The association between Doctor of Nursing Practice Nurse Practitioner staffing and hospital outcomes.

Background: The National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties advocates for the doctoral level as the entry-to-practice standard for NPs. Understanding the impact of Doctor of Nursing Practice NPs (DNP-NPs) on health care systems is vital for shaping policy, regulations, and practice.

Purpose: This study quantitatively assesses the relationship between DNP-NP staffing levels and hospital quality and cost outcomes using major datasets.

A study protocol for e-PainSupport: The use of a digital application for reporting pain and pain management in home hospice.

High pain intensity is commonly experienced by patients with serious advanced illness. Impediments to improving pain intensity in home hospice include poor adherence to a pain management regimen due to caregivers' lack of knowledge and self-efficacy (confidence) in administering analgesics. e-PainSupport is a self-administered, digital application directly linked to patients' medical records.

e-PainSupport: A Digital Pain Management Application for Home Hospice Care.

e-PainSupport is a digital pain management application (app) designed to facilitate better pain management in hospice. Early testing revealed caregivers found it was easy to use and successful in communicating patient pain and caregiver administration of analgesics to hospice nurses. However, caregiver knowledge of analgesic management remained low.

Exploring Clinical Practice Hours in Postbaccalaureate-to-Doctor of Nursing Practice Nurse Practitioner Programs.

Background: Advanced practice nursing education is evolving to the doctor of nursing practice (DNP) degree. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) DNP Essentials required 1000 hours of direct patient care, whereas the Report of the National Task Force on Quality Nurse Practitioner Education (NTF) Criteria for Evaluation of Nurse Practitioner Programs required 500 direct patient care hours. Indirect hours were unclear and undefined.

Review of linear and nonlinear models in breath analysis by Cyranose 320.

Analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in breath specimens has potential for point of care (POC) screening due to ease of sample collection. While the electronic nose (e-nose) is a standard VOC measure across a wide range of industries, it has not been adopted for POC screening in healthcare. One limitation of the e-nose is the absence of mathematical models of data analysis that yield easily interpreted findings at POC.

Perceptions of Caring Recruitment Among Older Adults: African Americans and Non-Latinx Whites.

Background: African Americans (AAs) are underrepresented in health-related research studies. Few studies have investigated how behaviors of study recruiters affect recruitment of older AAs versus non-Latinx Whites (NLWs).

Objectives: The aim of this study was to explore whether caring behaviors influence AA and NLW older adults' decision to participate in hypothetical, high-commitment, health-related research studies and differences in participants' enrollment decisions by race.

Physical Activity in South Asian Indians: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials.

This review systematically examines the characteristics and effectiveness of randomized controlled trials with aerobic physical activity (PA) interventions tailored to South Asian Indians (SAIs). PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, CINAHL, and Google Scholar were searched. The search yielded 1,842 studies; 11 met the criteria.

The Impact of an Education Intervention to Improve Blood Pressure Control among Black Non-Hispanic Patients and Hispanic Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease.

This project examined the effect of an educational intervention on blood pressure control among minority patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Adherence to a low-sodium diet is crucial for blood pressure control. It is also vital to assess food insecurity to improve diet adherence, especially among high-risk underrepresented populations.

Extending weeknight sleep of delayed adolescents using weekend morning bright light and evening time management.

Study Objectives: Shift sleep onset earlier and extend school-night sleep duration of adolescents.

Methods: Forty-six adolescents (14.5-17.

Concordance of breast cancer biomarker testing in core needle biopsy and surgical specimens: A single institution experience.

Background: Accurate diagnostic biomarker testing is crucial to treatment decisions in breast cancer. Biomarker testing is performed on core needle biopsies (CNB) and is often repeated in the surgical specimen (SS) after resection. As differences between CNB and SS testing may alter treatment decisions, we evaluated concordance between CNB and SS as well as associated changes in treatment and clinical outcomes.

Bilateral upper extremity motor priming (BUMP) plus task-specific training for severe, chronic upper limb hemiparesis: study protocol for a randomized clinical trial.

Background: Various priming techniques to enhance neuroplasticity have been examined in stroke rehabilitation research. Most priming techniques are costly and approved only for research. Here, we describe a priming technique that is cost-effective and has potential to significantly change clinical practice.

Psychometric Testing of a Food Timing Questionnaire and Food Timing Screener.

Background: Circadian rhythms coordinate multiple biological processes, and time of eating is an important entrainer of peripheral circadian clocks, including those in the gastrointestinal tract and liver. Whereas time of eating can be assessed through valid and reliable tools designed to measure nutrient intake (24-h recalls), currently there is no easily administered, valid, and reliable tool designed to specifically assess both time of food intake and sleep.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to test the validity and reliability of 2 questionnaires developed to measure food and sleep-wake timing, the Food Timing Questionnaire (FTQ) and Food Timing Screener (FTS), and the agreement between these 2 tools.

Impact of a nutrition education program on health behaviors in a university workplace wellness program.

Background: Obesity is a complex health issue associated with the leading causes of preventable chronic diseases, such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes. As part of an interprofessional team, nurse practitioners can play an integral role in leading worksite interventions to enhance health behavior change. Although worksite nutrition interventions have existed for many years, effective weight management programs are needed in the workplace.

Physical Activity and Cognitive Function in African American Older Adults Living With HIV.

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the association between self-reported physical activity (minutes/week) and cognitive functioning in a sample of African American older adults living with HIV. A secondary analysis of baseline data collected from clinically stable African American older adults living with HIV (aged >50 years; = 124) enrolled in the Rush Center of Excellence on Disparities in HIV and Aging study was conducted. Participants completed a battery of 19 cognitive function tests that were used to create summary scores of global cognition and five cognitive domains.

A Scoring Tool That Identifies the Need for Positive-Pressure Ventilation and Determines the Effectiveness of Allocated Respiratory Therapy.

Background: Hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) and the need for positive-pressure ventilation (PPV) are significant postoperative pulmonary complications (PPCs) that increase patients' lengths of stay, mortality, and costs. Current tools used to predict PPCs use nonmodifiable preoperative factors; thus, they cannot assess provided respiratory therapy effectiveness. The Respiratory Assessment and Allocation of Therapy (RAAT) tool was created to identify HAP and the need for PPV and assist in assigning respiratory therapies.

A randomized controlled trial of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia and PAP for obstructive sleep apnea and comorbid insomnia: effects on nocturnal sleep and daytime performance.

Study Objectives: This study examines the impact of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) and positive airway pressure (PAP) therapy for comorbid insomnia and sleep apnea on nocturnal sleep and daytime functioning.

Methods: A partial factorial design was used to examine treatment pathways with CBT-I and PAP and the relative benefits of each treatment. One hundred eighteen individuals with comorbid insomnia and sleep apnea were randomized to receive CBT-I followed by PAP, self-monitoring followed by CBT-I concurrent with PAP, or self-monitoring followed by PAP only.

Impact of Inpatient Unit Design Features on Overall Patient Experience and Perceived Room-Level Call Button Response.

This study explores the relationship between inpatient unit design and patient experience and how spatial features and visibility impact patients' perception of staff responsiveness. The first part of this study is a retrospective pre-post and cross-sectional study evaluating the impacts of unit design on patient experience at the unit level. This study compares patient experiences based on Press Ganey and HCAHPS surveys in two orthopedic units (existing unit in Atrium building and new unit in Tower) with differing design features at Rush University Medical Center.

Neurocognitive Outcomes from Memantine: A Pilot, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Studies interrogating therapeutics which alter the excitation-inhibition balance in the treatment of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have reported mixed results on social and behavioral outcomes. The aim of this randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled pilot trial was to evaluate neurocognitive effects of memantine over a 24-week trial. Twenty-three children ages 6-12 years old with ASD were randomized to memantine or placebo.

Insulin management in hospitalized patients with diabetes mellitus on high-dose glucocorticoids: Management of steroid-exacerbated hyperglycemia.

Background: Glucocorticoid (GC)-exacerbated hyperglycemia is prevalent in hospitalized patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) but evidence-based insulin guidelines in inpatient settings are lacking.

Methods And Findings: Retrospective cohort study with capillary blood glucose (CBG) readings and insulin use, dosed with 50% basal (glargine)-50% bolus (lispro) insulin, analyzed in hospitalized patients with insulin-treated DM given GC and matched controls without GC (n = 131 pairs). GC group (median daily prednisone-equivalent dose: 53.

Associations between sinus tachycardia and adverse cardiovascular outcomes and mortality in cancer patients.

Background: Sinus tachycardia in cancer reflects a significant multi-system organ stressor and disease, with sparse literature describing its clinical significance. We assessed cardiovascular (CV) and mortality prognostic implications of sinus tachycardia in cancer patients.

Methods: We conducted a case-control study of 622 cancer patients at a U.

A review of clinical trials of advance care planning interventions adapted for limited health literacy.

Objectives: Advance care planning is vital for ensuring individuals receive end-of-life care that is consistent with their care preferences and improves patient quality of life and satisfaction with care; however, only 11% of Americans have discussed advance care planning with a healthcare provider. Individuals with limited health literacy are even less likely to participate in advance care planning due to difficulty comprehending complex health information. The purpose of this review was to identify randomized controlled trials designed to address the effects of limited health literacy on advance care planning, evaluate the quality of these studies, and summarize evaluation data to inform future studies.

Using Vignette-Based Methodology to Examine Study Recruitment in Older African American Adults: A Methods Paper.

This study's objective was to assess which caring recruitment behaviors correlate with the successful recruitment of older African-American adults-a two-step cross-sectional design employing a vignette-based survey methodology. Kristen Swanson's middle-range theory of caring was used to guide the examination of African-American adults' (65 years of age and older) perceptions of research-study-recruiter recruitment behaviors. This study's main findings are twofold: Step 1: Seven of ten invited experts identified major revisions of the two core vignettes, written at an eighth-grade reading level and high school comprehension.

Self-Efficacy, Outcome Expectations, Group Social Support, and Adherence to Physical Activity in African American Women.

Background: African American women have lower levels of leisure time physical activity compared to White American women. Interventions to improve physical activity have mixed benefits for African American women, even when guided by theory. Understanding how theoretical constructs used in physical activity interventions relate to changing behavior may provide direction for more successful interventions.

Group Dance and Motivational Coaching for Walking: A Physical Activity Program for South Asian Indian Immigrant Women Residing in the United States.

Background: South Asian Indian immigrants residing in the United States are at high risk of cardiovascular disease (prevalence ≥35%), diabetes (prevalence 45.4%), and stroke (prevalence 26.5%).