Pursuing a doctorate in nursing: Implications for underrepresented minority nurses.

Making the decision to pursue doctoral studies can be daunting and in some instances life changing. As a dedicated cadre of doctorally prepared minority nurse leaders, we provide mentoring and support to aspiring and current underrepresented minority (URM) doctoral nursing students. Providing support and guidance around doctoral readiness is essential to helping URMS navigate the doctoral nursing education journey.

Engagement with Care, Substance Use, and Adherence to Therapy in HIV/AIDS.

Engagement with care for those living with HIV is aimed at establishing a strong relationship between patients and their health care provider and is often associated with greater adherence to therapy and treatment (Flickinger, Saha, Moore, and Beach, 2013). Substance use behaviors are linked with lower rates of engagement with care and medication adherence (Horvath, Carrico, Simoni, Boyer, Amico, and Petroli, 2013). This study is a secondary data analysis using a cross-sectional design from a larger randomized controlled trial (n = 775) that investigated the efficacy of a self-care symptom management manual for participants living with HIV.

Self-compassion and risk behavior among people living with HIV/AIDS.

Sexual risk behavior and illicit drug use among people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) contribute to poor health and onward transmission of HIV. The aim of this collaborative multi-site nursing research study was to explore the association between self-compassion and risk behaviors in PLWHA. As part of a larger project, nurse researchers in Canada, China, Namibia, Puerto Rico, Thailand and the US enrolled 1211 sexually active PLWHA using convenience sampling.

Associations between the legal context of HIV, perceived social capital, and HIV antiretroviral adherence in North America.

Background: Human rights approaches to manage HIV and efforts to decriminalize HIV exposure/transmission globally offer hope to persons living with HIV (PLWH). However, among vulnerable populations of PLWH, substantial human rights and structural challenges (disadvantage and injustice that results from everyday practices of a well-intentioned liberal society) must be addressed. These challenges span all ecosocial context levels and in North America (Canada and the United States) can include prosecution for HIV nondisclosure and HIV exposure/transmission.

The impact of stressful life events, symptom status, and adherence concerns on quality of life in people living with HIV.

Studies concerning persons living with HIV (PLWH) report that stressful life events (SLEs) contribute to an exacerbation of symptoms and reduced antiretroviral (ARV) adherence and quality of life (QOL). Little is known about whether these findings are site-specific. Our study's aims were to characterize the type and frequency of SLEs for PLWH in Puerto Rico, South Africa, and the United States, and to assess the impact of SLEs by national site, symptoms, and ARV adherence concerns on QOL.

Exploring the contribution of general self-efficacy to the use of self-care symptom management strategies by people living with HIV infection.

General self-efficacy (GSE), the expectation that one is able to perform a behavior successfully, may differentiate those who are able to successfully utilize self-care symptom management strategies (SCSMS). This subanalysis (n=569) of an international 12 site longitudinal randomized controlled trial (RCT) (n=775), investigated GSE as an important factor determining symptom burden, SCSMS, engagement with the provider, and medication adherence over time, and identified differences in those with high and low GSE ratings concerning these variables. Parametric and nonparametric repeated-measures tests were employed to assess GSE and the perceived effectiveness of SCSMS for anxiety, depression, diarrhea, fatigue, nausea, and neuropathy.

Patient advocacy in the community and legislative arena.

Nurses have hundreds of patient experiences upon which to draw in order to impact public policy. It is our obligation to strengthen skills that enable us to influence public policy so we can better serve patients. This article provides examples of how nurses can translate their hands-on experience with patients into steps that will influence policy.

Self-care behaviors and activities for managing HIV-related anxiety.

The goal of this study was to identify the baseline prevalence and effectiveness of anxiety self-management strategies in a convenience sample of persons living with HIV (PLWH; n = 343) in the United States, Puerto Rico, Kenya, and South Africa who reported HIV-related anxiety symptoms. Relationships between demographics and anxiety characteristics were determined, as was the effectiveness of self-care activities/behaviors to reduce anxiety. We found that the use of anxiety self-management strategies varied by gender and that ratings of effectiveness varied by country.

Unhealthy substance-use behaviors as symptom-related self-care in persons with HIV/AIDS.

Unhealthy substance-use behaviors, including a heavy alcohol intake, illicit drug use, and cigarette smoking, are engaged in by many HIV-positive individuals, often as a way to manage their disease-related symptoms. This study, based on data from a larger randomized controlled trial of an HIV/AIDS symptom management manual, examines the prevalence and characteristics of unhealthy behaviors in relation to HIV/AIDS symptoms. The mean age of the sample (n = 775) was 42.

Prevalence, self-care behaviors, and self-care activities for peripheral neuropathy symptoms of HIV/AIDS.

As part of a larger randomized controlled trial examining the efficacy of an HIV/AIDS symptom management manual (n = 775), this study examined the prevalence of peripheral neuropathy in HIV-infected individuals at 12 sites in the USA, Puerto Rico, and Africa. Neuropathy was reported by 44% of the sample; however, only 29.4% reported initiating self-care behaviors to address the neuropathy symptoms.

Exploring HIV stigma and quality of life for persons living with HIV infection.

The purpose of this study was to explore the potential contribution of perceived HIV stigma to quality of life for people living with HIV infection. A cross-sectional design explored the contribution of demographic variables, symptoms, and stigma to quality of life in an international sample of 726 people living with HIV infection. Stigma independently contributed a significant 5.

Does "asymptomatic" mean without symptoms for those living with HIV infection?

Throughout the history of the HIV epidemic, HIV-positive patients with relatively high CD4 counts and no clinical features of opportunistic infections have been classified as "asymptomatic" by definition and treatment guidelines. This classification, however, does not take into consideration the array of symptoms that an HIV-positive person can experience long before progressing to AIDS. This short report describes two international multi-site studies conducted in 2003-2005 and 2005-2007.

A randomized controlled trial testing the efficacy of an HIV/AIDS symptom management manual.

This study investigates whether using an HIV/AIDS symptom management manual with self-care strategies for 21 common symptoms, compared to a basic nutrition manual, had an effect on reducing symptom frequency and intensity. A 775-person, repeated measures, randomized controlled trial was conducted over three months in 12 sites from the United States, Puerto Rico, and Africa to assess the relationship between symptom intensity with predictors for differences in initial symptom status and change over time. A mixed model growth analysis showed a significantly greater decline in symptom frequency and intensity for the group using the symptom management manual (intervention) compared to those using the nutrition manual (control) (t=2.