosis.

Recognition of risk factors and prognostic indicators in Fournier's gangrene.

Fournier's gangrene is a rare but rapidly progressive necrotizing infection that results from the synergistic action of multiple aerobic and anaerobic organisms colonized on the skin and in the anogenital area. This is a case report of a middle-aged man with late presentation of Fournier's gangrene that was treated aggressively by a team of infectious disease specialists, surgeons, intensivists, and intensive care unit specialty nurses over a 3-week period. Despite heroic efforts by the multidisciplinary team, the patient's condition deteriorated and he died of multisystem failure.

Recurrent intussusception in a 4-year-old male.

Acute abdominal pain in children is a common complaint in the emergency department. The etiology of abdominal pain in children can range from benign to life-threatening, and the clinical diagnosis and treatment must be timely and accurate. This case describes a 4-year-old boy with intussusception, a serious disorder with the potential for life-threatening consequences.

Providing appropriate genetic information to healthy carriers of hemoglobinopathy can be a welcome and safe initiative: the Latium example.

Aims: To register the opinions and feelings of (presumed) unaware healthy hemoglobinopathy carriers, receiving information on their carrier status.

Methods: We collected 259 interviews from the parents of secondary school students, after their children had been provisionally diagnosed as hemoglobinopathy carriers during the routine school screening campaign imbedded in the public health care program of the Latium region (Central Italy). After screening of the children, all parents received a standard reassuring letter informing them about the presumed healthy carrier status of their children and were invited for a confirmation of the trait and for an additional explanation if needed.

Elbow injuries and fractures.

Elbow complaints are frequently encountered in the emergency setting. Mechanism of injury often involves direct trauma or a fall on the outstretched hand and arm. Abnormal findings on elbow radiographs can be challenging to identify, thus a systematic approach is essential to identify subtle findings especially with occult fractures.

The effect of nurse practitioner practice in home care on emergency department visits for homebound older adult patients: an exploratory pilot study.

The impact of nurse practitioners (NPs) in home care on emergency department (ED) usage in Canada has not been documented in the literature. This article discusses the potential impact of care provided by NPs on ED use for home care patients in Canada. The authors used a 2-group prospective design for this pilot study to compare the number of ED visits in home care patients followed by NPs (intervention group, n = 30) with those receiving usual care and not followed by NPs (control group, n = 9).

Feasibility of nonselective testing for hemoglobinopathies in early pregnancy in The Netherlands.

Objective: To examine the feasibility of standardized hemoglobinopathy (HBP) carrier testing for pregnant women in The Netherlands in addition to the standard anemia screening.

Methods: We assessed the prevalence of HBP in women at the time of the first pregnancy visit using both a prospective cohort (N = 703) and a retrospective series of women selected at random (N = 588). For the purpose of analysis, the population was divided into a high risk and a low risk group for HBP based on maternal ethnicity.

Vaccine supply chains need to be better funded and strengthened, or lives will be at risk.

In the next decade, at least twelve additional vaccines that target such diseases as typhoid, malaria, and dengue will become available to lower- and middle-income countries. These vaccines must travel along what are called supply chains, which include all personnel, systems, equipment, and activities involved in ensuring that vaccines are effectively delivered from the point of production to the people who need them. But for various reasons, supply chains are already strained in many developing countries, and the potential inability to distribute new vaccines will place lives at risk.

Hb Boskoop [HBA2c.112C>T p.Pro38Ser]: a new α2 chain variant observed in a Morrocan family.

We describe a new nondeletional α-thalassemia (α-thal) determinant found in a Moroccan infant and in two members of his family. The new mutation generates an abnormal hemoglobin (Hb) as a consequence of a Pro→Ser amino acid substitution at codon 37 (old nomenclature) of the α2 gene. The new Hb variant is barely separable on high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) but the expression of the α chain mutant measured on reversed phase chromatography is one-third of that expected from a stable α2 variant, which explains the mild α-thal phenotype observed in the carriers.

Hb St. Truiden [α68(E17)Asn→His] and Hb Westeinde [α125(H8)Leu→Gln]: two new abnormalities of the α2-globin gene.

We report two new abnormal hemoglobins (Hbs) caused by mutations on the α2 gene. One resulted into an Asn→His substitution at position 68, the other in a Leu→Gln substitution at position 125. The first mutation was observed in a 61-year-old North European Belgian male during Hb A(1c) analysis and subsequently in other members of his family.

Using insulin pump therapy in poorly controlled type 2 diabetes.

Purpose: The purpose of this pilot/feasibility study was to evaluate the use of insulin regimens among individuals with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes. In addition, a secondary aim was to build the body of evidence regarding the use of insulin pumps in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Methods: The setting was a suburban private endocrinology practice.

Polio eradication is just over the horizon: the challenges of global resource mobilization.

This study draws lessons from the resource mobilization experiences of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI). As the GPEI launched its eradication effort in 1988, it underestimated both the difficulty and the costs of the campaign. Advocacy for resource mobilization came as an afterthought in the late 1990s, when achieving eradication by the target date of 2000 began to look doubtful.

Hb Den Haag [beta45(CD4)Phe-->Tyr]. A new hemoglobin variant observed during early pregnancy diagnostics.

During a second pilot study, intended to explore the possibility of a country wide implementation of carrier diagnostics for hemoglobinopathies in The Netherlands, we observed a new abnormal hemoglobin (Hb) variant in three members of a family of Scandinavian origin living in the Dutch city of The Hague (Den Haag). The proband, a 34-year-old female presented with low Hb, packed cell volume (PCV) and red blood cell (RBC) values but was normocytic and normochromic. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis revealed a partially separated fraction following Hb A.

Hb Nile[A1] and Hb Nile[A2]: novel identical [alpha77(EF6)Pro-->Ser] variants found in either the alpha1- or alpha2-globin genes.

We describe a novel hemoglobin (Hb) variant, caused by a CCC > TCC transition at codon 77 on the alpha gene. The mutation was found in two unrelated patients, in one patient on the alpha1 gene and in the other patient on the alpha2 gene. Both are anemic patients of African origin.

Diplomacy and the polio immunization boycott in Northern Nigeria.

The boycott of polio vaccination in three Northern Nigerian states in 2003 created a global health crisis that was political in origin. This paper traces the diplomatic actions that were taken by the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, the United Nations, and the U.S.

Promoting critical appraisal of the research literature: a workshop for school nurses.

To promote healthy lifestyles and prevent youth obesity, school nurses collaborate with teachers and other professionals to implement effective health promotion activities (e.g., physical fitness initiatives and nutrition education).

The novel histone deacetylase inhibitor BL1521 inhibits proliferation and induces apoptosis in neuroblastoma cells.

Neuroblastoma is a childhood cancer arising from the sympathetic nervous system. Disseminated neuroblastoma has a poor prognosis despite intensive multimodality treatment. Histone deacetylases (HDACs) were recently discovered as a potential target for pharmacological gene therapy in cancer.

The NIA Group. Building a sense of purpose in preadolescent African American girls: a novel approach to nursing leadership in community health.

Many African American girls experience pubertal development early. Earlier pubertal development may place these girls at greater risk of exposure to or engagement in early sexual behavior. Young girls facing this societal context need interventions to help them develop healthy self-esteem, pride in their cultural heritage, good decision-making skills and a sense of purpose.

Anger assessment in rural high school students.

Anger and aggression in school children are a major concern in American society today. Students with high anger levels and poor cognitive processing skills are at risk for poor relationships, underachievement in school, and health problems. This article describes characteristics of children who are at risk for high anger levels and aggression as well as those who are able to modulate their anger.