The Life-Course Perspectives of Mexican American Men With Mobility Limitation.

The life-history narratives of 10 Mexican American men with mobility limitations, age 55-77 years (mean = 63.8, SD = 5.8), were explored using a qualitatively driven, life-history mixed-methods study to understand perceptions of mobility limitations over the life course. Within that methodological and paradigmatic framework, conceptualizations of alterity and masculinity guided interpretation of data. Through an iterative, thematic analysis, we detail the way the men's lives were influenced by growing familial responsibility with age. Quantitative data were integrated into themes of narrative inheritance, family, and masculinity. It was posited that masculinity with mobility limitations shaped and was shaped by ethnic identity and responsibility. This has implications for understanding the experience of Mexican American men over the life course.

A Policy Analysis of State Plans for Independent Living in the U.S.

People aging with disability and people of retirement age depend upon their respective states to follow the philosophical tenets of independent living (IL) to remain self-sufficient in their communities with a high quality of life. Independent living services are specified, programmatic sets of services funded by the Administration for Community Living (ACL) in line with expressly stated goals for implementation by state agencies for their state indepdent living centers (SILCSs) to implement through a State Plan for Independent Living (SPIL). Designated state agencies are required to submit their SPIL every three years to maintain funding through the ACL. This policy analysis of funded state plans for inclusion of people with disability aimed to determine which SPILs promote the IL philosophies of consumer choice and control. To this end, qualitative and quantitative content analyses were done to evaluate SPIL's inclusion of IL philosophies. Specifically, the consumer choice and control philosophy, involvement of people with disability, as well as the coherency of IL services from state to state were reviewed. The results of this paper indicate disparities in consumer choice and control initiatives across states, with approximately half of all states clearly promoting consumer control initiatives in their plans. Only three states made it clear that people with disability were involved in the SPIL development. The results give direction for nursing organizations who wish to work with and support SILCs as they advocate for person-centered approaches for people with disability.

"I want to know everything": a qualitative study of perspectives from patients with chronic diseases on sharing health information during hospitalization.

BACKGROUND: Patient-centered care promotes the inclusion of the most prominent and important member of the health care team, the patient, as an active participant in information exchange and decision making. Patient self-management of a chronic disease requires the patient to bridge the gap between multiple care settings and providers. Hospitalizations often disrupt established self-management routines. Access to medical information during hospitalization reflects patients' rights to partner in their own care and has the potential to improve self-management as well as promote informed decision making during and after hospitalization. The objectives of this study were to elicit the perspectives of patients with chronic disease about desired medical information content and access during hospitalization. METHODS: This exploratory study incorporated a qualitative approach. The online survey included the research team created open and limited response survey, demographic and hospital characteristic questions, and the Patient Activation Measurement instrument (PAM®). Convenience and social media snowball sampling were used to recruit participants through patient support groups, email invitations, listservs, and blogs. The research team employed descriptive statistics and qualitative content analysis techniques. RESULTS: The study sample (n = 34) ranged in age from 20 to 76 (µ = 48; SD = 16.87), Caucasian (91%, n = 31), female (88%, n = 30) and very highly educated (64%, n = 22 were college graduates). The PAM® survey revealed a highly activated sample. Qualitative analysis of the open-ended question responses resulted in six themes: Caring for myself; I want to know everything; Include me during handoff and rounds; What I expect; You're not listening; and Tracking my health information. CONCLUSIONS: This study revealed that hospitalized patients want to be included in provider discussions, such as nursing bedside handoff and medical rounds. Only a few participants had smooth transitions from hospital to home. Participants expressed frustration with failures in communication among their providers during and after hospitalization and provider behaviors that interfered with patient provider communication processes. Patients also identified interest in maintaining their own health histories and information but most had to "cobble together" a myriad of methods to keep track of their evolving condition during hospitalization.

The Influence of Bullying on Nursing Practice Errors: A Systematic Review.

Workplace bullying is an important nursing issue that can influence a nurse's propensity to commit practice errors. This systematic review examines the influence of bullying behaviors on nursing practice errors and includes articles from 2012 to 2017 that focus on bullying among nurses in multiple health care settings, including ORs, emergency departments, and acute inpatient and critical-care units. Analysis of 14 relevant articles revealed four themes: the influence of the work environment on nursing practice errors, individual-level connections between bullying and nursing practice errors, barriers to teamwork, and communication impairment. This review indicates that nurses perceive that bullying influences nursing practice errors and patient outcomes, although the mechanisms are unclear. Additional research is needed to elucidate the effects of bullying on nursing practice errors and patient outcomes.

Spanish-Speaking Hispanic Patients' Information-Sharing Preferences During Hospitalization: An Exploratory Pilot Study.

BACKGROUND: Self-management of chronic conditions, such as cancer or diabetes, requires the coordination of care across multiple care settings. Current patient-centered, hospital-based care initiatives, including bedside nursing handoff and multidisciplinary rounds, often focus on provider information exchange and roles but fall short of the goals of participatory medicine, which recognize the right of patients to partner in their own care and play an active role in self-management. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to elicit Spanish-speaking Hispanic patients' perspectives on the exchange and sharing of information during hospitalization. METHODS: This exploratory pilot study incorporated a qualitative descriptive approach by using Spanish language focus groups, posthospitalization, to determine patient-identified information needs during hospitalization. RESULTS: Participants preferred paper-based Spanish language medical information. Doctors and nurses were key information providers and communicated with participants verbally, usually with the assistance of a translator. Participants expressed a desire to be informed about medication and treatments, including side effects and why there were changes in medication during hospitalization. In addition, they expressed interest in knowing about the progress of their condition and when they could expect to go home. Emotional readiness to receive information about their condition and prognosis was identified as an individual barrier to asking questions and seeking additional information about their condition(s). CONCLUSIONS: Overall, participants shared positive experiences with providers during hospitalization and the usefulness of self-care instructions. Language was not recognized as a barrier by any of the participants. Nevertheless, future research on the influence of emotional readiness on the timing of medical information is needed.