Patient Acuity Related to Clinical Research: Concept Clarification and Literature Review.

In research settings, clinical and research requirements contribute to nursing workload, staffing decisions, and resource allocation. The aim of this article is to define patient acuity in the context of clinical research, or research intensity, and report available instruments to measure it. The design was based on Centre for Reviews and Dissemination recommendations, including defining search terms, developing inclusion and exclusion criteria, followed by abstract review by three members of the team, thorough reading of each article by two team members, and data extraction procedures, including a quality appraisal of each article.

A Mixed Methods Examination of Sleep Throughout the Alcohol Recovery Process Grounded in the Social Cognitive Theory: The Role of Self-Efficacy and Craving.

Sleep disturbances can accompany alcohol use disorders during various phases of the disease. This analysis utilized a mixed methods approach to assess whether sleep-related beliefs and/or behavior of individuals who are alcohol dependent were associated with sleep quality both pre- and postdischarge from a clinical research facility providing inpatient alcohol rehabilitation treatment. Individuals with higher self-efficacy for sleep (SE-S) reported better sleep quality at both time points.

The Role of Biomarkers in Research on Caregivers for Cancer Patients: A Scoping Review.

Background: Biomarkers can be used as prognostic, predictive, or monitoring indicators of an associated outcome. The purpose of this review was to provide a comprehensive summary of the research examining the use of biomarkers as surrogate end points for clinical outcomes in family caregivers for cancer patients, identify gaps, and make recommendations for future research.

Methods: A scoping review, a process of mapping the existing literature, was conducted.

Psychosocial Benefits of Cooking Interventions: A Systematic Review.

Objectives: Cooking interventions are used in therapeutic and rehabilitative settings; however, little is known about the influence of these interventions on psychosocial outcomes. This systematic review examines the research evidence regarding the influence of cooking interventions on psychosocial outcomes.

Methods: A systematic review of the literature examined peer-reviewed research using Embase, PubMed, CINALH Plus, and PsychInfo with the following search terms: cooking, culinary, baking, food preparation, cookery, occupational therapy, mental health, mood, psychosocial, affect, confidence, self-confidence, self-esteem, socialization, and rehabilitation.

Exploring Symptom Clusters in People With Heart Failure.

Patients with heart failure (HF) experience multiple symptoms or symptom clusters. The purposes of this study were to (a) determine if distinct latent classes of HF symptoms could be identified, and (b) explore whether sociodemographic and clinical characteristics influenced symptom cluster membership. A total of 4,011 HF patients recruited from outpatient setting completed the Minnesota Living With Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLHFQ), including five physical symptoms (edema, shortness of breath, fatigue-increased need to rest, fatigue-low energy, and sleep difficulties) and three psychological symptoms (worrying, feeling depressed, and cognitive problems).

A National Survey of Yoga Instructors and their Delivery of Yoga Therapy.

Yoga therapy may improve a variety of symptoms and health conditions, but little is known about how yoga therapy is being delivered in the real world. The purpose of this study was to describe the delivery of yoga therapy by yoga instructors across the U.S.

The Implementation of Patient-Reported Outcome Measures in Yoga Therapy.

Yoga therapists are interested in knowing whether their therapeutic interventions are helpful in improving health and wellbeing in their yoga therapy clients. However, few yoga therapists use standardized, reliable, and valid questionnaires to determine the therapeutic effectiveness of their treatments. Patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures are paper or web-based questionnaires used to assess an individual's perceptions of their symptoms and/or quality of life.

A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Symptom Reporting and Symptom Clusters in Heart Failure.

An understanding of symptoms in heart failure (HF) among different cultural groups has become increasingly important. The purpose of this study was to compare symptom reporting and symptom clusters in HF patients between a Western (the United States) and an Eastern Asian sample (China and Taiwan). A secondary analysis of a cross-sectional observational study was conducted.