Collective bargaining in the nursing profession: salient issues and recent developments in healthcare reform.

This article examines practical workplace issues and recent developments related to collective bargaining in the nursing profession, with emphasis on issues affected by recent reforms in the healthcare industry. Included are examples of issues most salient to nurses in their efforts to organize, given the reforms. An overview of recent developments in the political, legal, and local areas is also provided.

Respiratory health, lung function, and airway responsiveness in school-age survivors of very-low-birth-weight.

The purpose of this study was to determine the respiratory symptoms, pulmonary function, and airway reactivity in school-age survivors of very-low-birth-weight and to describe the influence of birth weight and perinatal illness on their pulmonary function. Thirty (of 39) 10- to 11-year-old survivors of very-low-birth-weight (VLBW) recruited at birth into a prospective longitudinal study of development; 30 (of 32) normal-birth-weight peers recruited from the same school or census tract as the VLBW group at age 5; and 15 normal-birth-weight siblings of the VLBW group participated in the study. Outcome measures were mother's reports of respiratory health; forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1); FEV1/FVC; forced expiratory flow, midexpiratory phase (FEF25-75); peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR); and tolerance to methacholine.

Academic achievement and educational resource use of very low birth weight (VLBW) survivors.

Thirty-nine very low birth weight (VLBW) and 32 normal birth weight (NBW) elementary school children were studied prospectively to determine patterns of academic achievement and special education resource use during the elementary school years. Reading, spelling, and mathematical abilities were evaluated. Mean scores for the VLBW children were significantly lower on the mathematic subtests.

The influence of early biological risk and the home environment on nine-year outcome of very low birth weight.

The contributions of early medical risk and the early and contemporary home environment on cognitive and academic outcomes of 35 nine-year-old survivors of very low birth weight (VLBW) who were followed prospectively were investigated. There were no significant relationships between the measures of early medical risk and outcome. The quality of the home environment accounted for half of the variance in outcome.

Children with disabilities.

The purpose of this article is to provide the clinician with a comprehensive review of the influence of temperament on the social and cognitive development of children with disabilities. Research concerning the interaction of temperament and cognition and the temperament characteristics of children with disabilities is reviewed. Also discussed are issues relevant to clinical practice, including assessment of temperament characteristics and interventions with parents.

Assessment of measures to detect preschool academic risk in very-low-birth-weight children.

The ability of three preschool risk detection tools to accurately identify apparently healthy very-low-birth-weight children (VLBW < 1500 g) who would subsequently experience school failure was studied. The sample of 35 children included 20 girls and 15 boys, 15 African-American children and 20 white children, who were 4 years old when assessed. The tool based on the information processing model had a significantly higher degree of specificity than the readiness or development based tools.

Finishing first grade: a study of school achievement in very-low-birth-weight children.

Factors that influence school achievement in very-low-birth-weight (< 1,500 g) children were investigated at the completion of first grade. The subjects were 71 children and their primary caregivers. Thirty-nine children were very low birth weight (VLBW) and 32 were normal birth weight (NBW).

Vulnerability and temperament in very low birth weight school-aged children.

The purpose of this study was to investigate parental perception of vulnerability, parental subjective stress concerning children's premature birth, and child temperament in families of very low birth weight (VLBW) and normal birth weight (NBW) children. The subjects were 39 VLBW children and 30 NBW 7-year-old children and their caregivers. Data on child temperament and parental perception of vulnerability was provided by the 69 families.