Introduction to digital health course.

Digital health is health care delivery that connects and empowers people and populations to manage health and wellness through technology. This mode of health care delivery has increased exponentially since the COVID-19 pandemic with most hospitals and health systems offering digital health services. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) published The Essentials: Core Competencies for Professional Nursing Education which digital health education helps to partially meet four of these competencies.

Remote Virtual Simulation With Prelicensure Nursing Students During Rapid Course Transition.

The advent of COVID-19 required educational programs to rapidly transition courses to the remote environment. A postpartum hemorrhage simulation used within a traditional prelicensure bachelor of science in nursing program was rapidly transitioned to the remote virtual format to meet required social distancing guidelines. This quasi-experimental study examined student knowledge before and after participation in a remote virtual simulation (RVS) with a postanalysis of student confidence and satisfaction.

Social Isolation and Nursing Leadership in Long-Term Care: Moving Forward After COVID-19.

Nursing leaders have a responsibility to promote and facilitate social engagement and connectedness to mitigate social isolation in long-term care (LTC). The COVID-19 pandemic has emphasized longstanding problems in LTC facilities, such as staff mix, workload, and support. The pandemic has shed light on the severe deleterious effect of social isolation and the critical importance of maintaining social engagement and connectedness, especially in times of crisis or major change.

Supporting evidence for geropsychiatric nursing as a subspecialty of gerontological advanced practice nursing.

Advanced practice nurses (APRNs) make significant contributions to the mental health of older adults. Despite the surge in the number of older adults, the number of APRNs choosing educational preparation for geropsychiatric nursing (GPN) is limited. The purpose of the GAPNA GPN Position Statement is to sustain a new vision for the nursing profession that will improve the care of older adults with psychiatric and mental health disorders.

Advances in geropsychiatric nursing: A decade in review.

This article provides a brief overview of the early development of geropsychiatric nursing (GPN) as background for examining its advancement subsequent to the 2010 Future of Nursing (FON) Report. The FON's education, practice and leadership recommendations form the three pillars that have supported geropsychiatric nursing's continuing evolution, framed within a practice and policy perspective. Lessons learned are relevant to developing the next phase of FON recommendations.

Body Composition and Bone Mineral Density in Patients With Heart Failure.

The purpose of this study was to examine associations among bone mineral density, osteopenia/osteoporosis, body mass index (BMI), and body composition in patients with heart failure (HF). A total of 119 patients (age = 61 ± 12 years, 65% male) underwent dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry scans to determine bone mineral density and body composition. In multivariable linear regressions, BMI, relative skeletal muscle index (RSMI), and mineral-free lean mass were positively associated with total body bone mineral density.

Actigraphic and Sleep Diary Measures in Veterans With Traumatic Brain Injury: Discrepancy in Selected Sleep Parameters.

Objective: To examine the discrepancy between sleep diary and actigraphic measures of sleep in Veterans with moderate-severe post-acute traumatic brain injury (TBI) and to explore whether these discrepancies vary according to participant characteristics.

Setting: VA Medical Center in the Rocky Mountain United States.

Participants: Nineteen males with moderate-severe post-acute TBI and insomnia symptoms as measured by the Insomnia Severity Index.

A Qualitative Study of Sleep-Wake Disturbance Among Veterans With Post-Acute Moderate to Severe Traumatic Brain Injury.

Objective: Examine sleep-wake disturbance (SWD) characteristics, factors, consequences, and management strategies from the perspective of veterans with chronic stage, moderate/severe traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Setting: VA Medical Center, Rocky Mountain.

Us Participants: Nineteen male veterans with post-acute TBI and SWD in the VA Health Administration.

Types of social support and their relationships to physical and depressive symptoms and health-related quality of life in patients with heart failure.

Objectives: To examine the various types of social support associated with physical and depressive symptoms and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in patients with heart failure (HF) and the mediating effects of symptoms on the relationship between social support and HRQOL.

Background: Patients with HF have a high burden of physical and depressive symptoms, along with poor HRQOL. Social support may improve symptoms and HRQOL.

Effect of virtual reality on adolescent pain during burn wound care.

The objective of this study was to compare the effect of virtual reality to passive distraction and standard care on burn treatment pain in adolescents.This single-blinded, randomized controlled study enrolled 30 adolescents who were 10 to 17 years of age from the burn clinic of a large children's hospital. After providing informed consent/assent, these participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups during wound care: standard care, passive distraction watching a movie, or virtual reality (VR) using a tripod-arm device rather than an immersive helmet.

Depressive symptoms and inflammatory biomarkers in patients with heart failure.

Background: Inflammation may be a link between depressive symptoms and outcomes in patients with heart failure. It is not clear whether inflammatory markers are independently related to depressive symptoms in this population.

Aim: To determine which inflammatory biomarkers are independently associated with depressive symptoms in heart failure.

Beers criteria for potentially inappropriate medication use in older adults.

Nurses can decrease the risk of adverse drug problems with medication review and prompt interventions. The Beers Criteria lists medications to avoid using among elderly clients. The origin of the Beers Criteria, its 2002 modification, and application in acute care settings are explained.

Exploring nursing students' level of preparedness for disaster response.

This descriptive study explores students' perceptions of personal and program preparedness for disasters. Participants in this online survey included 1,348 nursing students from every state plus Guam, Puerto Rico, and theVirgin Islands. The study explored three questions: a) the level of preparedness, including learning about different types of disasters, preparing disaster plans, creating disaster kits, and participating in community disaster response efforts; b) the impact of disasters on nursing students; and c) strategies to assist nursing students during disasters.

Sleep disruption in older adults. Harmful and by no means inevitable, it should be assessed for and treated.

Insomnia is not a normal part of aging, but nighttime sleep in older adults is often disrupted, leading to excessive daytime sleepiness and other physical, psychological, and cognitive changes that affect overall health. Even so, clinicians often pay little attention to sleep in this population. The sleep of older adults tends to be less deep than that of younger people, and coexisting conditions and treatment effects can more easily disrupt sleep.

Care of individuals with Alzheimer's disease in the new millennium.

The incidence of Alzheimer's disease (AD), the leading form of dementia, is expected to increase exponentially in the next 50 years. The nursing and medical care of individuals diagnosed with AD, including the health-related challenges faced by all aging individuals, are discussed.

Parent education after newborn congenital heart surgery.

The moment an infant is diagnosed with a congenital heart defect, parents experience a mixture of shock, disbelief, fear, anger, and often a profound sense of sadness. In the midst of these emotions they must learn to provide for the special needs of their infant. Providing parents with the knowledge and skills to care for their infant during this stressful time requires the concerted effort of a multidisciplinary team who can provide clear, concise, and consistent communication.

The physiologic basis for and nursing considerations in the use of subatmospheric concentrations of oxygen in HLHS.

Subatmospheric concentrations of oxygen are used in the preoperative and postoperative care of infants with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS). This technique increases the pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) and thereby improves systemic blood flow. There have been no controlled studies of this therapy in humans.

Addressing the National League for Nursing critical-thinking outcome.

The National League for Nursing outcome-oriented accreditation process challenges nursing faculty to think about teaching and evaluating critical thinking. In a survey of schools of nursing, the authors found that programs are using standardized measures and individualized assessments to address the criterion. Their greatest difficulty involves decisions about measuring critical thinking.