Disparities in Cancer Stage of Diagnosis by Rurality in California, 2015 to 2019.

Background: Cancer rates in rural areas vary by insurance status, socioeconomic status, region, race, and ethnicity.

Methods: California Cancer Registry data (2015-2019) were used to investigate the stage of diagnosis by levels of rurality for the five most common cancers. The percentage of residents in rural blocks within census tract aggregation zones was categorized into deciles up to 50%.

Disparities in cancer incidence by rurality in California.

Background: Cancer rates in rural areas across the United States have different patterns than in urban areas. This study examines associations between rurality and incidence for the top 5 cancers in California and evaluates whether these associations vary jointly by sex, race, and ethnicity.

Methods: We used 2015-2019 California Cancer Registry data to compare incidence rate ratios (IRRs) and trends for breast, prostate, lung, colorectal, and skin (melanoma) cancers.

Methodological considerations for the design and implementation of a fully longitudinal mixed methods study.

Growing interest is evident in longitudinal mixed methods research, particularly fully longitudinal mixed methods designs in which both quantitative and qualitative data are collected concurrently for the duration of the study. Fully longitudinal mixed methods designs are particularly relevant for research on dynamic phenomena because of their ability to illuminate both quantitative and qualitative dimensions of change in real time as the phenomenon of interest changes. However, these are complex research designs and their data-intense nature makes them potentially burdensome for study participants, challenging for research teams, and costly for funding agencies.

A COVID-19 screening tool for oncology telephone triage.

Purpose: Symptoms associated with COVID-19 infection have made the assessment and triage of cancer patients extremely complicated. The purpose of this paper is to describe the development and implementation of a COVID-19 screening tool for oncology telephone triage.

Methods: An Ambulatory Oncology Clinical Nurse Educator and three faculty members worked on the development of an oncology specific triage tool based on the challenges that oncology nurses were having with the generic COVID triage tool.

Initial psychometric testing of the Head and Neck Cancer Patient Self-Management Inventory (HNC-PSMI).

Purpose: Head and neck cancer (HNC) and its treatment are associated with significant symptom burden and functional impairment. HNC patients must engage in intensive and complex self-management protocols to minimize acute and late treatment effects. Self-management among HNC patients is understudied due to the limited availability of disease-specific self-management measures.

A new conceptual model of experiences of aging in place in the United States: Results of a systematic review and meta-ethnography of qualitative studies.

Objectives: The purpose of this systematic review was to synthesize the evidence on experiences of aging in place in the United States.

Design: Systematic review and meta-ethnography of qualitative studies.

Data Sources: We searched six bibliographic databases (PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Web of Science, Sociological Abstracts), with no limits on publication date.

The Experience of Complex Pain Dynamics in Oncology Outpatients: A Longitudinal Qualitative Analysis.

Background: Few qualitative studies of cancer patients' everyday experiences with pain exist within the large body of cancer pain research. Longitudinal qualitative studies are particularly sparse, and no studies have qualitatively described patients' pain experience over time during participation in a self-management intervention.

Objective: To longitudinally describe patients' pain experiences during a 10-week pain self-management intervention.

A Longitudinal Study of Predictors of Constipation Severity in Oncology Outpatients With Unrelieved Pain.

Context: Although constipation is a common symptom in oncology patients, it often goes unrecognized and untreated. In addition, little is known about characteristics associated with interindividual differences in constipation severity.

Objectives: To describe prevalence, characteristics, and management of constipation; evaluate interindividual differences in constipation severity over 10 weeks; and identify demographic, clinical, and symptom characteristics associated with higher constipation severity scores.

Impact of patient symptoms and caregiving tasks on psychological distress in caregivers for head and neck cancer (HNC).

Objective: To determine the association of caregiving task burden and patient symptom burden with psychological distress among caregivers of head and neck cancer (HNC) patients.

Methods: Adults with HNC and their primary caregivers were included. Patient symptom burden was assessed with the Vanderbilt Head and Neck Symptom Survey-2.

Experiences of aging in place in the United States: protocol for a systematic review and meta-ethnography of qualitative studies.

Background: By 2035, older adults will outnumber children for the first time in the United States (US). In light of its aging population, the US has supported services focused on enabling older adults to continue living in their current homes, a model commonly described as "aging in place." The lived experience of aging in place is not well documented in existing systematic reviews.

Understanding Functional Communication in Head and Neck Cancer Survivors Using a Mixed Methods Design.

Background: Functional communication, defined as everyday communication with family and friends, at work, and in the community, is an important but understudied concept in the head and neck cancer (HNC) survivor population.

Objective: The aim of this study was to better understand functional communication by using a mixed methods approach.

Methods: Head and neck cancer survivors participated in semistructured interviews and completed self-report questionnaires assessing multiple aspects of well-being and health-related quality of life (HRQOL).

Couples' Experiences With Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors After Cardiac Rehabilitation.

Purpose: Many cardiac patients discontinue heart-healthy eating and physical activity (PA) behaviors in the months following cardiac rehabilitation (CR). Involving the spouse in CR with the patient may be 1 strategy to increase the maintenance of these behaviors after CR. Assisting patients and spouses with the maintenance of healthy eating and PA behavior following CR begins with a better understanding of the couple-focused factors, impacting their experiences with these behaviors.

Physical Health Conditions Among a Population-Based Cohort of Vietnam-Era Women Veterans: Agreement Between Self-Report and Medical Records.

Background: Little is known about medical morbidity among women Vietnam-era veterans, or the long-term physical health problems associated with their service. This study assessed agreement comparing data on physical health conditions from self-report and medical records from a population-based cohort of women Vietnam-era Veterans from the Health of Vietnam Era Women's Study (HealthViEWS).

Materials And Methods: Women Vietnam-era veterans (n = 4219) self-completed a survey and interview on common medical conditions.

Development of the Head and Neck Cancer Caregiving Task Inventory.

Purpose: Family caregivers provide vital support for patients with head and neck cancer (HNC), yet few studies have focused on HNC caregiving. Our objective was to develop and conduct initial validation of the HNC Caregiving Task Inventory, an instrument to characterize caregiving task burden in the HNC population.

Methods: This 5-phase instrument development project involved the conceptualization of caregiving task burden (Phase 1), initial instrument development (Phase 2), assessment of content validity through expert panel review (Phase 3), assessment of face validity through family caregiver review (Phase 4), and preliminary validation in a sample of 106 family caregivers (Phase 5).

The 2014-2018 Oncology Nursing Society Research Agenda.

Purpose/objectives: To identify priority areas of research for the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) Research Agenda for 2014-2018, consistent with ONS's mission to promote excellence in oncology nursing and quality cancer care
.

Data Sources: Review of the literature, 2013 ONS Research Priorities Survey, National Institute of Nursing Research, and the National Cancer Institute research foci
.

Data Synthesis: Multimethod consensus-building approach by content leaders and content experts of the ONS Research Agenda Project Team
.

Nursing home research: the first International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics (IAGG) research conference.

The International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics held its first conference on nursing home research in St Louis, MO, in November 2013. This article provides a summary of the presentations.

Pain medication management processes used by oncology outpatients and family caregivers part II: home and lifestyle contexts.

Context: Despite the increasing complexity of medication regimens for persistent cancer pain, little is known about how oncology outpatients and their family caregivers manage pain medications at home.

Objectives: To describe the day-to-day management of pain medications from the perspectives of oncology outpatients and their family caregivers who participated in a randomized clinical trial of a psychoeducational intervention called the Pro-Self(©) Plus Pain Control Program. In this article, we focus on pain medication management in the context of highly individualized home environments and lifestyles.

Pain medication management processes used by oncology outpatients and family caregivers part I: health systems contexts.

Context: Oncology patients with persistent pain treated in outpatient settings and their family caregivers have significant responsibility for managing pain medications. However, little is known about their practical day-to-day experiences with pain medication management.

Objectives: The aim was to describe day-to-day pain medication management from the perspectives of oncology outpatients and their family caregivers who participated in a randomized clinical trial of a psychoeducational intervention called the Pro-Self(©) Plus Pain Control Program.

HealthViEWS: mortality study of female US Vietnam era veterans, 1965-2010.

We conducted a retrospective study among 4,734 women who served in the US military in Vietnam (Vietnam cohort), 2,062 women who served in countries near Vietnam (near-Vietnam cohort), and 5,313 nondeployed US military women (US cohort) to evaluate the associations of mortality outcomes with Vietnam War service. Veterans were identified from military records and followed for 40 years through December 31, 2010. Information on underlying causes of death was obtained from death certificates and the National Death Index.

Effects of partners together in health intervention on physical activity and healthy eating behaviors: a pilot study.

Background: Despite proven efficacy of cardiac rehabilitation (CR) in helping patients initiate physical activity and healthy eating changes, less than 50% of CR participants maintain changes 6 months later.

Objective: The objective of this feasibility study was to test the Partners Together in Health (PaTH) intervention versus usual care in improving physical activity and healthy eating behaviors in coronary artery bypass graft surgery patients and their spouses.

Methods: An experimental, 2-group (n = 17 couples/group), repeated-measures design was used.

Intervention fidelity in a translational study: lessons learned.

This article examined the intervention fidelity strategies used and lessons learned in a translational study. In this study, the behavioral intervention was delivered within an existing clinical practice environment, outpatient cardiac rehabilitation (CR). The primary lessons learned were that the fidelity components of design, training, and delivery of the intervention were the most different from fidelity strategies used in typical intervention studies.

Randomized controlled trial to assess reduction of cardiovascular disease risk in patients with bipolar disorder: the Self-Management Addressing Heart Risk Trial (SMAHRT).

Objectives: Persons with bipolar disorder experience a disproportionate burden of medical conditions, notably cardiovascular disease (CVD), leading to impaired functioning and premature mortality. We hypothesized that the Life Goals Collaborative Care (LGCC) intervention, compared to enhanced usual care, would reduce CVD risk factors and improve physical and mental health outcomes in US Department of Veterans Affairs patients with bipolar disorder.

Method: Patients with an ICD-9 diagnosis of bipolar disorder and ≥ 1 CVD risk factor (N = 118) enrolled in the Self-Management Addressing Heart Risk Trial, conducted April 2008-May 2010, were randomized to LGCC (n = 58) or enhanced usual care (n = 60).

Caregiving demand and difficulty in older adult spousal caregivers after coronary artery bypass surgery.

The purpose of this study was to describe the caregiving demands and difficulties for older adult spousal caregivers of coronary artery bypass (CAB) surgery patients. Caregiving demands and difficulties were measured by the Caregiving Burden Scale. The sample size was 35 caregivers of CAB surgery patients who were, on average, 60 years old and 19 days since hospital discharge.

The state of the science of family caregiver-care receiver mutuality: a systematic review.

This review critically examines the current state of the science on the concept of family caregiver-care receiver mutuality, summarizes accomplishments and gaps and identifies directions for future theory development and research. Mutuality between family caregivers and care receivers is of increasing interest to researchers. However, no analysis of the current state of the science of this important concept has been published.

Care transitions: integrating transition theory and complexity science concepts.

Care transitions, defined as hospital discharge or movement from one health care setting to another, are currently a major concern of health care providers and policy makers. Extensive empirical research has been conducted on care transitions, but the theoretical foundations are rarely made explicit. We propose that integrating concepts on complex adaptive systems from complexity science with classic theory on transitions in nursing provides a powerful new lens through which to study care transitions and improve transition outcomes.