Multistate Epidemiology of Histoplasmosis, United States, 2011-2014.

Histoplasmosis is one of the most common mycoses endemic to the United States, but it was reportable in only 10 states during 2016, when a national case definition was approved. To better characterize the epidemiologic features of histoplasmosis, we analyzed deidentified surveillance data for 2011-2014 from the following 12 states: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. We examined epidemiologic and laboratory features and calculated state-specific annual and county-specific mean annual incidence rates.

A comparison of policies on nurse faculty workload in the United States.

Aim: This article describes nurse faculty workload policies from across the nation in order to assess current practice.

Background: There is a well-documented shortage of nursing faculty leading to an increase in workload demands. Increases in faculty workload results in difficulties with work-life balance and dissatisfaction threatening to make nursing education less attractive to young faculty.

Assessment of provider adherence to obesity treatment guidelines.

Purpose: Despite the presence of obesity treatment guidelines, healthcare providers often provide suboptimal weight management. The purpose of the quality improvement project was to systematically assess adherence with adult overweight/obesity guidelines in primary care to reduce patient risk.

Data Sources: Retrospective analysis of 420 encounter notes from overweight and obese adult patients in three primary care clinics.

Understanding the commission on collegiate nursing education accreditation process and the role of the continuous improvement progress report.

Continuous quality improvement is an essential element of the accreditation process. This article describes the content and process for writing the Continuous Improvement Progress Report (CIPR) required by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) at the midpoint of the accreditation cycle. The rationale for writing the report and the purpose for the contents of the report are reviewed.

Screening for trauma exposure, and posttraumatic stress disorder and depression symptoms among mothers receiving child welfare preventive services.

The role of parental trauma exposure and related mental health symptoms as risk factors for child maltreatment for parents involved with the child welfare (CW) system has received limited attention. In particular, little is known about the extent to which mothers receiving CW services to prevent maltreatment have experienced trauma and suffered trauma-related psychopathology. This study examined screening data collected from 127 mothers receiving CW preventive services.

A dialogue on the future of nursing practice.

Purpose: The challenges of health care; its safety, effectiveness, and efficiency; the quality of care; and the outcomes patients experience are issues central to nursing practice. This centrality needs to be affirmed as the profession shapes its practice over the next 50 years. The purpose of this article is to initiate a dialogue on the future of nursing practice.

The impact of a school entry law on adolescent immunization rates.

Purpose: Middle school entry laws increase coverage with recommended vaccines, but their effect on vaccines that are not required is unknown. We compared vaccination coverage for hepatitis B, tetanus and diphtheria (Td), and measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) in areas of states with discordant middle school, hepatitis B school entry laws, and evaluated the relationship between demographic characteristics and adolescent immunization rates.

Methods: Retrospective design with purposive school sampling, using location of residence to determine study group.