Investigating the Salience of Clinical Meaningfulness and Clinically Meaningful Outcomes in Metastatic Breast Cancer Care Delivery.

Purpose: As metastatic breast cancer (mBC) treatment evolves, there is a need to understand how clinical meaningfulness, or a meaningful change in a patient's daily life, and clinically meaningful outcomes inform patient-centered care. Partnering with key stakeholders ensures patient-centered research incorporates the knowledge and expertise of advisors with lived experience. We describe a multistakeholder engagement approach to examine how people living with mBC (PLWmBC), caregivers, and health care providers interpret clinical meaningfulness and clinically meaningful outcomes and their influence on mBC treatment decision making and care.

Assessment of Cardiovascular Disease Among Predominantly Black Gout Patients.

Introduction: Although the association between gout and cardiovascular disease (CVD) has been extensively studied, scarce data are available for the Black population. We aimed to assess the association between gout and CVD in a predominantly Black urban population with gout.

Methods: A cross-sectional analysis was performed between a gout cohort and an age-/sex-matched control group.

The graduate record examination: help or hindrance in nursing graduate school admissions?

Do graduate record examination (GRE) scores serve as strong predictors of student success in graduate school in nursing, and if so, is the extent to which they may indicate success outweighed by their perceived role as a barrier to application to graduate school in nursing? Academic ability, defined as cumulative grade point average (GPA), was used as the outcome indicator for success in graduate school and was compared with admission GRE scores for 217 students admitted to graduate programs at the University of Washington School of Nursing over a 1-year period. The GRE presented a large barrier to application that far outweighed the limited benefit of predicting 5% to 8% of explained variance in GPA.

Partners reducing effects of diabetes (PREDICT): a diabetes prevention physical activity and dietary intervention through African-American churches.

Type 2 diabetes is epidemic in the United States with greater incidence rates in African-American communities. Lifestyle interventions during the phase of insulin resistance mitigate cardiovascular risk and prevent diabetes. The primary aim of this study is to test the impact of a Community Health Advisor (CHA)-based diabetes prevention controlled intervention in urban African-American communities.

Long-term effects of LDL apheresis in patients with severe hypercholesterolemia.

Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is an inherited disorder of lipoprotein metabolism involving mutations in the LDL receptor (LDL-R). Patients with mutation in one (heterozygous) or both (homozygous) genes have markedly elevated LDL cholesterol and are at increased risk for coronary heart disease (CHD). Aggressive lipid lowering is required for homozygous and many heterozygous FH patients.

Essential qualifications for nursing students.

Course objectives do not always support grading or evaluation decisions when a student demonstrates poor judgment or disrespectful interactions with others in clinical settings, classrooms, and program-related activities. Instructor attempts to help a student identify, reflect upon, and correct an inappropriate behavior are often awkward, avoided altogether, or lack an articulated set of standards to which both student and instructor can refer. Yet qualifications such as sound judgment and sensitive communication skills are essential in the provision of quality nursing care.