Implementation of a Mental Health Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) Using Standards of Best Practice.

The objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) is effective for the evaluation of clinical competence. Studies examining the use of OSCEs in undergraduate mental health nursing education in the United States are limited. A pilot study and a follow-up study were conducted to establish the reliability and validity of a mental health OSCE to evaluate the clinical competence of prelicensure nursing students.

The Scope of LGBTQIA+ Health Content in Prelicensure Nursing Curricula.

Background: Little is known about the status of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, and inter-sex and asexual (LGBTQIA+) health content in prelicensure nursing curricula. This study explored curricular and pedagogical practices of LGBTQIA+ health content in nursing curricula in the United States.

Design: A quantitative, cross-sectional comparative descriptive design was implemented.

Effects of Medicare wellness visits on health promotion outcomes.

Background: The American older adult population has the highest historical prevalence of chronic disease and underuses wellness visit benefits. Little is known about how Medicare wellness visits (MWVs) affect health outcomes.

Purpose: The aim of this retrospective case-control study was to examine how MWVs affect health outcomes by measuring two kinds of data for case and control groups at baseline versus 15 months: (1) the differences in blood pressure, fasting lipids, and glucose levels and (2) the completion frequencies for seven screenings and vaccinations.

Accidental Fall Death in McLean County: Examining Variables in Community-Dwelling Older Adults.

Fall risk assessment is a complex phenomenon involving several risk factors, including an individual's balance and mobility status, chronic health conditions, visual impairment, hearing deficits, environmental hazards (e.g., loose rugs, clutter), and being homebound or semi-homebound.

Gerontological nursing competencies: A crosswalk with the 4Ms framework of the age-friendly initiative.

The Age-friendly Health Systems Initiative is a current multidisciplinary movement driving quality improvement across all health care settings. The 4Ms framework () provides a common evidence-based language and system of care that can be utilized by all health care providers. Faculty of one nursing program were interested in knowing whether the principles and language of the 4Ms framework align well with the current competencies used to guide undergraduate and beginning level practice for nurses.

Are Medicare wellness visits improving outcomes?

Background: As the largest and unhealthiest population in American history enrolls as Medicare beneficiaries, it is vital for primary care providers to understand how to maximize Medicare wellness provisions. The Baby Boomer population has been documented to have the highest chronic disease prevalence related to preventable lifestyle behaviors. Perpetual unhealthy lifestyle behaviors associated with chronic disease prevalence are detrimental to life quality and the American Medicare resource structure.

Collaborative student-faculty research to support PhD research education.

This paper describes a three-semester hour applied research course taught over three semesters in a revamped PhD research curriculum at a Midwestern high research activity (R2) university-based nursing program. Faculty developed this strategy to help students become adequately prepared nurse scientists. Students and faculty engaged in a collaborative research project to provide students with opportunities to develop, integrate, and apply research knowledge, skills, and attitudes while concurrently advancing through the related research courses.

Barriers and Insights in Participant Recruitment in Assisted Living Facilities.

An estimated 1.2 million older adults nationwide currently reside in assisted/supportive living facilities, and research is required to continue to identify best outcomes in for their care. However, challenges exist.

Nonpharmacological interventions for persistent, noncancer pain in elders residing in long-term care facilities: An integrative review of the literature.

Elders residing in long-term care facilities experience ongoing moderate to severe pain, relief from and increased comfort remain relevant healthcare concerns. However, persistent, noncancer pain may not have been properly addressed due to insufficient attention to research that exists to support the utilization and efficacy of nonpharmacological intervention(s) for elders in long-term care facilities. Our aim of this integrated review was to evaluate the current state of the science on nonpharmacological intervention(s) for pain that are currently utilized in elders who reside in long-term care facilities.

Social capital, health, health behavior, and utilization of healthcare services among older adults: A conceptual framework.

Meeting the health needs of Americans must change as the population continues to live longer. A strategy that considers social well-being is necessary. One way to improve social well-being is through increased social capital, which includes networks among individuals and norms of reciprocity and trust between them.

A comparative study of social capital and hospital readmission in older adults.

Numerous factors contribute to hospital readmissions of older adults. The role social capital may play in preventing hospital readmissions is unknown. The aim of this descriptive, cross-sectional study was to determine if levels of personal social capital differ in two groups of patients aged 65 and older, those readmitted to the hospital within 30 days of discharge and those not readmitted.

The effect of first clinical assignments on prelicensure nursing students' attitudes toward older people: an observational study.

Background: With the global population growth of older people, health care needs nurses interested in caring for this population. Studies have found a relationship between attitudes toward older people and career choices.

Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the effect first clinical experiences had on nursing students' attitudes toward older people.

Continuing Education Preferences, Facilitators, and Barriers for Nursing Home Nurses.

Background: The purpose of the study was to determine the continuing education needs for nursing home nurses in rural central Illinois and to determine any potential facilitators or barriers to obtaining continuing education.

Method: Data were collected using the Educational Needs Assessment questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were computed to examine continuing education preferences, facilitators, and barriers among nursing home nurses.

Initial Evidence for the Reliability and Validity of the Educational Needs Assessment Questionnaire.

Background And Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the reliability and validity of the revised Educational Needs Assessment (ENA) questionnaire, a 32-item questionnaire designed to assess educational needs of nurses.

Methods: Data were obtained from 317 nursing home nurses in central Illinois and underwent testing for psychometric properties.

Results: The principal component analysis yielded a 6-factor solution that explained 65.

Nursing students' attitudes toward persons who are aged: An integrative review.

Objectives: To analyze empirical studies from the United States and Canada to gain an understanding on how nursing education affects nursing students' attitudes toward persons who are aged.

Design: An integrative literature review was completed using Garrard's (2011) Matrix Method.

Data Sources: Articles were identified through the electronic database search engines of CINAHL, Pub Med, and Academic Search Complete.

Hospital Readmission Rates Following Skills Training for Nurses Employed in Long-term Care Facilities.

Reducing hospital readmissions is a priority for health care providers and affects Medicare reimbursement. The purpose of this study was to determine whether there is a significant difference in readmission rates from long-term care facilities to hospitals with the implementation of a training program for long-term care nurses. The main findings revealed that the training did not significantly affect hospital readmissions; however, the organization saw a significant decrease in hospital readmissions after 24 months of data collection.

Are they family or friends? Social support instrument reliability in studying older lesbians.

We know little about the support needs and health of older lesbians because participant sexual identity has typically not been identified in aging studies. The Lubben Social Network Scale, Revised (LSNS-R) is found widely reliable for testing perceived social support among elders but has never been tested with an exclusively lesbian population. This pilot tested the instrument with an exclusively lesbian population in the Midwest.

Nursing home recruitment: trials, tribulations, and successes.

Many challenges are inherent when conducting research in the older adult population as well as in the nursing home environment. The safety and quality of care provided in nursing homes need further examination through research. The purpose of this paper is to discuss research issues and recruitment barriers experienced by a research team collecting data for a study assessing the education and learning needs of nursing home nurses in central Illinois and related resident outcomes.

Evidence-based practices for the prevention of weight loss in nursing home residents.

Weight loss is common among nursing home residents. Food intake is often inadequate for elderly residents but is only one of several factors contributing to potential weight loss. Three common issues resulting in weight loss include starvation (or wasting), cachexia, and sarcopenia.

Antidepressant treatment of depression in rural nursing home residents.

Under-diagnosis and under-treatment of depression are major problems in nursing home residents. The purpose of this study was to determine antidepressant use among nursing home residents who were diagnosed with depression using three different methods: (1) the Geriatric Depression Scale, (2) Minimum Data Set, and (3) primary care provider assessments. As one would expect, the odds of being treated with an antidepressant were about eight times higher for those diagnosed as depressed by the primary care provider compared to the Geriatric Depression Scale or the Minimum Data Set.

Weight loss prevention in nursing home residents: a pilot study to determine administrative strategies.

Weight loss is a common problem for nursing home residents. Although clinical interventions to prevent and treat weight loss are readily available, administrative interventions to prevent weight loss are not identified in the literature. The purpose of this study was to identify administrative strategies that Directors of Nursing could use to prevent weight loss in nursing home residents.

Data quality strategies in cohort studies: lessons from a study on delirium in nursing home elders.

Data quality has a direct impact on reliability and validity; however, procedures are usually briefly summarized in the Methods section of reports. Sustaining data quality and integrity over time can pose serious challenges, prompting the development of a data quality program based on Donabedian's quality framework. Although many are familiar with the structure, process, and outcome components in health care quality, their application to a research project may be unfamiliar.

Nursing staffing and resident outcomes in nursing homes: weight loss and dehydration.

A secondary analysis of the Minimum Data Set and Online Survey, Certification, and Reporting databases was used to examine the relationships between nursing staffing and the nursing home resident outcomes of weight loss and dehydration. If a facility had 3 or more hours of nursing assistant time versus those that had less than 3 hours, there was an associated odds ratio of 0.83 (P = .

Evidence-based administrative guideline: quality improvement in nursing homes.

Those staff members involved in a quality improvement program for a nursing home play a significant role in ensuring quality care for older adults. Use of the evidence-based administrative guideline "Quality Improvement in Nursing Homes" (Dyck, 2003) can provide a template for the implementation of a research-based quality program.