How the APHA Maternal and Child Health Section Advanced the Public Health Approach to Gun Violence Prevention.

Purpose: This manuscript provides a history of efforts by the American Public Health Association (APHA) Maternal and Child Health Section (MCH Section) Gun Violence Prevention Workgroup (GVP Workgroup) to promote gun violence prevention (GVP) as a key public health priority both within the MCH Section and APHA, and nationally.

Description: The MCH Section established a gun violence prevention workgroup in response to the murders of twenty first-grade children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School. This article presents an overview of the accomplishments and challenges of the MCH Section GVP Workgroup in a context of ever-increasing gun violence.

Using Geographic Information System Mapping in Emergency Management: Expanding the Role of Nurses in Home Based Primary Care.

The Veterans Health Administration Home Based Primary Care (VHA-HBPC) program serves Veterans with complex, chronic conditions. Emergency management is a concern for VHA-HBPC programs. Geographic information system (GIS) mapping has been implemented for local program operations in 30 locations.

Implementing Geographic Information Systems (GIS) into VHA Home Based Primary Care.

The Veteran's Health Administration (VHA) Home Based Primary Care (HBPC) program provides comprehensive in-home primary care services to elderly Veterans with complex chronic medical conditions. Nurses have prominent roles in HBPC including as program leaders, primary care providers and nurses who make home visits. Delivery of primary care services to patients in their homes can be challenging due to travel distances, difficult terrain, traffic, and adverse weather.

Care coordination for pregnant veterans: VA's Maternity Care Coordinator Telephone Care Program.

Coordinating care between Veterans Health Administration (VA) and community providers is essential for providing high-quality comprehensive maternity care to women veterans, particularly those with chronic medical or mental health issues. We iteratively developed and assessed feasibility, as well as facilitators and barriers, of implementing the VA Maternity Care Coordinator Telephone Care Program, and identified specific health needs of pregnant women Veterans served by the program. We used three Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles.

Progress on a Call to Action: Nurses as Leaders in Disaster Preparedness and Response.

This article provides an update on the progress of the "Call to Action: Nurses as Leaders in Disaster Preparedness and Response." A steering committee, initiated, directed, and supported by the Veterans Emergency Management Evaluation Center of the US Department of Veterans Affairs, has undertaken the work of bringing together subject matter experts to develop a vision for the future of disaster nursing. The ultimate goal is to ensure that every nurse is a prepared nurse.

Combining women's preferences and expert advice to design a tailored smoking cessation program.

We designed a patient-centered smoking cessation program for women in 2004/2005, incorporating women's preferences and expert opinion. Our four-step process included: (1) concept-development focus groups; (2) an expert panel; (3) concept-testing focus groups, and (4) a pilot study. Data analyses occurred in 2004-2007.

Listen to the consumer: designing a tailored smoking-cessation program for women.

We used a consumer-driven approach to develop a model smoking-cessation program for women. Four focus groups (N = 23 [5-7/group]), each lasting 2 hours, were led by a professional moderator and audiotaped in 2004. Researchers reviewed transcripts; key themes were identified using scrutiny techniques (Ryan and Bernard, 2003).