Impact of Stroke Survivors' Physical Disability on the Presence of Caregiver Burden: A Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND: Caregiver burden associated with caring for stroke survivors remains a prominent issue in nursing. With stroke being a leading cause of disability worldwide, it is essential that the impact of the stroke survivor's physical disability be analyzed so interventions can be developed to relieve related caregiver burden. The purpose of this systematic review is to review the existing nursing and allied-health literature aimed at the impact of stroke survivors' physical disability on the presence of caregiver burden.

Experiential Learning Through a Dementia Simulation.

Health care providers do not always possess the knowledge and skills necessary to optimally manage behavioral symptoms in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). The purpose of the current project was to evaluate the use of a simulated virtual reality AD experience on nursing staff sensitivity, awareness, and perceptions of caring for patients with AD. A quasi-experimental design was used.

Using simulation to improve the medication administration skills of undergraduate nursing students.

Aim: This quasi-experimental pilot study examined simulation methods to improve nursing students' medication calculation and administration abilities.

Background: Approximately 25 percent of junior-level students in the nursing program who took a medication administration exam (MAE) failed in their first attempt. It was theorized that simulation could facilitate their success.

Perception versus reality: a comparative study of the clinical judgment skills of nurses during a simulated activity.

Background: This study was conducted to determine how closely nurses' perceptions of their clinical judgment abilities matched their demonstrated clinical judgment skills during a simulation.

Methods: Seventy-four registered nurses participated in a simulation using a video format. After the simulation, the nurses self-assessed their performance using the Lasater Clinical Judgment Rubric.

Cardiovascular disease risk in children and adolescents.

Atherosclerosis is a global health issue beginning in childhood. Children's early development of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors may include exposure to key biological components responsible for vascular inflammation in young adults. A retrospective medical record review based on the 2008 American Academy of Pediatrics childhood lipid screening recommendations examined current and initial CVD risk factors for 227 at-risk school-aged children during wellness exams to better determine the age when children are most likely to convert from being risk-free to at risk for CVD.

Accelerated second-degree nursing students: predictors of graduation and NCLEX-RN first-time pass rates.

It is important to understand and identify factors that affect students' academic performance before entry into a nursing program and as they progress through the program. The authors discuss a study, and its outcomes, that assessed accelerated second-degree nursing students' prenursing and core nursing grades that served to predict their success at completing the nursing program and passing NCLEX-RN on first attempt. Strategies were identified to help at-risk students to be successful in the program and with first-time passage of NCLEX-RN.

Simulation-enhanced pediatric clinical orientation.

Nursing actively engages various technologies to enhance education and training with increased learner confidence and patient safety. Simulation is a key technology to address the strain on the current nursing education system. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of simulation-enhanced orientation on pediatric acute care examination scores and pediatric clinical course grades among junior-level baccalaureate nursing students.

The experience of insomnia among older women.

Study Objectives: To measure sleeping difficulty and sleep quality among older women, explore experience and attitudes towards sleep, and test for negative association between difficulty sleeping and health-related quality of life.

Design: Four-year longitudinal study.

Setting: Women were participants in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health.

Short course para-aortic radiation for stage I seminoma of the testis.

Purpose: To determine the outcome in men with Stage I seminoma treated with low-dose para-aortic radiation.

Materials And Methods: Between January 1988 and December 2000, 431 men with Stage I seminoma were treated with para-aortic radiation to a midplane dose of 20 Gy in 8 fractions over 10 days.

Results: At a median follow-up of 62 months, 15 patients (3.

The problems of sleep for older women: changes in health outcomes.

Objective: to identify the continuance of sleeping difficulty and medication use in a cohort of older Australian women from baseline to 3-year follow-up and to explore the relationship between these factors and health-related quality of life scores, falls and other health care use.

Method: a 3-year longitudinal survey of 10,430 Australian women aged 70-75 years at baseline. These women were participants in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health randomly selected from the Australian Medicare database.