Nursing students' and educators' perspectives on sustainability and climate change: An integrative review.

AIM: To identify and synthesize research on the awareness, attitudes and action related to sustainability and climate change from the perspective of nursing students and educators globally. DESIGN: Integrative review. METHODS: The review was guided by Whittemore and Knafl. Included studies were appraised using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. A deductive content analysis based on Elo and Kyngäs' methodology was employed. DATA SOURCES: CINAHL, MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science, British Education Index, GreenFILE and Scopus were searched up to the 8th November 2022. RESULTS: Thirty-two studies were included in the review. Two studies included nursing educators in their samples, the rest focused solely on students. Findings suggest that whilst some students were aware of sustainability issues and felt that nurses have a responsibility to mitigate climate change, others showed limited awareness and believed that nurses have more important priorities. A global interest was seen among students for increased curricular content related to sustainability and climate change. Waste management and education of others were suggested actions students can take; however, barriers included lack of confidence and limited power. CONCLUSION: There is a need for sustainability education within nursing curricula, accompanied by student support. IMPLICATIONS FOR THE PROFESSION: The review acts as a starting point to make sustainable healthcare and climate change mitigation integral aspects of nursing. IMPACT: Sustainability education within nursing curricula can positively impact on sustainable healthcare and climate change mitigation. More research is needed on the perspectives of nursing educators. REPORTING METHOD: The review is reported according to the PRISMA guidelines. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: No Patient or Public Contribution.

Exploring barriers, motivators and solutions to achieve a healthy lifestyle among undergraduate student nurses.

BACKGROUND: Many preregistration student nurses tend to be overweight or obese and have unhealthy lifestyles. AIMS: This study aimed to quantify the prevalence of these issues, to identify barriers to adopting a healthy lifestyle as well as potential solutions, and to explore the use of smartphone health apps. METHODS: An online questionnaire examined diet and physical activity habits, general health and attitudes to eHealth. An in-class questionnaire with a new sample assessed current lifestyle, barriers to healthier living, support needed to achieve goals and the use of health apps. FINDINGS: Half of student nurses were overweight or obese and only 41% met the recommended levels of physical activity. An in-class questionnaire revealed that more than half of them wanted to have a better diet and to exercise more. CONCLUSION: Generally, student nurses were not satisfied with their current lifestyles. A lack of motivation and time were the most frequently reported barriers; an intervention focusing on motivational support could be an acceptable and effective means of achieving and sustaining positive behaviour change.

The use of inter-professional education (IPE) healthcare law and ethics scenario based learning sessions amongst nursing, midwifery and law students: A qualitative investigation.

BACKGROUND: The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC, 2018) require registrants to practice ethically and lawfully. Nevertheless, in 2019-2020, the NMC received 5704 referrals regarding registrants' fitness to practice, many of these referrals related to registrants' criminality, clinical competence, and misconduct. Additionally, litigation within healthcare remains a concern. NHS Resolution (2020) reported costs of payments relating to clinical negligence schemes of £2324.2 million in 2019/20. This paper discusses a qualitative investigation of healthcare law and ethics teaching and learning within undergraduate midwifery and nursing curricula and the use of scenario based (inter-professional education) IPE sessions amongst nursing, midwifery and law students. METHODS: Two scenario based IPE sessions attended by nursing, midwifery and law students were delivered in addition to existing curricula. Scenarios were based on real life cases. Students collaborated to identify means of managing legal and ethical issues arising from the scenarios. Sessions were facilitated by lecturers from the schools of law, midwifery and nursing. Semi structured interviews were completed with IPE session participants and academics with an interest in healthcare law and ethics (students n = 3, academic staff n = 3). Thematic content analysis was applied to interview data. Findings Scenario based IPE sessions are valued by participants who claim they are effective in enabling the development of knowledge and understanding of healthcare law and ethics while providing insight into the application of theory in practice. Participants claimed that healthcare law and ethics was a fundamental part of caring professions and essential to nursing and midwifery curricula. CONCLUSION: Substantial numbers of nurses and midwives are called to account by their professional body and in law for issues related to their practice, with significant financial and personal costs. Healthcare law and ethics remains fundamental to professional practice with IPE scenario based sessions offering a means to develop knowledge and enable students to consider ethical, legal and professional issues.

Awareness and attitudes towards sustainability and climate change amongst students and educators in nursing: A systematic integrative review protocol.

AIM: This review identifies and synthesizes literature related to the awareness of and attitudes towards sustainability and climate change from the perspective of nursing students and educators. DESIGN: A systematic integrative review. METHODS: The review will follow the five stages outlined by Whittemore and Knafl: problem identification, literature search, data evaluation, data analysis and presentation. The data analysis will be based on inductive content analysis developed by Elo and Kyngäs. Principles of the Cochrane Collaboration and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta Analyses (PRISMA) will also inform the review process. RESULTS: This review will offer insights about sustainability and climate change in relation to an important target population: the future nursing workforce and those educating its members. Findings might inform curriculum development, potentially contributing to a nursing profession that looks after the health of the planet and the health of the population inhabiting it.

The characteristics and in-sewer transport potential of solids derived from domestic food waste disposers.

This study aims to assess the transportability of food waste disposer particles within a sewer system. A series of laboratory studies has examined the physical characteristics of solid particles derived from domestic food waste disposers. Particle size distributions and maximum settling velocity characteristics were measured for 18 common food types, and stored in a publicly accessible database. Particle size distributions are shown to fit well with a 2-parameter Gamma distribution. Settling velocity is generally higher for larger particles, except when particle density and sphericity change. For most food types, particle specific gravity was close to unity. Egg shell particles had a significantly higher specific gravity. This information, combined with the particle size data have been used to show that there is a very low likelihood of food waste particle deposition in sewers during normal operational flows, other than temporary transient deposits of egg shell particles.

The use of inter-professional education (IPE) healthcare law and ethics scenario based learning sessions amongst nursing, midwifery and law students: An evaluation.

BACKGROUND: Litigation and disciplinary action taken by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) against nurses' remains a concern with costs of claims against the NHS increasing by 72% over the five years up to 2015/16 with almost £1.5 billion spent in one year alone. Additionally, 5476 referrals regarding registrants' fitness to practice were made to the NMC in 2016-2017. The aims of this paper are to discuss how a pair of scenario based IPE sessions focussed on healthcare law and ethical topics were introduced as an addition to the existing nursing and midwifery curricula and to report the evaluation of these sessions. METHODS: Two scenario based sessions attended by nursing, midwifery and law students were delivered as an addition to existing nursing, midwifery and law curricula. The scenarios were based on real life cases and students collaborated to identify means of managing legal and ethical issues arising from the scenarios. These sessions were facilitated by lecturers from the schools of law, midwifery and nursing. FINDINGS: All attending students completed an evaluation questionnaire. Student evaluations indicated that the experience of working through the scenarios with their colleagues from other disciplines had enabled them to gain further knowledge and understanding around healthcare law and ethics. Student evaluations indicated a high level of engagement and interest in the subject and also drew attention to the supportive structure of the IPE sessions. CONCLUSION: Nurses and midwives continue to be called to account by both their professional body and in law for issues related to their practice. A way to enable students to consider this and aid their preparation for clinical and professional practice is through the use of clinically and professionally relevant healthcare law and ethics scenarios in IPE sessions.

"Of Mice and Measures": A Project to Improve How We Advance Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Therapies to the Clinic.

A new line of dystrophic mdx mice on the DBA/2J (D2) background has emerged as a candidate to study the efficacy of therapeutic approaches for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). These mice harbor genetic polymorphisms that appear to increase the severity of the dystropathology, with disease modifiers that also occur in DMD patients, making them attractive for efficacy studies and drug development. This workshop aimed at collecting and consolidating available data on the pathological features and the natural history of these new D2/mdx mice, for comparison with classic mdx mice and controls, and to identify gaps in information and their potential value. The overall aim is to establish guidance on how to best use the D2/mdx mouse model in preclinical studies.

Comparing the costs of alternative models of end-of-life care.

OBJECTIVES: This study explores the financial consequences of decreased acute care utilization and expanded community-based care for patients at the end of life in England. METHOD: A Markov model based on cost and utilization data was used to estimate the costs of care for cancer and organ failure in the last year of life and to simulate reduced acute care utilization. RESULTS: We estimated at pounds 1.8 billion the cost to the taxpayer of care for the 127,000 patients dying from cancer in 2006. The equivalent cost for the 30,000 people dying from organ failure was pounds 553 million. Resources of pounds 16 to pounds 171 million could be released for cancer. CONCLUSION: People generally prefer to die outside hospital. Our results suggest that reducing reliance on acute care could release resources and better meet peoples' preferences. Better data on the cost-effectiveness of interventions are required. Similar models would be useful to decision-makers evaluating changes in service provision.

Proteomic analysis of proteins associated with body mass and length in yellow perch, Perca flavescens.

The goal of commercial yellow perch aquaculture is to increase muscle mass which leads to increased profitability. The accumulation and degradation of muscle-specific gene products underlies the variability in body mass (BM) and length observed in pond-cultured yellow perch. Our objective was to apply a combination of statistical and proteomic technologies to identify intact and/or proteolytic fragments of muscle specific gene products involved in muscle growth in yellow perch. Seventy yellow perch randomly selected at 10, 12, 16, 20, and 26 wk of age were euthanized; BM and length were measured and a muscle sample taken. Muscle proteins were resolved using 5-20% gradient SDS-PAGE, stained with SYPRO Ruby and analyzed using TotalLab software. Data were analyzed using stepwise multiple regression with the dependent variables, BM and length and proportional OD of each band in a sample as a potential regressor. Eight bands associated with BM (R(2) = 0.84) and nine bands with length (R(2) = 0.85) were detected. Protein sequencing by nano-LC/MS/MS identified 20 proteins/peptides associated with BM and length. These results contribute the identification of gene products and/or proteolytic fragments associated with muscle growth in yellow perch.