Bergamot Aromatherapy for Medical Office-Induced Anxiety Among Children With an Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Randomized, Controlled, Blinded Clinical Trial.

This randomized, blinded clinical trial evaluated the effects of aromatherapy on medical office-induced anxiety in children with an autism spectrum disorder. Patients awaiting office visits were randomized into an aromatherapy group and a control group. After adjusting for baseline scores, there was no significant difference between the 2 groups.

Does Location of Practice or Religiosity Predict Negative Physician Attitudes or Beliefs Toward LGB+ Individuals?

The purpose of this study is to extend the Sabin et al's. (Am J Public Health 105(9):1831-1841, 2015. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2015.302631) findings to examine the extent to which religiosity and/or geographic region is predictive of negative attitudes or beliefs toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, and asexual (LGB+) individuals. Secondary data from the Sexuality Implicit Association Test were analyzed. Data included only participants from 2013 to 2015 who identified "Healthcare - Diagnosing and Treating Practitioners" as their occupation (n = 1376). The results of a factorial ANOVA revealed significant group differences accounting for 22.4% of the variance in attitudes toward LGB+ individuals. Religiosity was a significant factor in determining negative attitudes toward LGB+ individuals. However, the study was underpowered (5.8%) to detect an effect of geographic location in determining negative attitudes toward LGB+ individuals. It is important to validate a tool that can adequately measure the common assumptions associated with both religion and geographic region. Additionally, medical educators need to learn how to recognize and address negative attitudes among their students.

S.M.A.R.T. mothers are resisting tobacco: prenatal smoking cessation in WIC mothers.

This article presents outcomes of the Smart Mothers Are Resisting Tobacco (S.M.A.R.T. Moms) project, a "5 A's"-based, best-practices intervention for prenatal smoking cessation targeting primarily pregnant WIC patients in Tennessee. Evidence-based training using "5 A's" materials were provided to health care providers. Providers in turn counseled patients on smoking cessation and provided individual cessation treatment plans with educational information and materials. At the conclusion of the 4-year project, 13,285 patients had received counseling and smoking cessation resources through the project. The overall success rate for participants who received counseling and agreed to use the self-help guide was 24.2% vs 20.9% for those who did not choose to use the self-help guide but did receive counseling, exceeding success rates previously found in similar settings. The outcomes of this project support research that even brief tobacco cessation counseling (5 to 15 min), delivered by trained providers and coupled with pregnancy-specific self-help materials, can increase cessation rates in women during pregnancy. Outcomes from this project also support that, when provided with adequate training and pregnancy-specific self-help materials, health care providers will more consistently counsel patients on smoking cessation during pregnancy.

Developing a parsimonious model for predicting completion of advance directives.

PURPOSE: To develop a theory-based model to assist nurses in promoting self-determination for completion of an advance directive (AD). DESIGN AND METHODS: This descriptive study included data from a convenience sample of 118 community-dwelling older adults in Tennessee, USA. Multinomial logistic regression was used to estimate the influence of 15 factors and covariates on completion of an AD. FINDINGS: The parsimonious model had three significant factors: receiving AD information; attitude index; and health literacy score. Participants were highly likely to complete ADs if they had positive attitudes toward ADs and had received information on ADs. As health literacy increased, the likelihood that participants completed ADs was reduced. This model explained 25% of the variation in AD completion. Chi-square fit for the parsimonious model was highly significant. CONCLUSIONS: Of 15 factors and covariates that could influence completion of an AD, only receiving information about ADs, having positive attitudes toward ADs, and health literacy significantly affected the likelihood of participants completing ADs. More study is needed on this model and how nurses can assist patients with end-of-life decisions.