Referral Efficiency for Veterans with Osteoarthritis: A Quality Improvement Project.

Management of osteoarthritis, a common disease among veterans, includes referrals to orthopedic specialists. This requires an effective referral system. The aim of this study was to evaluate a quality improvement project addressing inefficiencies in the osteoarthritis referral process between primary care providers and orthopedic specialists.

Choice of smoking cessation products among people with substance use problems in the US: Findings from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) study Wave 6.

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare past 12-month use of cigarette smoking cessation aids (e.g., Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved cessation products or e-cigarettes for smoking cessation) among people with substance use problems (PWSUPs) who currently smoke to people without substance use problems (SUPs) who currently smoke cigarettes in a nationally representative US sample.

Describing Psychiatric Symptoms Experienced by Older Adults in a Skilled Nursing Facility During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

There is limited investigation about psychiatric symptoms experienced by older adults with mental health conditions or neurocognitive ones residing in a skilled nursing facility during the COVID-19 pandemic. The objective of this descriptive-design study was to describe the psychiatric symptoms from the year before COVID-19 pandemic to the 1 year of the pandemic for older adults with a mental health condition or a neurocognitive one residing in a skilled nursing facility. A database ( = 84) was established from the extraction of already collected data on the assessment of older adults ( = 84) with mental health conditions or neurocognitive ones living in one skilled nursing facility.

Research Guided by the Theory of Care-Seeking Behavior: A Scoping Review.

Background: A particular Theory of Care-Seeking Behavior was developed to explain care-seeking behavior with psychosocial concepts, external conditions, and clinical and demographic factors. Having a careful review of studies based on this theory could guide future research on care-seeking behaviors.

Objectives: With a scoping review: describe characteristics of studies guided by a Theory of Care-Seeking Behavior, summarize support for the relationships of proposed, explanatory variables with care-seeking behaviors, and examine support for propositions in the theory.

Quality of Life Health Outcomes Among People Who Lived in a Nursing Home Prior to and During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The purpose of the current study was to compare quality of life health outcomes during the year prior to and first year of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic among people who lived in a nursing home. This study used quarterly cross-sectional data from Minimum Data Sets between March 2019 and March 2021 among 96 people who resided in a nursing home. Health outcomes were cognitive function, transfer ability, depression, rejecting care, falls, urinary tract infections, physical conflict, and verbal conflict.

Nursing harm reduction education and care for people who use drugs or who engage in sex work.

Harm reduction is an evidence-based approach that could promote health equity through the implementation of pragmatic strategies for people who use drugs or who engage in sex work. The purposes of this study were to describe whether nurses received harm reduction education in their nursing programs, whether nurses are practicing harm reduction, and strategies for integrating harm reduction within nursing curriculum. An online survey was delivered to nurses and an interview with a nurse harm reductionist was conducted.

Collaborating With Community Partners to Address Population Health in an Online Advanced Nursing Practice Course.

Background: Engaging in effective community partnerships is a core competency for advanced nursing practice.

Purpose: To describe a semester-long population health project that involved collaboration with a community partner in an online and asynchronous advanced nursing practice course and to evaluate students' perceptions of their community partner collaboration.

Methods: At the beginning of the course, students selected health topics and community partners.

The intersection between climate change, COVID-19, and future pandemics - Perspectives among American transportation network drivers.

Introduction: Drivers of Transportation Network Companies (TNC) are an essential workforce that is affected by extreme weather events and high exposure risk to airborne infectious diseases due to their proximity with customers. The purpose of this study was to understand TNC drivers' professional experience during the COVID-19 pandemic and their opinions about climate change and the development of future pandemics.

Methods: Open- and closed-ended responses were collected during TNC rides and analyzed with content analysis and descriptive statistics.

School Nurses' Language Needs When Caring for Students from Limited English Proficiency Households.

The number of school-aged students with diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds is increasing across the United States. This survey identifies strategies school nurses use for communicating to families with limited English proficiency and describes recommendations to improve language needs. The online survey was completed by K-12 school nurses and data were analyzed using descriptive statistics.

Lessons learned in preventing COVID-19 within a skilled nursing facility during the early pandemic.

Objective: Guided by the vulnerable population framework, the aim was to describe the risks and protective strategies for COVID-19 spread and infections in a Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF).

Method: We conducted a retrospective cohort (March 1st-August 31st, 2020) study. Data were collected from internal COVID-19 documents and resident electronic health records.

Risks for acquiring hepatitis C virus among women in the United States.

Objective: To conduct a literature review about the breadth of risks for acquiring hepatitis C virus (HCV) among women who are living in the United States.

Design: A mixed research synthesis of qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods studies guided by the Socioecological Model and Theory of Gender and Power.

Sample And Analytic Strategy: The sample consisted of 29 studies: 10 qualitative, 18 quantitative, and one mixed-methods studies.

Nursing strategies for environmental justice: A scoping review.

Objective: To describe types of strategic actions nurses take to promote environmental justice (EJ) through research, education, advocacy, and practice (REAP) reported in peer-reviewed literature.

Design And Sample: A scoping review of literature was conducted that described EJ nursing strategies and included nurses listed as authors, subjects, partners, or organizational members. The sample consisted of 35 articles, representing 24 primary research studies and 11 nonresearch articles.

Hepatitis C virus infections among people aged 15-44, United States, 2009-2018.

Objectives: To estimate the prevalence, characteristics, and gender differences among people aged 15-44 years who are living with current HCV infections in the United States.

Design And Sample: We conducted a cross-sectional, secondary data analysis using data from people who participated in National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) cycles in 2009-2018.

Measurements: Sociodemographic, social behavior, and clinical factors that had been identified as related to having HCV, barriers to receiving HCV screening, care, or treatment, and health conditions that increase the risks of developing HCV-related complications were studied.

Estimates of Prenatal HIV, Hepatitis B Virus, and Hepatitis C Virus Testing Among Pregnant People Enrolled in Wisconsin Medicaid, 2011-2015.

Background: The opioid epidemic and rising rates of injection drug use are increasing the risk of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections among pregnant people. According to national clinical guidelines, pregnant people should be universally tested for HIV and HBV, and risk-based tested for HCV. The aim of this study was to determine the proportion and characteristics of prenatal HIV, HBV, and HCV testing and diagnosis among pregnant people with Wisconsin Medicaid coverage between 2011 and 2015.

Increased Risk for Mother-to-Infant Transmission of Hepatitis C Virus Among Medicaid Recipients - Wisconsin, 2011-2015.

State surveillance during the last 10 years reveals a nationwide increase in hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection among young adults (1). The proportion of infants born to HCV-infected women is also increasing nationally (2). To estimate the proportion of infants born to HCV-infected women and the frequency of confirmed HCV infection in their infants, maternal name and date of birth from HCV reports in the Wisconsin Electronic Disease Surveillance System (WEDSS) were linked to Wisconsin Medicaid data for 2011-2015 births.

Financial and Legal Characteristics of Cross-Jurisdictional Shared Service Agreements Between Local Public Health Agencies.

Background: Cross-jurisdictional sharing is a resource management strategy increasingly being used by local health departments to provide essential and mandated public health services. Cross-jurisdictional shared service agreements (CJSSAs) are the legal documents that govern cross-jurisdictional sharing arrangements. Information on the financial and legal characteristics of CJSSAs is limited.