The effect of peer counselors on breastfeeding rates in the neonatal intensive care unit: results of a randomized controlled trial.

Objective: To determine whether peer counselors impacted breastfeeding duration among premature infants in an urban population.

Design: This was a randomized controlled clinical trial.

Setting: The trial was conducted in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit at Boston Medical Center, an inner-city teaching hospital with approximately 2000 births per year.

Introduction to genetics for otorhinolaryngology nurses.

Advances in human genetics have led to considerable changes in the way health professionals, especially nurses, understand and care for their patients. This article is focused on the clinical implications of genetic aspects of conditions of the head and neck, written for otorhinolaryngology (ORL) and head-neck nurses, but relevant for other nurses as well. This article presents information about basic inheritance patterns (autosomal dominant and recessive, X-linked, and mitochondrial) and compares single-gene disorders to complex or mutifactorial diseases.

A study abroad experience in Guatemala: learning first-hand about health, education, and social welfare in a low-resource country.

The demographic characteristics of the United States are rapidly changing as the nation becomes more culturally, racially, and ethnically diverse. In light of these changes, it is increasingly important that health care professionals develop cultural competence and understanding. Study abroad experiences can help students learn first-hand about other cultures and can promote the development of enhanced cultural sensitivity and competence.

Evidence-based nursing: making changes in the clinical practice through the collaboration of nursing students and practicing nurses.

The collaboration between student nurses and practicing clinical nurses on an evidence-based project is described. This collaboration sought to answer a question pertinent to the needs of the clinical nurses, while providing the students with an excellent practical learning opportunity. The changes in both knowledge and practice resulting from this partnership are described.

Calls to an inner-city hospital breastfeeding telephone support line.

Support for breastfeeding mothers after they leave the hospital is often inadequate in low-income, inner-city areas where few resources are available. In becoming a Baby-Friendly Hospital, inner-city Boston Medical Center established a breastfeeding telephone support line to overcome this discrepancy. Records of support line calls for the first 5 years of operation were reviewed to record the level of need and determine reasons for use.

Sustained breastfeeding rates at a US baby-friendly hospital.

Objective: Boston Medical Center (BMC) became the 22nd US Baby-Friendly hospital in 1999. Previous research found that breastfeeding initiation rates increased significantly from 58% in 1995 to 86.5% in 1999.