Nonurgent Use of the Emergency Department by Pediatric Patients: A Theory-Guided Approach for Primary and Acute Care Pediatric Nurse Practitioners.

Providing quality, cost-effective care to children and their families in the appropriate setting is the goal of nurse practitioners in primary and acute care. However, increased utilization of the emergency department (ED) for nonurgent care threatens cost-effective quality care, interrupts continuity of care, and contributes to ED overcrowding. To date, descriptive research has identified demographics of those using the ED for nonurgent care, the chief complaints of children seeking nonurgent care, the cost to the health care system of pediatric nonurgent care, and characteristics of associated primary care settings.

Capacity of, and Demand for, Neonatal Nurse Practitioner Educational Programs: A Missing Piece of the Workforce Puzzle.

Background: Studies have demonstrated a dramatic increase in the number of new nurse practitioners (NPs) overall completing NP education each year. However, NPs who provide specialized care to children have not experienced increases in their pipeline at all. This has resulted in shortages of neonatal nurse practitioners (NNPs).

Noninvasive biomarkers of necrotizing enterocolitis.

Necrotizing enterocolitis is an acute inflammatory disease, which primarily affects preterm infants, and is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the neonatal intensive care unit. Unfortunately, necrotizing enterocolitis can be difficult to distinguish from other diseases and clinical conditions especially during the early course of the disease. This diagnostic uncertainty is particularly relevant to clinical evaluation and medical management and potentially leads to unnecessary and extended periods of cessation of enteral feedings and prolonged courses of parenteral nutrition and antibiotics.

Extended family support for parents faced with life-support decisions for extremely premature infants.

Purpose: To outline parents' descriptions of extended family involvement and support surrounding decision making for their extremely preterm infant.

Design: Collective case study design in a prospective, descriptive, longitudinal research. Seventy-five digitally recorded interviews were done with parents before and after the birth.

Differences in plasma and nipple aspirate carotenoid by lactation status.

Background: Dietary antioxidants, such as provitamin A carotenoid, have a protective effect against breast cancer. The transport of carotenoid from the blood into the breast microenvironment may be enhanced by lactation.

Objective: To examine the association between plasma and nipple aspirate carotenoid levels by lactation and post-wean status.