Complexity of Chronic Conditions' Impact on End-of-Life Expense Trajectories of Medicare Decedents.

Objective: The aim of this study is to determine if the pattern of monthly medical expense can be used to identify individuals at risk of dying, thus supporting providers in proactively engaging in advanced care planning discussions.

Background: Identifying the right time to discuss end of life can be difficult. Improved predictive capacity has made it possible for nurse leaders to use large data sets to guide clinical decision making.

Frequent emergency department utilization and behavioral health diagnoses.

Background: There are 12 million emergency department (ED) visits each year related to behavioral health diagnoses. Frequent ED utilization among subpopulations, such as those with behavioral health diagnoses, flags the need for more accessible and effective healthcare delivery systems. Reducing frequent ED use is essential to controlling healthcare cost and poor outcomes of ED overcrowding.

Electrocardiogram-based predictors of clinical outcomes: a meta-analysis of the prognostic value of ventricular repolarization.

Objectives: To estimate age- and sex-specific prognostic values of eight electrocardiographic repolarization descriptors to predict various mortality endpoints.

Background: Using electrocardiographic markers for risk stratification is well studied; however, the prognostic value of many markers is controversial, and their clinical utility remains debatable. No meta-analyses exist that address the prognostic value of ECG markers.

Multi-level model of missed nursing care in the context of hospital merger.

The aim of this study was to delineate the multi-level relationships of individual registered nurse (RN) and nursing unit factors on missed nursing care. This was a quantitative model-building study using a descriptive, cross-sectional design. Surveys (N = 553) and administrative unit records from nurses in one hospital system undergoing merger were included.

Influence of demographic factors, knowledge, and beliefs on Jordanian women's intention to undergo mammography screening.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of demographic characteristics, breast cancer knowledge, fatalistic beliefs, health beliefs, and subjective norms on Jordanian women's intention to participate in mammography screening.

Design: A cross-sectional survey was used to collect data at 14 comprehensive healthcare centers in Amman and Zarqa, Jordan. A convenience sample of 142 Jordanian women 40 years of age or older with no history of breast cancer and able to read and write in Arabic participated.

Effects of a 6-week walking program on Taiwanese women newly diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer.

Background: In Western culture, evidence has shown that in women with breast cancer exercise decreases fatigue and improves quality of life. However, only 1 pilot study about the effect of exercise has been examined in the Asian breast cancer population that indicated feasibility. Therefore, it is important to further study the effect of an exercise program for Taiwanese women with breast cancer.

Factors related to quality-of-life pattern changes in recipients of implantable defibrillators.

Purpose: The implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) has proven life-saving, yet it is important to understand its psychological effects on recipients. This study examined longitudinal changes in patterns of quality-of-life (QOL) scores in the first 3 months after an implant, and determined what variables tested as predictors of patterns.

Methods: This longitudinal, prospective, descriptive, correlational survey study followed 80 ICD patients, with data collection at a baseline preinsertion, and 1 and 3 months after implant.

Measuring usability of assistive technology from a multicontextual perspective: the case of power wheelchairs.

Assistive technology (AT) devices enable people with disabilities to function in multiple contexts and activities. The usability of such devices is fundamentally indicative of the user's level of participation in multiple roles and occupations. Seventy people who used power wheelchairs were interviewed using a novel tool, the Usability Scale for Assistive Technology (USAT).

Development and psychometric evaluation of the instrument: attitude toward patient advocacy.

Nurses' patient advocacy can influence patient outcomes. There is a lack of reliable and valid instruments on patient advocacy. The purpose of this study was to develop an instrument to measure nurses' attitudes toward patient advocacy.

Conceptualization and measurement of assistive technology usability.

Unlabelled: The concept of product usability has been discussed in several areas of product research and development. Usability, within the realm of assistive technology (AT) devices, determines how effectively and efficiently AT users with disabilities can function in different contexts and environments.

Objective: This article conceptualizes and proposes the significance of AT usability and its measurement in entirety from a human factors perspective.

A CNS-facilitated ICD support group: a clinical project evaluation.

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to describe and evaluate a clinical nurse specialist (CNS)-facilitated support group for recipients of implantable cardioverter defibrillator. Specific evaluation aims were as follows: (1) How do demographic and clinical factors differ between those who attended the support group and those who did not? (2) Is there a difference in the quality of life index (QLI) of individuals with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator who attended the CNS-facilitated support group and those who did not? (3) What demographic and clinical factors are related to QLI?

Design And Method: Clinical project theory-based objectives were described. Implementation of the project was evaluated by retrospective survey of all implantable cardioverter defibrillator recipients during a 10-year time frame using the Ferrans and Powers' Quality of Life Index: Cardiac Version and demographic questionnaire.

Nurses' intention to report child abuse in Taiwan: a test of the theory of planned behavior.

The purposes of this study were to identify factors associated with nurses' intention to report suspected child abuse in Taiwan, and to determine the empirical adequacy of the extended theory of planned behavior (TPB) to explain nurses' intention to report child abuse. A stratified quota sampling technique was used to select registered nurses in emergency rooms, psychiatric units, and pediatric units in Taiwan. A total of 1,362 questionnaires from 1,617 nurses were used for the analyses.

The impact of centering first-level predictors on individual and contextual effects in multilevel data analysis.

Background: Multilevel data analysis is a powerful analytical tool. Properly applying the models and correctly interpreting the findings are two interrelated general issues in using multilevel modeling (MLM). There are two specific issues when using MLM: (a) separating the individual-level effects of a predictor variable from its contextual effects and (b) centering first-level predictor variables.

The development of the School Function Assessment Chinese version for cross-cultural use in Taiwan.

The primary purpose of this research project was to translate and adapt the School Function Assessment (SFA), a standardized criterion-referenced instrument that measures school-related functional skills, for its cross-cultural use in Taiwan. The project consisted of four study phases: translation, cultural adaptation, pilot testing, and field testing for standardization. A series of rigorous procedures including the method of translation and back-translation, team consensus for cultural adaptation, and Rasch modelling techniques were used to address various dimensions of cross-cultural equivalence and psychometric properties of the translated SFA.

A plant food-based diet modifies the serum beta-sitosterol concentration in hyperandrogenic postmenopausal women.

Plant sterols or phytosterols are common components of plant foods, especially plant oils, seeds and nuts, cereals and legumes. The most common phytosterols are campesterol, beta-sitosterol and stigmasterol. Phytosterols have anticarcinogenic properties.

Is total out-of-hospital time a significant predictor of trauma patient mortality?

Objective: To determine if there is an association between total out-of-hospital time and trauma patient mortality.

Methods: A retrospective review was performed of a convenience sample of consecutive medical records for all admitted patients transported by helicopter or ambulance from the scene of injury to the regional trauma center. Descriptive and univariate analyses were conducted to determine which variables were associated with patient mortality and total out-of-hospital time.