Publications by authors named "Kirksey K"

The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) introduced the Milestones to document learner development within a competency-based framework. On the other hand, board certifying examinations serve as a summative evaluation of a learner's readiness for independent medical practice. Scores in Part I of the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (ABPMR) examination, which measures medical knowledge, has been shown to correlate only with Milestones ratings in medical knowledge.

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Wild populations are increasingly threatened by human-mediated climate change and land use changes. As populations decline, the probability of inbreeding increases, along with the potential for negative effects on individual fitness. Detecting and characterizing runs of homozygosity (ROHs) is a popular strategy for assessing the extent of individual inbreeding present in a population and can also shed light on the genetic mechanisms contributing to inbreeding depression.

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Over the past five decades in the United States, White women have breastfed at higher rates than Black women. While a small but growing body of social historical research has examined racial disparities in breastfeeding over time, empirical research, particularly quantitative research, has focused on single historical snapshots, unintentionally treating the persistent racial disparities in breastfeeding as a static phenomenon, rather than one with distinct social mechanisms at different points in time. Further, few studies on racial disparities in health deconstruct difference both within and across racial groups.

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Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of a multidisciplinary, nonpharmacological, integrative approach that uses shared medical appointments to improve health-related quality of life and reduce opioid medication use in patients with chronic pain.

Design: This is a retrospective, pre-post review of "Living Well with Chronic Pain" shared medical appointments (August 2016 through May 2018).

Setting: The appointments included eight 3-hour-long visits held once per week at an outpatient wellness facility.

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The field of physical medicine and rehabilitation should strive for a physician workforce that is ethnically/racially, sex, and ability diverse. Considering the recent realities of disparities in health outcomes related to COVID-19 and in racial injustice in the United States, we are called to be champions for antiracism and equity. The specialty of physical medicine and rehabilitation should be the leaders in fostering a culture of inclusion and pay special attention to the population of applicants who are underrepresented in medicine.

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Background: Therapies that significantly improve the neurological and functional recovery of individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) are still urgently needed. The ketogenic diet (KD) has been shown to improve forelimb motor function in an SCI rat model, likely by reducing inflammation and cell death in the spinal cord. Furthermore, our recent pilot study in patients with SCI showed that, compared with a standard hospital diet (SD), 5 weeks of KD started during acute care improved upper extremity motor function and reduced serum levels of a neuroinflammatory blood protein.

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Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the inter-rater reliability of the modified Medical Research Council (MRC) scale for grading motor function in patients with chronic incomplete spinal cord injury (SCI).

Methods: Two neurosurgical residents and 2 faculty members performed motor examinations in 6 chronic incomplete SCI patients for a total of 156 muscle groups. Examinations were performed using the modified MRC grading scale during routine clinic visits for each patient.

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Medication adherence is the "Plus" in the global challenge to have 90% of HIV-infected individuals tested, 90% of those who are HIV positive treated, and 90% of those treated achieve an undetectable viral load. The latter indicates viral suppression, the goal for clinicians treating people living with HIV (PLWH). The comparative importance of different psychosocial scales in predicting the level of antiretroviral adherence, however, has been little studied.

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Aim: Sexual risk behaviour was explored and described using Social Action Theory.

Background: The sexual transmission of HIV is complex and multi-factorial. Social Action Theory provides a framework for viewing self-regulation of modifiable behaviour such as condom use.

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Older adults comprise approximately 50% of patients admitted to critical care units in the United States. This population is particularly susceptible to multiple morbidities that can be exacerbated by confounding factors like age-related safety risks, polypharmacy, poor nutrition, and social isolation. The elderly are particularly vulnerable to health conditions (heart disease, stroke, and diabetes) that put them at greater risk of morbidity and mortality.

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Ensuring patient safety and enhancing nurse satisfaction both rank high on most hospitals' list of priorities. One of the concerns at a large, comprehensive, county health care system in the southwestern United States has been the shortage of experienced obstetrics (OB) nurses to provide patient care. To address this concern, a nursing fellowship was implemented to facilitate successful transition and retention of experienced RNs into the specialty area of obstetrics.

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Context: Individual resources of social capital and self-compassion are associated with health behaviors and perceived symptoms, suggesting that both are positive resources that can be modified to improve a person's symptom experience.

Objectives: The aim was to examine the relationship between self-compassion and social capital and its impact on current HIV symptom experience in adult people living with HIV (PLWH). We further explored the impact of age on this relationship.

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Objectives: To determine to what extent RNs in an acute care multihospital system used research findings in their practice; what types of knowledge they used in their practice; and what personal, professional, and organizational factors enhanced or hindered their research utilization.

Methods: A cross-sectional, descriptive, online survey design was used. The survey, which asked about use of research findings in practice and evidence-based practice (EBP) participation, was placed on the hospital system intranet.

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Background: Infants, especially those born prematurely, are at increased risk for skin breakdown because of the immaturity and fragility of their skin. Following a review of existing skin risk assessment tools, we concluded that none provided valid, clear, and concise assessment criteria and direction for treatment interventions specifically for use with neonates.

Purpose: To examine the risk factors of skin breakdown in infants using the knowledge of interprofessional providers who routinely care for infants.

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Engagement with care for those living with HIV is aimed at establishing a strong relationship between patients and their health care provider and is often associated with greater adherence to therapy and treatment (Flickinger, Saha, Moore, and Beach, 2013). Substance use behaviors are linked with lower rates of engagement with care and medication adherence (Horvath, Carrico, Simoni, Boyer, Amico, and Petroli, 2013). This study is a secondary data analysis using a cross-sectional design from a larger randomized controlled trial (n = 775) that investigated the efficacy of a self-care symptom management manual for participants living with HIV.

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The engagement of patients with their health care providers (HCP) improves patients' quality of life (QOL), adherence to antiretroviral therapy, and life satisfaction. Engagement with HCP includes access to HCP as needed, information sharing, involvement of client in decision making and self-care activities, respect and support of the HCP for the client's choices, and management of client concerns. This study compares country-level differences in patients' engagement with HCP and assesses statistical associations relative to adherence rates, self-efficacy, self-esteem, QOL, and symptom self-reporting by people living with HIV (PLHIV).

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Sexual risk behavior and illicit drug use among people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) contribute to poor health and onward transmission of HIV. The aim of this collaborative multi-site nursing research study was to explore the association between self-compassion and risk behaviors in PLWHA. As part of a larger project, nurse researchers in Canada, China, Namibia, Puerto Rico, Thailand and the US enrolled 1211 sexually active PLWHA using convenience sampling.

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Aim: This study represents an initial effort at examining the association between the construct of self-compassion and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-related anxiety in a multinational population with HIV disease.

Background: Previous studies have found that self-compassion is a powerful predictor of mental health, demonstrating positive and consistent linkages with various measures of affect, psychopathology and well-being, including anxiety.

Methods: Cross-sectional data from a multinational study conducted by the members of the International Nursing Network for HIV Research (n = 1986) were used.

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The aims of this study were to examine differences in self-schemas between persons living with HIV/AIDS with and without depressive symptoms, and the degree to which these self-schemas predict depressive symptoms in this population. Self-schemas are beliefs about oneself and include self-esteem, HIV symptom management self-efficacy, and self-compassion. Beck's cognitive theory of depression guided the analysis of data from a sample of 1766 PLHIV from the USA and Puerto Rico.

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Background: Human rights approaches to manage HIV and efforts to decriminalize HIV exposure/transmission globally offer hope to persons living with HIV (PLWH). However, among vulnerable populations of PLWH, substantial human rights and structural challenges (disadvantage and injustice that results from everyday practices of a well-intentioned liberal society) must be addressed. These challenges span all ecosocial context levels and in North America (Canada and the United States) can include prosecution for HIV nondisclosure and HIV exposure/transmission.

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The objective of this study was to extend the psychometric evaluation of a brief version of the Self-Compassion Scale (SCS). A secondary analysis of data from an international sample of 1967 English-speaking persons living with HIV disease was used to examine the factor structure, and reliability of the 12-item Brief Version Self-Compassion Inventory (BVSCI). A Maximum Likelihood factor analysis and Oblimin with Kaiser Normalization confirmed a two-factor solution, accounting for 42.

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Studies concerning persons living with HIV (PLWH) report that stressful life events (SLEs) contribute to an exacerbation of symptoms and reduced antiretroviral (ARV) adherence and quality of life (QOL). Little is known about whether these findings are site-specific. Our study's aims were to characterize the type and frequency of SLEs for PLWH in Puerto Rico, South Africa, and the United States, and to assess the impact of SLEs by national site, symptoms, and ARV adherence concerns on QOL.

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