Improving Nurse Management of the Second Stage of Labor.

Objective: To develop, implement, and evaluate an educational program to improve nurses' management of the second stage of labor.

Design: Evidence-based practice project guided by the Iowa Model-Revised.

Setting: Acute care teaching hospital in central California averaging 2,100 births/year with 12 labor, delivery, and recovery rooms and a Level III nursery.

Rectal douching in a community sample of men and women.

Rectal douching (RD) may be a vector for sexually transmitted infection (STI) acquisition. The aim of this study was to describe the relationship between RD, and the prevalence of various STIs and sexual behaviors in a sample of women and men in Long Beach, California. Five hundred and forty-seven men (mean age 42.

Arrest and Trait Aggression Correlates of Emergency Department Use.

This study examined the associations between arrest and incarceration, trait aggression, and emergency department (ED) use. Data were collected from 525 clients who visited the Center for Behavioral Research and Services in Long Beach, CA, using the following instruments: Risk Behavior Assessment, Risk Behavior Follow-Up Assessment, the Aggression Questionnaire (AQ), the Displaced AQ, and the parole and Legal Status section of the Addiction Severity Index. The bivariate analysis suggested that ED use was significantly associated with trait aggression and trait-displaced aggression among those with a history of incarceration.

Quality Improvement Opportunities Identified Through Case Review of Pregnancy-Related Deaths From Cardiovascular Disease.

Objective: To analyze quality improvement opportunities (QIOs) identified through review of cases of maternal death from cardiovascular disease (CVD) by the California Pregnancy-Associated Mortality Review committee.

Design: Qualitative descriptive design using thematic analysis.

Sample: A total of 269 QIOs identified from 87 pregnancy-related deaths from CVD in California from 2002 to 2007.

Quality Improvement Opportunities Identified Through Case Review of Pregnancy-Related Deaths From Venous Thromboembolism.

Objective: To analyze quality improvement opportunities (QIOs) identified through review of cases of maternal death from venous thromboembolism (VTE) by the California Pregnancy-Associated Mortality Review Committee.

Design: Qualitative, descriptive design using thematic analysis.

Sample: A total of 108 QIOs identified from 29 cases of pregnancy-related deaths from VTE in California from 2002 to 2007.

Quality Improvement Opportunities Identified Through Case Review of Pregnancy-Related Deaths From Obstetric Hemorrhage.

Objective: To analyze quality improvement opportunities (QIOs) identified through review of cases of maternal death from obstetric hemorrhage by the California Pregnancy-Associated Mortality Review Committee.

Design: Qualitative descriptive using thematic analysis.

Sample: A total of 159 QIOs identified from 33 cases of pregnancy-related deaths from obstetric hemorrhage in California from 2002 to 2007.

Translating Maternal Mortality Review Into Quality Improvement Opportunities in Response to Pregnancy-Related Deaths in California.

Objective: To describe quality improvement opportunities (QIOs) associated with the five leading causes of pregnancy-related death in California and the methods by which the QIOs were collected by the California Pregnancy-Associated Mortality Review committee.

Design: Qualitative, descriptive design using thematic analysis.

Sample: A total of 907 QIOs identified from 203 cases of pregnancy-related deaths from cardiovascular disease, preeclampsia/eclampsia, hemorrhage, venous thromboembolism, and sepsis that occurred in California from 2002 to 2007.

Quality Improvement Opportunities Identified Through Case Review of Pregnancy-Related Deaths From Preeclampsia/Eclampsia.

Objective: To analyze quality improvement opportunities (QIOs) identified through review of cases of maternal death from preeclampsia/eclampsia by the California Pregnancy-Associated Mortality Review Committee.

Design: Qualitative descriptive design using thematic analysis.

Sample: A total of 242 QIOs identified from 54 cases of pregnancy-related deaths from preeclampsia/eclampsia in California between 2002 and 2007.

Quality Improvement Opportunities Identified Through Case Review of Pregnancy-Related Deaths From Sepsis.

Objective: To analyze quality improvement opportunities (QIOs) identified through review of cases of maternal death from sepsis by the California Pregnancy-Associated Mortality Review Committee.

Design: Qualitative descriptive design using thematic analysis.

Sample: A total of 118 QIOs identified from 27 cases of pregnancy-related deaths from sepsis in California from 2002 to 2007.

Risk-Appropriate Care to Improve Practice and Birth Outcomes.

Identification and referral of women with high-risk pregnancies to hospitals better equipped and staffed to provide care for them have been important steps to improve birth outcomes. Based on recent recommendations from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine to provide regionalized maternal care for pregnant women at high risk and reduce rates of maternal morbidity and mortality, health care organizations and providers have refocused their attention to women's well-being rather than solely on the well-being of the fetus or newborn. Opportunities to improve practice and birth outcomes exist through the implementation of a more standardized and integrated system of risk-appropriate care.

Comparisons of New HIV Rapid Test Kit Performance.

The development of rapid point-of-care tests for HIV infection has greatly reduced the problem of failure to return for test results. Test manufacturers are now developing test kits that can test for two or even three diseases at the same time, multiple-disease test kits. This study reports on the sensitivity and specificity of HIV tests when included on multi-disease test kits.

Mothers at Risk: Factors Affecting Maternal Postpartum Length of Stay.

Perinatal complications linked to maternal comorbidities contribute to increased healthcare utilization through an extended postpartum length of stay (LOS). Understanding factors influencing postpartum LOS may minimize the adverse effects associated with comorbidities and complications. The purpose of this study was to identify risk factors with the greatest odds of increasing postpartum LOS.

Maternal risk during pregnancy: a concept analysis.

Aims And Objectives: To report an analysis of the concept of maternal risk and explore implications for practice using Walker and Avant's eight step method analysis.

Background: Although mortality during pregnancy is a relatively rare occurrence, serious maternal morbidities are increasingly present in today's pregnant population. Risk factors have been identified that increase the potential for morbidities and subsequent care modalities have been implemented to decrease this risk.

Stressful point-of-care rapid testing for human immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis C virus, and syphilis.

Even with technological advances in point-of-care rapid testing for HIV, hepatitis, and syphilis, individuals may still find the experience of submitting to testing, and receiving results, to be stressful. Participants completed the rapid test experience questionnaires to assess stress both prior to and after the specimen collection. Participants completed the risk behavior assessment, the coping strategies indicator, and the Barratt impulsivity scale.