A survey of oncology advanced practice providers' knowledge and attitudes towards sexual and gender minorities with cancer.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the knowledge and attitudes towards sexual and gender minority (SGM) oncology patients' needs among advanced practice providers (APPs). BACKGROUND: SGM individuals experience health disparities, in part due to lack of access to knowledgeable providers. Despite the important role of APPs in cancer care, less is known about their attitudes and knowledge towards SGM cancer patients. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. METHODS: A survey of APPs at a National Cancer Institute-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Center assessed self-reported demographics, attitudes, knowledge and postsurvey confidence in knowledge of SGM oncology patient needs. Reporting of this study adheres to STROBE guidelines. RESULTS: Knowledge of health needs was low with an average of 2.56 (SD = 1.27) items answered correctly out of 6. The majority of APPs self-reported being comfortable treating SGM patients (93.6% and 87.2%, respectively), but less confident in knowledge of their health needs (68.0% and 53.8%, respectively). Although less than half of APPs believed education should be mandatory (44.9%), 79.5% were interested in education about SGMs' unique health needs. Political affiliation, medical specialty, licensure, and having SGM friends or family were associated with various attitude items, but not knowledge. Moderation analyses indicated that APPs who had greater overall knowledge scores were more likely to agree, on average, that knowing sexual orientation, gender identity and sex assigned at birth are important to providing quality oncology care. CONCLUSION: APPs report being comfortable providing care for SGMs with cancer, but knowledge gaps remain that may inhibit the quality of care provided. Given the interest in education, results would support the development of SGM-related healthcare training for oncology APPs. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Targeted education for providers during training and continuing education is likely to improve the provision of quality care for SGMs with cancer.

An illustrative case for addressing infant mental health referrals.

PROBLEM: Despite knowing the importance of the early detection of adverse experiences, mental health disorders beginning or occurring during early childhood can be difficult to recognize. To address this gap, this manuscript describes the care of a parent-child dyad utilizing the nursing process in an illustrative case. METHODS: This illustrative case provides a scenario that includes the early detection of infant mental health (IMH) in primary care with referral to a psychiatric mental health advanced practice nurse (PMHNP) and highlights how integrative care with PMHNP can facilitate the use of the nursing process to promote optimal early childhood growth and development and prevent long-term mental health problems. FINDINGS: The collaboration between the primary care provider and PMHNP in addressing a common diagnosis observed in IMH (i.e., feeding disorder) where a 6-month-old infant presented with poor weight gain due to detached parenting, secondary to maternal depression, resulted in early infant-parent intervention that reduced maternal depression and normalized infant growth. CONCLUSIONS: The screening of IMH in pediatric primary care promotes early referral and collaboration with the PMHNP to address IMH problems to promote optimal growth and social-emotional development in early childhood.

The Effective Use of Psychiatric Mental Health Nurses in Integrated Care: Policy Implications for Increasing Quality and Access to Care.

In the last ten years primary care providers have been encouraged to implement integrated models of care where individuals' medical and mental health needs are addressed holistically. Many integrated models use Psychiatric Mental Health (PMH) nurses as case managers and select exemplars use PMH Advanced Practice Nurses (APNs) as providers. However, the potential value of PMH nurses in integrated health care remains unrealized by health care planners and payers, limiting access to services for the populations most in need of comprehensive care approaches. This current situation is partially fueled by insufficient knowledge of the roles and skill sets of PMH nurses. In this paper, the PMH RN and APN skill sets are detailed, demonstrating how effective use of these nurses can further the aims of integrated care models. Finally, outlined are barriers and enabling factors to effective use of PMH RNs and APNs and attendant policy implications.

Effectiveness of a nurse-led preadmission intervention for parents of children with profound multiple disabilities undergoing hip-joint surgery: A quasi-experimental pilot study.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a family-centered care (FCC) intervention provided by an advanced practice nurse (APN) for parents of children with profound disabilities undergoing surgery. DESIGN AND METHODS: In a quasi-experimental design, we used the MPOC-20 to assess satisfaction with FCC and interviews to identify potential mechanisms for improving satisfaction. RESULTS: There was a positive effect on the MPOC-20 domain "general information," albeit with a small effect size (Cohen's d = 0.35). The interviewed parents expected additional support. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Emphasis should be placed on providing comprehensive care coordination by an experienced APN. Shared care management is crucial in improving FCC.

An Advanced Practice Nurse Coordinated Multidisciplinary Intervention for Patients with Late-Stage Cancer: A Cluster Randomized Trial.

BACKGROUND: Early palliative care provided through a palliative care consultative service is effective in enhancing patient outcomes. However, it is unknown whether the integration of palliative care as part of routine comprehensive cancer care improves patients' self-reported clinical outcomes. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of a multidisciplinary coordinated intervention by advanced practice nurses at the clinic level on outcomes with patients newly diagnosed with late-stage cancer. METHODS: A clustered, randomized, controlled trial design was used. Four disease-specific multidisciplinary clinics were randomized to the 10-week intervention (gynecologic and lung clinics) or to enhanced usual care (head and neck and gastrointestinal clinics). Patient primary outcomes (symptoms, health distress, depression, functional status, self-reported health) were collected at baseline and one and three months, and secondary outcomes were collected one and three months postbaseline. General linear mixed model analyses with a covariance structure of within-subject correlation was used to examine the intervention's effect. RESULTS: The sample included 146 patients with newly diagnosed late-stage cancers. We found no differences between the two groups on the primary patient-reported outcomes at one and three months postbaseline; however, physical and emotional symptoms remained stable or significantly improved from baseline for both groups. Overall, secondary outcomes remained stable within the groups. CONCLUSION: In this translational study, we demonstrated that if patients newly diagnosed with late-stage cancer were managed by disease-specific multidisciplinary teams who palliated their symptoms, providing whole-patient care, patient outcomes remained stable or improved.

Integrated physical and mental health care at a nurse-managed clinic: report from the trenches.

The Health and Wellness Center (HWC), located in Joliet, Illinois, is a nurse-managed universally accessible primary health care center funded by a grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration. The goals of the HWC are to improve access to quality primary health care services for all patients, including those who are uninsured and underserved, and to develop and implement a model of nurse-managed primary health care that integrates both physical and mental health assessment and treatment. After 5 years of developing and using this model, it is clear that integration requires strategic supports from the financial, political, and professional sectors to be considered a cost-effective model of health care delivery. Recommendations for policy and practice change are offered based on the author's experiences of providing integrated health care at the HWC and the health care industry's responses to uninsured or underinsured patients' needs.

The role of nurse practitioners in hospital settings: implications for interprofessional practice.

Expansion of the nurse practitioner (NP) role worldwide indicates a need to understand how the role functions in interprofessional healthcare teams. Through the adoption of a mixed methods approach that gathered on-site tracking and observation, self-recorded logs of consultations and focus group interviews of team members and NPs, we describe the extent of role activity and the nature of interprofessional practices of 46 NPs and their team members in nine hospital sites across the province of Ontario, Canada. Findings outline the nature of the NP role activities, which largely focused on providing clinical care, with the support of their team, to a range of patients across the study settings. We discuss how 'embedding' the NP in this way appears to contribute to utilization of expertise of all professions as well as enabling team members to promote evidence-based practices. We argue that the use of NPs augments interprofessional role utilization through their desire to consult with a range of professionals and the capacity to perform holistic care for patients that is not limited to traditional nursing boundaries.

A unitary-caring conceptual model for advanced practice nursing in palliative care.

Advanced practice nurses provide expert clinical care for patients and families experiencing chronic and terminal illnesses. However, there is no theoretical framework that guides praxis in palliative care. This article describes a unitary-caring model that transforms national standards of palliative care into a values-based praxis focused on healing and caring.