Student perceptions: the influence of a Nursing Workforce Diversity Grant on retention.

This article reports the perceptions of Hispanic/Latino and American Indian students concerning the influence of a Nursing Workforce Diversity Grant (ALCANCE) on their educational experiences in a baccalaureate nursing program. The grant provided an educational pipeline for these students, supporting them financially, personally, and academically from middle school through graduation from the nursing program. Fifteen students receiving grant services during the upper-division nursing major completed a 76-item questionnaire assessing the influence of such services at the end of each of four semesters in the nursing program.

Repeated aerosol-vapor JP-8 jet fuel exposure affects neurobehavior and neurotransmitter levels in a rat model.

Four groups of Fischer Brown Norway hybrid rats were exposed for 5, 10, 15, or 20 d to aerosolized-vapor jet propulsion fuel 8 (JP-8) compared to freely moving (5 and 10-d exposures) or sham-confined controls (15 and 20-d exposures). Behavioral testing utilized the U.S.

A telephone-delivered empowerment intervention with patients diagnosed with heart failure.

Background: Heart failure (HF) is a major public health problem. Case management by nurses using telephone follow-up has been suggested as a convenient and effective mechanism to promote the self-management of HF. Similarly, a patient empowerment approach to the management of chronic disease has been suggested as one that may nurture self-management in individuals with chronic illness.

Complementary and alternative medicine use in children with asthma: prevalence and sociodemographic profile of users.

Research on complementary and alternative medicine use in children with asthma is in its infancy. This study examined the prevalence, types of CAM used and sociodemographic differences in CAM use among children 5-12 years with asthma. 65% of parents reported using CAM.

Early predictors of post-hospital adjustment problems in critically ill young children.

Toddlers and preschool children have been identified as being at risk for post-hospital behavioral sequelae, especially when confronted with an unanticipated intensive care unit (ICU) hospitalization. The purpose of this predictive secondary analysis was to determine demographic and clinical variables that could be assessed early during hospitalization to predict internalizing and externalizing behaviors and negative behavioral change of 2- to 7-year-old children at 3 and 6 months following an unanticipated critical care hospitalization (n = 163 mother-child dyads). The children's behavioral predilections prior to hospitalization (i.

Mental health correlates of healthy lifestyle attitudes, beliefs, choices, and behaviors in overweight adolescents.

Introduction: A tripling in the number of overweight adolescents has occurred during the past two decades, with type 2 diabetes reaching epidemic proportions. Although obesity has been identified as a correlate of depression and low self-esteem in adolescents, the relationships among key cognitive/mental health variables and healthy attitudes, beliefs, choices, and behaviors in overweight teens have yet to be explored. Therefore, the aim of this study was to describe these relationships so that an effective intervention program to promote and sustain healthy lifestyle behaviors could be implemented.

Reducing premature infants' length of stay and improving parents' mental health outcomes with the Creating Opportunities for Parent Empowerment (COPE) neonatal intensive care unit program: a randomized, controlled trial.

Objective: Although low birth weight premature infants and parents are at high risk for adverse health outcomes, there is a paucity of studies that test early NICU interventions with parents to prevent the development of negative parent-infant interaction trajectories and to reduce hospital length of stay. Our objective was to evaluate the efficacy of an educational-behavioral intervention program (ie, Creating Opportunities for Parent Empowerment) that was designed to enhance parent-infant interactions and parent mental health outcomes for the ultimate purpose of improving child developmental and behavior outcomes.

Design, Setting, And Participants: A randomized, controlled trial was conducted with 260 families with preterm infants from 2001 to 2004 in 2 NICUs in the northeast United States.

Testing the theoretical framework of the COPE program for mothers of critically ill children: an integrative model of young children's post-hospital adjustment behaviors.

Objective: To test a theoretical model examining processes through which a parent-focused educational-behavioral intervention [Creating Opportunities for Parent Empowerment (COPE)] relates to children's post-hospital adjustment problems.

Methods: Mothers (n = 143) and their 2-7-year-old children, unexpectedly hospitalized in two pediatric intensive care units, were randomized to COPE or control conditions. Maternal measures included parental beliefs, anxiety, negative mood, and child adjustment 3 months post discharge.

The multicultural research process.

Qualitative research allows students to explore the complex experiences of health and illness and examine assumptions related to class, race, gender, and ethnicity. Faculty who teach qualitative research can promote culturally congruent nursing practice, and students can learn how such practice is grounded in research. The experiential approach taken in this class acquainted students with basic principles of qualitative research, used such principles to foster recognition of assumptions and increase cultural awareness, and encouraged a new way of knowing and being in nursing.

Transforming health care from the inside out: advancing evidence-based practice in the 21st century.

Health care is in need of change. Major professional and health care organizations as well as federal agencies and policy-making bodies are emphasizing the importance of evidence-based practice (EBP). Using this problem solving approach to clinical care that incorporates the conscientious use of current best evidence from well designed studies, a clinician's expertise, and patient values and preferences, nurses and other health care providers can provide care that goes beyond the status quo.

Strategies for advancing evidence-based practice in clinical settings.

Evidence-based practice (EBP) is a problem-solving approach that incorporates the best available scientific evidence, clinicians' expertise, and patients' preferences and values. Melnyk and Fineout-Overholt have developed the ARCC (Advancing Research and Clinical practice through close Collaboration) model for the purpose of implementing EBP. A pilot study was conducted to test the ARCC model at two acute-care sites.

Using the FoodEx-LTC to assess institutional food service practices through nursing home residents' perspectives on nutrition care.

Background. Undernutrition occurs in approximately 2 of every 5 nursing home residents, negatively influencing their health and quality of life. The purposes of this study were to collect data about institutional meal preparation and food service practices that promote or retard adequate nutritional intake and to evaluate residents' food and food service satisfaction.

Empowerment: reformulation of a non-Rogerian concept.

The authors present a reformulation of empowerment based upon historical and current perspectives of empowerment and a synthesis of existing literature and Rogerian thought. Reformulation of non-Rogerian concepts familiar to nurses is proposed as a strategy to accelerate the mainstreaming of Rogerian thought into nursing practice and research. The reformulation of empowerment as a participatory process of well-being inherent among human beings may provide nurses with new insights for practice.

Rehabilitation nursing in home care.

A randomized sample of 83 members of the Association of Rehabilitation Nurses' (ARN's) Home Health Special Interest Group (SIG) responded to a survey in 1998 and 1999 to determine the role intensity of rehabilitation nurses in home care. An instrument was developed that was based on role descriptions formulated by ARN. Significant differences in the roles were reported for caregiver, case manager, counselor, family-client educator, advocate, administrator, student/staff educator, and researcher.

Computer and Internet use by home care and hospice agencies.

Nurses in home healthcare and hospice are embracing the advances in computer science and technology to provide an edge in administration and clinical practice. Of concern to nurse managers is the extent to which personal computers and the Internet have been used in home healthcare and hospice, and what information, opportunities, and needs related to education are on the horizon. This article discusses the results of a national survey conducted exclusively on the World Wide Web to answer these questions.

Repetitive strain injuries in youth.

Purpose: To review the anatomic and physiologic considerations in repetitive strain injuries (RSI) in youth in relation to normal growth and development.

Data Sources: Extensive review of scientific literature, laws relating to youth labor, and the authors' experience.

Conclusions: Early detection of youth at risk for RSIs is crucial for prevention and treatment.