Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Cancer Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Importance: The full effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer care disparities, particularly by race and ethnicity, remains unknown.

Objectives: To assess whether the race and ethnicity of patients with cancer was associated with disparities in cancer treatment delays, adverse social and economic effects, and concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic and to evaluate trusted sources of COVID-19 information by race and ethnicity.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This national survey study of US adults with cancer compared treatment delays, adverse social and economic effects, concerns, and trusted sources of COVID-19 information by race and ethnicity from September 1, 2020, to January 12, 2021.

Impact of proton pump inhibitors on sustained virologic response in veterans treated with sofosbuvir/velpatasvir for chronic hepatitis C virus: A retrospective cohort study.

Study Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the clinical relationship between proton pump inhibitor (PPI) use and sustained virologic response (SVR) in patients treated with sofosbuvir/velpatasvir (SOF/VEL) for chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection.

Design: This was a multicenter retrospective cohort study.

Setting: Data was collected on patients from 128 Veterans Affairs Medical Centers throughout the United States.

Comparison of the effect of citalopram, bupropion, sertraline, and tricyclic antidepressants on QTc: A cross-sectional study.

Background: Some data suggests that citalopram has more risk of corrected QT interval (QTc) prolongation than other selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. Consequently the U.S.

Implementation of a student pharmacist-run diabetes education and management clinic in a federally qualified health center in Texas.

Background And Purpose: Two clinical pharmacists created a service to specifically manage diabetes and its related complications in a federally qualified health center (FQHC) in Texas to provide closer follow-up and more in-depth education.

Educational Activity And Setting: Student pharmacists, stationed at the FQHC for six week introductory and advanced pharmacy practice experiences, are responsible for scheduling and leading the clinic visits, completing the documentation, and scheduling any follow-up appointments.

Findings: The service, which served 349 patients over a one-year period, is highly regarded on student rotation evaluations.

Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS): What Nurses Need to Know.

Background: Efforts to decrease adverse effects of tobacco use are affected by emergence of new nicotine delivery products. Advertising, product promotion, and social media promote use of these products, yet a lack of evidence regarding safety leaves nurses unprepared to counsel patients.

Objectives: To critically evaluate current research, reviews of literature, expert opinion, and stakeholder policy proposals on use and safety of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS).

Implementing an Assessment Clinic in a Residential PTSD Program.

Creating useful treatment plans can help improve services to consumers of mental health services. As more evidence-based practices are implemented, deciding what treatment, at what time, for whom becomes an important factor in facilitating positive outcomes. Readiness for trauma-focused treatments for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) such as Cognitive Processing Therapy or Prolonged Exposure Therapy may influence whether an individual can successfully complete either protocol.

Hospice and palliative care for terminally ill individuals with serious and persistent mental illness: widening the horizons.

Terminally ill individuals with serious and persistent mental illness (SPMI) are currently underserved by palliative care. However, palliative care nurses can expect to see more patients with SPMI because an estimated 6% of the adult population has chronic mental illness, and mortality and morbidity rates are higher in this group. Reasons for these increased rates are discussed.

The elderly type II diabetic: a treatment challenge.

Type II or noninsulin dependent diabetes mellitus is the predominant type of diabetes in the elderly. Complexities of diabetes management with elderly patients are discussed, including differences in presenting signs and symptoms of the disease, treatment complications that occur with concomitant illnesses or age-related physiological changes, and drug interactions that can lead to either hypo- or hyperglycemia. The goals of treatment are discussed.

Reducing restraints: where to start.

To begin a restraint reduction program at a large neuropsychiatric Veterans Affairs medical center, nursing educators examined perceptions of and knowledge about restraint use among 113 nursing staff members employed on one acute, two intermediate, and five long-term care units. Strumpf and Evans' (1988) Perceptions of Restraint Use Questionnaire, a knowledge test, and questions about personal characteristics were used. Top reasons for restraint use identified were to prevent pulling on an intravenous line, to prevent breaking open sutures, and to protect from a fall.