Strengths-based behavioral telehealth with sexual and gender diverse clients at Center on Halsted.

The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated an immediate response and rapid transition from traditional face-to-face behavioral health services to behavioral telehealth at an organization serving sexual and gender diverse (SGD) individuals in Chicago. In this practice innovations article, we explore the unfolding public health crisis and the impact on service delivery for SGD individuals. Using a large multi-service organization as a case study, this paper describes how key members of the staff and leadership team shifted services online as a means of responding to isolation, loneliness, and disparities in access to healthcare for Chicago SGD communities.

Variations in Vietnamese marriages, births and infant deaths by months of the Julian calendar and years of the Vietnamese and Chinese astrological calendars.

The timing of births and marriages in Vietnam appears to have some statistically significant relationships with the signs of the Chinese and Vietnamese astrological calendars. Years considered to be good years have significantly more births and marriages than years that are not considered as desirable. Births and marriages also have some significant variations with seasons of the year.

Malpractice coverage for health professionals with physical, mental, or substance-abuse impairments. How do insurance companies make their decisions?

How do insurance companies decide whether or not to provide malpractice insurance to health professionals? What information do they gather on applicants and renewing policyholders? Who has the responsibility to determine if health professionals are suffering from physical, mental, or substance-abuse impairments that make them unfit to care for patients? The authors conducted a survey to find the answers to these questions.

Early childhood survivorship in Vietnam.

The effects on early childhood mortality of birth order, age of the mother at the time of the child's birth, mother's education, as well as infant mortality risk in the province, urban/rural residence, the presence of schools and other facilities and health care services, were examined using data from the 1988 Vietnam Demographic and Health Survey and the 1990 Study of Accessibility of Contraceptives in Vietnam. A total of 4137 urban and rural children born between 1983 and 1988 to the 4172 women interviewed in the Demographic and Health Survey were included in the hazard model analysis of maternal and child characteristics. However, since the Accessibility of Contraceptives Study included only rural respondents, the hazard model analysis of community development characteristics and health services effects on early childhood mortality was based on a subsample of 3314 rural children.

Menstruation, menarche, and sexuality in the public school curriculum: school nurses' perceptions.

Nurses employed by schools and health departments have varying responsibilities for curricula related to menstruation, menarche, and sexuality. Nevertheless, the school nurse is usually a source of information on these subjects whether employed full-time in school health or also participating in other nursing roles in the community. This survey examines the involvement of school nurses in curricula related to human reproduction including contraception.

Vietnamese infant and childhood mortality in relation to the Vietnam War.

Objectives: There is obvious potential for war to adversely affect infant and childhood mortality through direct trauma and disruption of the societal infrastructure. This study examined trends in Vietnam through the period of the war.

Methods: The 1988 Vietnam Demographic and Health Survey collected data on reproductive history and family planning from 4172 women aged 15 through 49 years in 12 selected provinces of Vietnam.

Selected determinants of fertility in Vietnam: age at marriage, marriage to first birth interval and age at first birth.

Data from the 4172 women aged 15-49 interviewed in the 1988 Vietnamese Demographic and Health Survey were used to examine age at marriage, marriage to first birth intervals and age at first birth. Differences between urban and rural areas, northern and southern provinces and by education of the women were analysed. The majority of the women had their first birth before age 20, but women with secondary education had a significantly higher age at first birth than those with little or no education, and women from the north had a significantly higher age at first birth than women from the south.

Factors influencing infant mortality in Vietnam.

Selected determinants of overall infant mortality in Vietnam were examined using data from the 1988 Vietnam Demographic and Health Survey, and factors underlying neonatal and post-neonatal mortality were also compared. Effects of community development characteristics, including health care, were studied by logistic regression analysis in a subsample of rural children from the 1990 Vietnam Accessibility of Contraceptives Survey. Infant neonatal and post-neonatal mortality rates showed comparable distributions by birth order, maternal age, pregnancy intervals, mother's education and urban-rural residence.

Individual and community characteristics influencing breastfeeding duration in Vietnam.

This analysis of selected community and maternal characteristics influencing duration of breastfeeding in Vietnam utilized data from the 1988 Demographic and Health Survey and 1990 Accessibility of Contraceptives Survey available for the 4434 children born to 2769 women having their last birth between 1983-88. Explanatory variables included as covariates in the hazards model were mother's education, age of the mother at the time of the child's birth, birth order, and gender of the child, urban versus rural residence, infant mortality risk in the child's province, locality (mountains and highlands compared to delta and coastal), and region of the country (north, south). Indicators of development in the child's village included availability of electricity and public transportation.

Determinants of birth intervals in Vietnam: a hazard model analysis.

There was absence of any regional differences in parity progressions and length of birth intervals, although urban-rural differences persisted at most birth orders, suggesting that, as in other studies, the urban-rural differentials are the primary source of variations in fertility between different areas of a country. The significantly higher probability of a subsequent birth after birth order 2 in areas with high infant mortality compared to those with low infant mortality suggests that women in the high-risk provinces may be more likely to advance beyond parity 2 and continue on into the advanced parities. The provinces identified as having high infant mortality had also been identified in other studies as the provinces with the highest crude birth rates and population growth rates, the least available family planning services, and highest crude death rates.

Nursing administrators' responses to physically, mentally, and substance-impaired nurses.

Impaired nurses--whether the impairment is physical, mental, or substance use--can be a potential hazard in a healthcare setting, both to themselves and to patients. It is therefore imperative that nursing administrators identify such nurses in order to take the proper actions. But just how do administrators react toward nurses with impairments? The authors of this article present the results of a survey in an attempt to answer this question.

Factors related to the utilization of prenatal care in Vietnam.

Data from the 1988 Vietnam Demographic and Health Survey and 1990 Vietnam Accessibility of Contraceptives Survey were used in this analysis of the influence of selected individual and community characteristics on the utilization of prenatal care in Vietnam. Specific analysis of the impact of availability of health services and other development characteristics of the community on utilization of prenatal care was done in a rural subsample. The woman's educational level and total number of living children were the most significant predictors of prenatal care utilization.

Hospital smoking policies: who enforces them?

As opprobrium is increasingly given to the act of smoking, many institutions--hospitals especially--are seeking to curtail the amount of smoking that occurs within their buildings through various policies. This, however, raises two necessary questions: What does policy enforcement mean? And who shall enforce the rules? The article below discusses the results of a survey of North Carolina hospitals that asked these questions and more.

Contraceptive use in Vietnam: the effect of individual and community characteristics.

Data from the 1988 Vietnamese Demographic and Health Survey and the 1990 Vietnam Study of Accessibility of Contraceptives were used in this analysis to determine how selective individual and community characteristics influenced the use of modern methods of contraception in Vietnam. Although there were no significant differences in the use of contraceptives between women with a primary education and those with a higher educational attainment, the illiterate women with no formal education were significantly less likely to use modern methods of contraception. Women living in provinces with high infant mortality rates were significantly less likely to use modern methods of contraception than women in low-infant-mortality provinces.

A profile of young adolescents attending a teen family planning clinic.

The purpose of this study was to assess the client records of adolescents attending a teen family planning clinic to determine the reported episodes of sexually transmitted diseases, sexual abuse, alcohol and drug use, and other dysfunctional situations in the family. In addition, information about the initiation of sexual activity and sexual partners was assessed in the record review. Data were obtained from a county health department located in a metropolitan area of a southeastern state.

Nurses counseling patients about smoking cessation--why, when, and how.

In patient health education, nurses are a natural choice for on-the-spot counsellors and teachers. Yet many nurses feel uncomfortable about broaching subjects such as smoking cessation with their patients or the patients' families. The authors argue that it is time for nursing programs and hospitals to prepare and encourage nurses to take the initiative in smoking-cessation counseling.

Responses of schools of nursing to physically, mentally, and substance-impaired students.

Responses of schools of nursing to physically, mentally, and substance-impaired applicants and matriculating students were assessed in a 12% simple random sample (n = 132) of the 383 baccalaureate and 715 associate degree nursing schools and programs accredited by the National League for Nursing. A self-administered questionnaire concerning experiences, policies, procedures, and factors influencing decision-making was sent to the 132 deans and directors of the nursing schools and programs. Criteria for defining impairments, resources for developing criteria, methods of identifying impairments, actions taken, and individuals involved in the decision were also assessed.

Community health nurses' knowledge of, attitudes toward, and involvement with adolescent contraceptive services.

A national sample of community health nurses were surveyed to assess their knowledge of, attitudes toward, and involvement with reproductive health services. Results indicated that slightly more than half of the nurses provided or administered contraceptive services to adolescents, although 73% worked in settings where contraceptive services were provided to adolescents. However, only 3.

Public health nurses and family planning.

Unintended pregnancy is a health problem that is particularly important in the practice of public health nurses (PHNs). Data from 844 PHNs showed that they were likely to practice in settings that incorporate family planning services and were knowledgeable about specific family planning methods. They favored family planning services and an expanded supportive government role in both family planning and abortion.

Community health nurses and family planning services for men.

Current concerns about sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), as well as unintended pregnancy, have drawn increasing attention to reproductive health services for men. This report presents information about responses by 844 community health nurses (CHNs) to a self-administered mailed questionnaire that included questions about the extent of the nurses' involvement in delivering or administering family planning services to men, their knowledge and attitudes about men and family planning, and their preparation for working with men. Our sample included CHNs in practice in five states and a sample of CHNs belonging to a national organization of public health nursing, in order to gain information about CHNs in practice in the field and CHNs more likely to be in an educational or administrative position and thus able to influence or to set policy.

Fatal multisystem disease with immune enteropathy heralded by juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.

The prognosis of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) is generally good, although premature death occurs in a subset of children. Secondary infections, chronic amyloidosis, and heart disease have been reported as common causes. Our experience indicates that JRA can also herald the development of a severe immune enteropathy.