How State Scope-of-Practice Policies Impact NP Care.

Three projects examine the effect of NP practice acts on access to health care.

A Replicable Approach to Promoting Best Practices: Translating Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Research.

Objective: Significant delays in translating health care-related research into public health programs and medical practice mean that people may not get the best care when they need it. Regarding cardiovascular disease, translation delays can mean lives may be unnecessarily lost each year. To facilitate the translation of knowledge to action, we created a Best Practices Guide for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Programs.

Mapping and Analysis of US State and Urban Local Sodium Reduction Laws.

Context: Excessive sodium consumption contributes to high blood pressure, which is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

Objectives: To (1) identify state and urban local laws addressing adult or general population sodium consumption in foods and beverages and (2) align findings to a previously published evidence classification review, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Sodium Quality and Impact of Component (QuIC) evidence assessment.

Design: Systematic collection of sodium reduction laws from all 50 states, the 20 most populous counties in the United States, and the 20 most populous cities in the United States, including Washington, District of Columbia, effective on January 1, 2019.

Establishing a Baseline: Evidence-Supported State Laws to Advance Stroke Care.

Objective: Approximately 800 000 strokes occur annually in the United States. Stroke systems of care policies addressing prehospital and in-hospital care have been proposed to improve access to time-sensitive, lifesaving treatments for stroke. Policy surveillance of stroke systems of care laws supported by best available evidence could reveal potential strengths and weaknesses in how stroke care delivery is regulated across the nation.

Translating Workforce Development Policy Interventions for Community Health Workers: Application of a Policy Research Continuum.

Context: There is a need for knowledge translation to advance health equity in the prevention and control of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. One recommended strategy is engaging community health workers (CHWs) to have a central role in related interventions. Despite strong evidence of effectiveness for CHWs, there is limited information examining the impact of state CHW policy interventions.

Persistent pain in postmastectomy patients: comparison of psychophysical, medical, surgical, and psychosocial characteristics between patients with and without pain.

Persistent postmastectomy pain (PPMP) is a major individual and public health problem. Increasingly, psychosocial factors such as anxiety and catastrophizing are being revealed as crucial contributors to individual differences in pain processing and outcomes. Furthermore, differences in patients' responses to standardized quantitative sensory testing (QST) may aid in the discernment of who is at risk for acute and chronic pain after surgery.