The keys to successful online continuing education programs for nurses.

Asynchronous online tutorials that award continuing education units without cost and provide knowledge about computers and nursing informatics were made available to registered nurses in Southern California. Four hundred seventy-three nurses enrolled; 52% (246) completed tutorials. Nonsignificant differences in the number of tutorials completed were found across characteristics of participants, meaning that nurses were similarly disposed to participate regardless of age, educational preparation, experience, practice setting, or ethnicity.

Screening for overweight and diabetes in rural Hispanic and Caucasian fifth-grade children.

Fifth-grade children were screened for overweight and diabetes and comparisons between Hispanic and Caucasian children in this rural setting are presented. Hispanic children had a significantly higher mean Body Mass Index percentile and waist circumference than Caucasians but blood glucose differences were not significant. Twenty-six percent of all children had slightly elevated glucose levels (100-125 mg per dL) and 2% had elevated levels (equal to or greater than 126 mg per dL) but none of the children were found to have diabetes.

The eating and physical activity habits of inner-city adolescents.

Introduction: The purposes of this study were to (a) analyze the body mass index (BMI) percentile and eating and physical activity habits of adolescents, viewing them by sex, ethnicity, household type, and foreign-born or born in the United States, and (b) evaluate diet and activity analysis software for use by practitioners and adolescent clients.

Method: A descriptive-correlational study of 74 adolescents from low-income households completed a 24-hour recall of their foods, drinks, and activities, which were analyzed using MyPyramidTracker software. Data were analyzed using parametric and nonparametric methods to test associations and conduct between-group comparisons.

The design, marketing, and implementation of online continuing education about computers and nursing informatics.

Asynchronous online tutorials using PowerPoint slides with accompanying audio to teach practicing nurses about computers and nursing informatics were designed for this project, which awarded free continuing education units to completers. Participants had control over the advancement of slides, with the ability to repeat when desired. Graphics were kept to a minimum; thus, the program ran smoothly on computers using dial-up modems.

Use of human patient simulation in an undergraduate critical care course.

Human patient simulation provides students with experiences and skills they might not otherwise encounter in a clinical rotation. It also offers an experience during which the time is suspended, thus affording students time to think critically, make decisions, and act, as opposed to the fast-paced hospital environment where students may have neither a clear picture of the situation nor adequate time to act. This article presents the design of a simulation center within a school of nursing along with several areas of considerations for successful implementation of the laboratory.

Reducing hunger-associated symptoms: the midmorning nutrition break.

This study measured the effectiveness of a 9 a.m. nutrition break after it had been implemented for 1 academic year at an inner-city high school.

Integrating environmental health into an undergraduate community health nursing course.

Nurses are often the first members of the healthcare system to whom the public turns when environmental health hazards cause concern. Yet most nursing programs include scant formal environmental health content. This article describes a project that integrated significant environmental health content into an undergraduate community health nursing course.

The breakfast-eating habits of inner city high school students.

This cross-sectional, descriptive correlational research study describes the breakfast-eating habits of 846 inner-city high school students. Fifty-seven percent of students reported skipping breakfast on the day of the survey, despite the free hot-breakfast program at their high school. Significantly more girls than boys skipped breakfast, and 10th grade students had the highest rate of skipping breakfast.