American Association of Nurse Practitioners Research Agenda, 2023-2028.

ABSTRACT: This report highlights the 2023-2028 American Association of Nurse Practitioners Research Agenda (AANP-RA), which focuses on the research goals of AANP as an organization and is based on its mission and strategic plan. The purpose of the AANP Research Agenda is to outline research priorities that advance the AANP Strategic Plan and concurrently address gaps in nursing science. American Association of Nurse Practitioners supports research studies that are rigorously designed and conducted using quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods approaches, as well as implementation science with the potential to positively impact both NP practice and patient health outcomes. The AANP-RA strategy is guided by the PEARL acronym: examining NP Practice, Education, policy Advocacy, Research, and Leadership. A discussion of each area is presented along with suggested topics.

Perceptions of mindfulness practices as a support for individuals managing caregiving responsibilities and chronic disease: A qualitative study.

OBJECTIVES: Explore the lived experience of individuals managing and/or caregiving for someone with a chronic disease and their perceptions of developing a mindfulness program for stress reduction. METHODS: Sixteen participants with chronic disease and/or caregivers participated. Participants completed eligibility screening, demographic questionnaires, and semi-structured interviews (30-60 min each) online or by phone. Interviews (n = 16) were audio recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using thematic analysis and NVivo® 12. Survey data were analyzed using SPSS® 28. RESULTS: Four themes emerged: (a) Chronic disease management and stress-perspectives on life's stressors; (b) Stress reduction techniques/perceptions of mindfulness-knowledge and implementation of stress reduction practices and familiarity with mindfulness; (c) Mindfulness program acceptability, barriers, and facilitators-interest, barriers, and facilitators to attending; (d) Mindfulness program structure-logistics to increase access and appeal to diverse audiences. DISCUSSION: Mindfulness has the potential for addressing the complexities of stress associated with disease management. Targeting mindfulness programs for populations with chronic disease management and caregiving responsibilities should include: Consideration of group formats with participation limited to this population, structuring programs to overcome barriers (i.e., culturally appropriate location), and equipping members of the community being served as instructors to ensure culturally relevant instruction.

Multifaceted Support Interventions for Siblings of Children With Cancer: A Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND: When a child is given a diagnosis of cancer, the impact reverberates through the family unit. Siblings, in particular, experience an accumulation of distress. Siblings of children with cancer can experience both short- and long-term difficulties in psychosocial and physical functioning, and professional bodies have called for interventions targeted at their needs. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to describe outcomes, core components, and general characteristics of effective interventions intended to support sibling well-being and psychosocial health in pediatric oncology. METHODS: MEDLINE (Ovid), EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and Cochrane CENTRAL databases were searched in September 2019 and July 2020. Studies were included if they focused on interventions for siblings or family in pediatric cancer, had quantitative data to describe the effect or impact of the intervention, and were published in English. Included studies underwent quality appraisal, data extraction, and data synthesis. RESULTS: Twenty articles fit inclusion criteria. Most interventions focused on 6- to 18-year-old siblings within a group setting. Most were theory based. Group format with multiple sessions was the most common approach. The most frequently assessed outcomes were depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress symptoms, and health-related quality of life. CONCLUSIONS: Understanding outcomes, core components, and characteristics of effective interventions is important to translate sibling-support interventions into standard practice. Such considerations are important in delivering equitable family-centered care to siblings of children with cancer. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: As institutions create mechanisms to support siblings, it may be important to target high-risk siblings initially, partner with community resources, attend to underrecognized populations of siblings, and more fully incorporate family into sibling support.

Mindfulness based intervention with an attentional comparison group in at risk young adolescents: a pilot randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Risky behaviors are related to poor outcomes among young adolescents. This study piloted a mindfulness based intervention, Learning 2 Breath Mindfulness Curriculum, focusing on the feasibility of programming and intervention effects on coping, affect, and trait mindfulness among at-risk adolescents. Further, the mindfulness based intervention was compared to an attention intervention. METHODS: Sixth-grade level female students in a boarding school for at-risk youth randomly allocated to either the mindfulness intervention (n = 12) or an attention intervention (n = 11) for six weeks. Outcomes (i.e., primary coping, positive affect, and trait mindfulness) were assessed before and after the interventions. RESULTS: Intervention groups did not differ in demographics or outcomes at baseline. Twenty-two of 23 (95.7%) registered participants attended all of the sessions. Participants completed 86.4% of study tools. Separate repeated measures ANOVAs revealed no significant interactions among group and time for primary coping, positive affect, or mindfulness. However, positive affect did increase [F(1, 17) = 10.675, p = 0.005, partial η 2 = 0.39] over time for both groups and there was a slight increase in trait mindfulness over time (although not statistically significant; p = 0.095, partial η 2 = 0.155]). Primary coping did not change with time. CONCLUSION: The mindfulness intervention utilized in the present study exhibited feasibility in this population. Although preliminary, mindfulness based interventions may contribute to positive affect among at-risk youth in a boarding school. Limitations and future directions are discussed.

Perceived Needs for Adolescent Mental Health in an Urban Community.

INTRODUCTION: Stressors in urban communities are detrimental to adolescents' psychological health. Key factors for success are a community-academic partnership in which researchers and stakeholders in the community work together on program development and research practices. This study elicited students', parents', and teachers' perceived needs for psychological well-being in urban-dwelling adolescents. METHODS: Focus groups were conducted with teachers, family members, and students in an urban middle school. Individuals who did not speak English were excluded. Focus group interviews were recorded and transcribed and underwent content analysis to identify key themes. Two investigators independently reviewed and coded the data, with a third expert available if there was disagreement. RESULTS: Six focus groups, two from each stakeholder group, were conducted with a total of 29 participants. Approximately 70% of participants were female, ranging in age from 11 to 68 years. Participants were primarily African American (n = 22), and the remainder were multiracial (n = 4), White (n = 2), and Latino (n = 1). Emergent themes were educational support, social skills, and community landscape. DISCUSSION: Participants identified gaps and approaches to education and clinical care, strengthening social skills, and changing the community landscape as possible effective targets for future interventions.

An integrative review of nurse practitioner education models: Part three of a four-part series on critical topics identified by the 2015 Nurse Practitioner Research Agenda.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Critical research topics were identified after nurse practitioner (NP) organization stakeholders participated in the Fellows of the American Association of Nurse Practitioner, 2015 Nurse Practitioner Research Agenda Roundtable. Strategies and recommendations were identified to support further work examining NP outcomes-based research priorities in four areas: 1) policy and regulation; 2) workforce; 3) education; and 4) practice. For the purpose of this article, we focus on NP education. Important contrasts became evident after critiquing, analyzing, and synthesizing the literature. Meaningful differences were discovered in the understanding of the complexity of the construct, NP Education Models. Our results are presented as an integrative review. This is the third article in a four-part series investigating FAANP research priorities. METHODS: A systematic literature review summarizing the literature for NP Education Models was conducted. PRISMA evidence-based methods were used to identify relevant studies. Of the 3,374 studies identified, 133 duplicate studies were eliminated, yielding a total of 3,241 articles. A team of three reviewers conducted screening and reviewing processes using defined eligibility criteria. CONCLUSIONS: A lack of clarity regarding use of the construct, NP Education Models, was discovered. The construct was broadly defined and represented different meanings. There is a paucity of theoretical development in current NP education that should be core to practice-focused NP educational programs. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Theoretical and conceptual NP education models and frameworks would bridge the gap between practice- and research-focused graduate programs. Overarching theoretical and conceptual models and frameworks promote critical thinking and decision-making across settings and populations.

Mindfulness Based Programs Implemented with At-Risk Adolescents.

OBJECTIVE: This review examines studies on mindfulness based programs used with adolescents at-risk for poor future outcomes such as not graduating from high school and living in poverty. METHOD: The keywords used include mindfulness, at-risk and adolescents in each database to search CINAHL (10 items: 2 book reviews, 3 Dissertations, and 5 research articles), Medline EBSCO (15 research articles), and PubMed (10 research articles). Only primary research articles published between 2009- 2015 in English on mindfulness and at-risk adolescents were included for the most current evidence. RESULTS: Few studies (n= 11) were found that investigate mindfulness in at-risk adolescents. These studies used various mindfulness programs (n = 7) making it difficult to generalize findings for practice. Only three studies were randomized control trials focusing mostly on male students with low socioeconomic status and existing mental health diagnoses. CONCLUSION: There is a relationship between health behaviors and academic achievement. Future research studies on mindfulness based interventions need to expand to its effects on academic achievement in those youth at-risk to decrease problematic behaviors and improve their ability to be successful adults.