Innovative Exercise for Nursing PhD Students: Addressing Biases During Integrative Literature Reviews.

Background: Nursing PhD students face the difficulty of conducting integrative literature reviews that may lead to bias and lack of rigor particularly in the literature search, data evaluation, and data analysis stages. This article describes the development and use of an arts-based learning exercise to identify potential biases and improve on the critical and writing skills of students during the integrative literature review process.

Method: The exercise consisted of visits to the university's museum, moderated discussions with nursing faculty and the museum educator, visual analyses of artwork, building art portfolios, and writing assignments.

The effects of self-guided interventions on stress, burden, and mental health in caregivers of people living with dementia: A systematic review.

Background: The number of people living with dementia continues to grow, increasing the demands on unpaid caregivers of people living with dementia. Caregiving can be emotionally and mentally distressing. In response, numerous interventions have been developed and tested to improve mental health in caregivers of people living with dementia.

A mediating role of self-care difficulty in the association between caregiver strain and the impact of caregiving on health: A cross-sectional secondary analysis.

Caregivers of people living with dementia face strain, reduced self-care, and poorer health status. However, research examining the links among those outcomes is limited. We explored the association between caregiver strain and the impact of caregiving on health status and identified the mediating role of self-care difficulty in this association.

Empowering Dementia Caregivers: Incorporating Caregiving Training Resources Into Current Procedural Technology Codes.

Purpose/objectives: We aim to explore Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes for caregiving training services and their potential impacts on caregivers of people living with dementia.

Description Of The Project/program: In response to the growing need for support for caregivers of people living with physical and mental health issues, CPT codes for caregiving training services will be activated for the calendar year 2024. These codes cover (1) family group behavior management and modification training services and (2) caregiver training for techniques to help patients maintain their quality of life.

Dissecting sexual minority subgroup differences in the association between depression, anxiety, and cognitive difficulties.

Introduction: A growing body of research has demonstrated extensive mental health disparities affecting sexual minority populations, yet little research has assessed how these disparities may affect cognitive functioning among subgroups of sexual minorities.

Methods: Data come from the 2021 National Health Information Survey (NHIS). Survey-weighted linear regression analyses were used to assess self-reported measures of cognition, stratified by subgroups sexual identity.

Use of Digital Health Resources by Sexual and Gender Minority Caregivers of Older Adults: Findings From the 2020 Survey.

We applied Andersen's Behavioral Model of Health Services Use to investigate the health needs and use of digital health resources among sexual and/or gender minority (SGM) caregivers. Data were from the 2020 survey. Regression analyses were used to describe associations between predisposing, enabling, and need factors and usage of digital health resources.

Evaluating the caregiver experience during neoadjuvant therapy for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

Introduction: Neoadjuvant therapy (NT) is increasingly recommended for patients with localized pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Recent research has highlighted the significant treatment burden that patients experience during NT, but caregiver well-being during NT is poorly understood.

Methods: A cross-sectional mixed-methods analysis of primary caregivers of patients with localized PDAC receiving NT was undertaken.

The feasibility of Technology, Application, Self-Management for Kidney (TASK) intervention in post-kidney transplant recipients using a pre/posttest design.

Background: Weight gain after a kidney transplant remains a major problem that can lead to adverse effects on morbidity and mortality. The posttransplant phase provides a window of opportunity to improve the engagement of self-management of care for lifestyle modifications for diet and physical activity. The purpose of our study was to (1) test the feasibility of recruitment, retention, and adherence for using the Technology, Application, Self-Management for Kidney (TASK) intervention in post-kidney transplant recipients (≥ 18 years of age) at baseline, 4, 8, and 12 weeks; and (2) estimate the preliminary effects of the TASK intervention in producing change over time for blood pressure (BP), weight, fruits/vegetable intake, fiber intake, sodium intake, self-efficacy to exercise, and perceived stress.

Dyadic Hair Cortisol Self-Collection Procedure.

Background: At-home self-collection of specimens has become more commonplace because of measures taken in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Self-collection of hair cortisol is important because chronic stress is present in many populations, such as older adults living with Alzheimer's disease and their family caregivers. For the evaluation of chronic stress, scalp hair can be used as a predictive biomarker because it examines the cumulative, retrospective stress from previous months.

Nurse scholars of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Harold Amos Medical Faculty Development Program.

Background: The challenge to increase the diversity, inclusivity, and equity of nurse scientists is a critical issue to enhance nursing knowledge development, health care, health equity, and health outcomes in the United States.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to highlight the current nurse scholars in the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Harold Amos Medical Faculty Development Program (AMFDP).

Discussion: Profiles and the programs of research and scholarship of the current AMFDP nurse scholars are described and discussed.

Sexual and Gender Minority Differences in Likelihood of Being a Caregiver and Levels of Caregiver Strain in a Sample of Older Adults.

Over the next two decades, the number of caregivers is expected to climb dramatically alongside a rise in older adults, particularly sexual and gender minority (SGM) older adults, yet little research has assessed differences between SGM and non-SGM care partners. Data for these analyses come from the Columbus Healthy Aging Project ( = 79). This study was designed to assess several domains of health among adults aged ≥50 years in Columbus, Ohio, US.

Lessons Learned for Training a Research Team and Teaching Kidney Transplant Recipients How to Use a Mobile Health Technology for Dietary Intake and Physical Activity via a Virtual Platform.

Kidney transplant centers and other health care organizations historically have struggled to merge lifestyle management for diet and physical activity into clinical practice. The use of mobile health (mHealth) applications has the potential for kidney transplant recipients to track calorie intake and physical activity in real time. Few studies have reported how they trained their research team and participants how to use mHealth technology in real time.

Inclusive Care Practices and Policies Among Sexual and Gender Minority Older Adults.

As the health care and well-being of sexual and gender minority (SGM; i.e., lesbian, gay, bisexual, and/or transgender or gender non-binary) people in the United States receive federal and local-level attention, SGM older adults and caregivers continue to be left out of important health policy and care conversations.

Profiles of women's adjustment after cancer based on sexual and psychosocial wellbeing: results of a cluster analysis.

Background: Sexual wellbeing is a critical yet often overlooked aspect of overall wellbeing for women across cancer diagnoses.

Objective: We identified profiles of women cancer survivors by sexual and psychosocial outcomes and compared groups for differences in relevant outcomes and individual characteristics.

Methods: Partnered women treated for cancer (n = 226; M age = 51.

Improving Developmental Positioning in a Level III NICU Using Evidence-Based Teaching and a Standardized Tool: An Evidence-Based Quality Improvement Project.

Positioning and handling is a core measure of developmental care that has been universally difficult to implement in the technical NICU environment. Appropriate positioning has been shown to not only improve postural and musculoskeletal outcomes, but enhance sensory development, physiologic stability, thermal regulation, behavioral organization, sleep facilitation, and brain development. In order to improve the developmental positioning practices of bedside nurses in a level III neonatal intensive care unit, a quality improvement project was initiated.

Hair Cortisol Concentration, Perceived Stress, Mental Well-Being, and Cardiovascular Health in African American Older Adults: A Pilot Study.

(1) Background: African Americans experience high rates of psychological stress and hypertension, which increases their risk of cardiovascular disease with age. Easy-to-collect psychological and biological stress data are valuable to investigations of this association. Hair cortisol concentration (HCC), as a proxy biomarker of chronic stress exposure, provides such advantages in contrast to collection of multiple daily samples of saliva.

Using Twitter to understand perspectives and experiences of dementia and caregiving at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has placed a tremendous burden on all of society, particularly among vulnerable populations such as people living with dementia and their caregivers. Efforts to understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on those living with dementia are crucial towards addressing needs during the pandemic and beyond. This qualitative descriptive study includes a thematic analysis of 6938 tweets from March 17-24, 2020, that included direct or indirect references to COVID-19 and at least one of the following terms/hashtags: Alzheimer, #Alzheimer, dementia, and #dementia.

A Comparative Analysis of Family Quality of Life Between Heterosexual and Sexual Minority Caregivers of People with Dementia.

Providing care for someone with Alzheimer's disease or related dementias (ADRD) is associated with significant physical and mental strain affecting quality of life among caregivers. However, little attention has been given to sexual minority (SM lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer) people caring for those with ADRD. In this cross-sectional study, we used psychosocial measures to describe the characteristics and family quality of life of SM and heterosexual caregivers for people with ADRD.

Race-Related Differences Between and Within Sex to Experimental Thermal Pain in Middle and Older Adulthood: An Exploratory Pilot Analysis.

This brief report details a pilot analysis conducted to explore racial differences in pain sensitivity and unpleasantness between cognitively healthy Black and White adults, stratified by sex. A total of 24 cognitively healthy adults (12 Black and 12 White) from two completed studies were matched by age and sex, and divided into two groups based on race. Stratified analyses by sex demonstrated that Black females reported experiencing pain intensity ratings of all three intensity sensations at lower temperatures than White females.

Profiling Bilingual Children: Using Monolingual Assessment to Inform Diagnosis.

Purpose: Diagnostic tools developed for monolinguals are frequently used for bilingual linguistic assessment. The absence of evaluation criteria for using monolingual norms for bilinguals contributes to inconsistent diagnostic procedures, impacting research and clinical practice. This study considers the reliance on monolingual tools to assess the heritage language to identify bilingual atypical language development (ALD) even when bilingual norms are available for the societal language.

Sexual minorities are at elevated risk of cardiovascular disease from a younger age than heterosexuals.

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide. In this study, we assessed factors related to cardiovascular disease risk and outcomes among sexual minorities (SM). Data from multiple waves of the PATH study were used in this analysis.

Maintenance phase of a physical activity intervention in older kidney transplant recipients: A 12-month follow-up.

Daily walking activities are associated with improving cardiovascular outcomes in older kidney transplant recipients. However, little is known regarding physical activity adherence outcomes in older kidney recipients. The purpose of this randomized controlled trial 12-month follow-up study was to evaluate the feasibility of the intervention (SystemCHANGE™ + activity tracker) during the maintenance period (7-12 months), compared to an attention-control group (activity tracker only) in older kidney recipients (age 60 and older).

A personalized approach empowering successful aging: Patient perspective on fall prevention education.

Background: Falls are the leading cause of fatal injury, and the most common cause of nonfatal trauma, among older adults. However, patient perspectives on preferences for obtaining fall education are not well reported.

Objective: To identify components of successful fall prevention education.