Social network analysis: Exploring connections to advance military nursing science.

Background: Military nurse scientists are embedded in service-affiliated branches (Army, Navy, Air Force) with different missions, but with the singular purpose of generating and disseminating research impacting the health and well-being of DoD beneficiaries.

Purpose: This project examines collaboration among TriService Nursing Research Program (TSNRP) members, seeking opportunities to strengthen, diversify, and expand research collaboration.

Method: Social network analysis (SNA) is the empirical inquiry of relations among social actors at different levels of analysis.

An Occupational Paradox: Why Do We Love Really Tough Jobs?

Background: Sometimes we come upon unexpected or counterfactual results during research that make us wonder and lead us into unknown territory. Such was the experience of a team of Air Force researchers exploring aeromedical evacuation crew members' experiences of safety and patient care concerns throughout the en route care system.

Objective: To explore what it is about the aeromedical evacuation crew members' occupation that generates a strong motivation to the mission despite the demands it places on its workers.

A Review of Epidemiologic Studies of the Health of Gulf War Women Veterans.

Introduction: In the 25 years since the 1990-1991 Gulf War (GW), studies have evaluated Gulf War Illness (GWI), sometimes referred to as medically unexplained multi symptom illness, and other medical and neurological conditions in women GW veterans.

Materials And Methods: In this article, we review epidemiologic studies of the health of women who served in the 1990-1991 GW based upon bibliographic searches in PubMed and CINAHL with relevant search terms through September 2015.

Results: A total of 56 articles were identified in the bibliographic searches.

Use of the Rasch model for initial testing of fit statistics and rating scale diagnosis for a general anesthesia satisfaction questionnaire.

Background And Purpose: The level of patient satisfaction is a result of a complex set of interactions between the patient and the health care provider. It is important to quantify satisfaction with care because it involves the patient in the care experience and decreases the potential gap between expected and actual care delivered.

Methods: We tested a preliminary 23-item instrument to measure patient satisfaction with general anesthesia care.

Use of the Rasch Model for Initial Testing of Fit Statistics and Rating Scale Diagnosis for a General Anesthesia Satisfaction Questionnaire.

Background And Purpose: The level of patient satisfaction is a result of a complex set of interactions between the patient and the health care provider. It is important to quantify satisfaction with care because it involves the patient in the care experience and decreases the potential gap between expected and actual care delivered.

Methods: We tested a preliminary 23-item instrument to measure patient satisfaction with general anesthesia care.

En route care patient safety: thoughts from the field.

The purpose of this study was to describe the patient safety culture of en route care in the United States Air Force aeromedical evacuation system. Almost 100,000 patients have been transported since 2001. Safety concerns in this unique environment are complex because of the extraordinary demands of multitasking, time urgency, long duty hours, complex handoffs, and multiple stressors of flight.

The decision-making process of young adult women with cancer who considered fertility cryopreservation.

Objective: To provide an in-depth description of the decision-making process that women who are diagnosed with cancer undergo as they decide whether to accept or decline fertility cryopreservation.

Design: A qualitative, grounded theory approach.

Setting And Participants: Twenty-seven women (mean age = 29 years) who were diagnosed with cancer and were eligible for egg, embryo, or ovarian tissue cryopreservation were recruited from the Internet and two university centers.

Psychometric testing of the decisional conflict scale: genetic testing hereditary breast and ovarian cancer.

Background: : Hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC) syndrome is attributed mostly to mutations in the Breast Cancer 1 and Breast Cancer 2 genes (BRCA1/2). Mutation carriers of BRCA1/2 genes have significantly higher risk for developing breast cancer compared with the general population (55%-85% vs. 12%) and for developing ovarian cancer (20%-60% vs.

Differences between women who pursued genetic testing for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer and their at-risk relatives who did not.

Purpose/objectives: To (a) examine differences in appraisals of hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC), psychological distress, family environment, and decisional conflict between women who pursued genetic testing and their at-risk relatives who did not, and (b) examine correlations among appraisals of HBOC, psychological distress, family environment, and decisional conflict regarding genetic testing in these two cohorts of women.

Design: Descriptive, cross-sectional cohort study.

Setting: Two clinics affiliated with a major research university in the midwestern United States.

Elder women's decision-making in breast cancer care: An Israeli study.

Purpose: Much research has examined women's decision-making behaviour in breast cancer care. Patient age has shaped preferences, values, decision style and participation in treatment decisions. The aim of this study was to test the validity of the Michigan Assessment of Decision Style (MADS) (Pierce, 1995) in an older cohort and provide information on decision styles to identify areas of tailored decision support necessary for Israeli women.

War-related stressors as predictors of post-deployment health of Air Force women.

Introduction: Little is known about the effects of combat exposure on women's health after service in Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). Our purpose was to describe the incidence and nature of physical heath symptoms reported by deployed women to identify problematic areas where early intervention or better surveillance might be directed.

Methods: Using a random, stratified sample (theater vs.

Development of an informational web site for recruiting research participants: process, implementation, and evaluation.

Internet-based research is increasing, yet there is little known about recruitment approaches that target the Internet. Investigators have been slow to discuss how to plan, develop, and enhance recruitment using the Internet when well-concealed or disparate populations, sensitive topics, or qualitative methods are interspersed into the aims of the study. The twofold purpose of this article was to (1) highlight the major steps and strategies undertaken to develop and implement an innovative Web site for recruiting high-genetic-risk couples who were considering preimplantation genetic diagnosis use, and (2) present the recruitment results and lessons learned based on enrollment, self-evaluation, and descriptive data.

Effects of war exposure on air force personnel's mental health, job burnout and other organizational related outcomes.

Longitudinal data from a stratified representative sample of U.S. Air Force personnel (N = 1009) deployed to the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other locations were analyzed in this study.

Distrust, predisposition to use health services and breast cancer screening: results from a multicultural community-based survey.

Purpose: To examine whether and how distrust of the health system and predisposition to use healthcare services influence frequency of mammograms and Clinical Breast Exams (CBEs).

Methods: A community-based survey recruited 184 women (age 47+/-12); 49% were college-educated, 77% had health insurance, and 57% were non-white. Distrust was measured with a four-item scale (Cronbach alpha=0.

Conceptualizing couples' decision making in PGD: emerging cognitive, emotional, and moral dimensions.

Objective: To illuminate and synthesize what is known about the underlying decision making processes surrounding couples' preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) use or disuse and to formulate an initial conceptual framework that can guide future research and practice.

Methods: This systematic review targeted empirical studies published in English from 1990 to 2008 that examined the decision making process of couples or individual partners that had used, were eligible for, or had contemplated PGD. Sixteen studies met the eligibility requirements.

The meaning of complementary therapy from the perspective of Thai women with breast cancer.

A qualitative study based on Heideggerian phenomenology was conducted with 17 Thai women who had survived breast cancer and had utilized at least one type of complementary therapy. The study explored the meaning of such therapy and the data were collected by an in-depth interview, a demographic data-recording form, and a reflective journal. The data were analyzed by using an interpretative process that was described by Cohen, Kahn, and Steeves.

Developing military nursing research priorities.

Congress established the TriService Nursing Research Program (TSNRP) in 1992 to serve the nursing research needs of the military. The TSNRP advances the science of military nursing to support mission readiness and deployment, improves the health and quality of life of military personnel, and provides optimal nursing care in settings worldwide. In 1995, the TSNRP Advisory Council commissioned the Institute of Medicine to make recommendations on management, research funding areas, resource allocation, and objectives.

Australian women's prediagnostic decision-making styles, relating to treatment choices for early breast cancer treatment.

Women diagnosed with early breast cancer are now asked by their doctors to choose from a range of options for their preferred medical treatment plan. Little information is known about women's treatment decision-making and therefore nurses do not have evidence to guide this decision support. The aim of this descriptive survey was to investigate the prediagnostic decision-making behavior of a sample (N = 377) of Australian women, regarding their treatment choices for early breast cancer.

Global presence: USAF aeromedical evacuation and critical care air transport.

Flight nursing, whether as an AE nurse or as a CCAT team member, is a demanding profession that extracts tremendous energy, competes with family and recreational time, and sets high expectations. On reflection, however, most crewmembers claim it is the most rewarding experience in their professional life. The opportunity to be a part of history, to provide care and transport to American servicemen and women in times of extreme need, and to accomplish the mission safely despite the circumstances and personal cost is an unparalleled experience and one that hold tremendous pride.