Diverse perspectives on unit-level nurse staffing ratios in medical-surgical units: A Delphi policy analysis.

BACKGROUND: Appropriate staffing is essential to acute care delivery. Staffing ratio policy generates controversy. PURPOSE: This study examines perspectives on unit-level nurse-to-patient ratio policy in adult medical-surgical units. METHOD: Delphi methodology uses an invited diverse panel to analyze a policy's effects. Panelists completed iterative surveys about the impact they expect from unit-level ratio policy. FINDINGS: Panelists demonstrated moderate agreement that the proposed policy could increase staffing levels, decrease patient length of stay, and reduce nurse attrition. Other potential outcomes included reducing staffing in units above the minimum and increasing short-term costs. Panelists agreed that the policy could increase patient safety and nurse satisfaction and did not agree about the effect on long-term cost and innovation. Panelists also anticipated a mostly positive effect on patients and nurses. DISCUSSION: Policies that set unit-level nurse-to-patient ratios offer a potential strategy to improve medical-surgical staffing. Policy design should consider the range of expected outcomes.

Bringing Virtual Reality From Clinical Trials to Clinical Practice for the Treatment of Eating Disorders: An Example Using Virtual Reality Cue Exposure Therapy.

Novel treatment options for eating disorders (EDs) are critically needed to enhance treatment outcomes and reduce the rates of treatment dropouts. On average, only 50% of individuals receiving evidence-based care remit, whereas 24% drop out before treatment completion. One particularly promising direction involves integrating virtual reality (VR) with existing evidence-based treatments (EBTs) such as cue exposure therapy (CET). Across psychiatric disorders, VR-based interventions are demonstrating at least preliminary efficacy and noninferiority to traditional treatments. Furthermore, VR technology has become increasingly portable, resulting in improved acceptance, increased access, and reductions in cost. However, more efficient research processes may be needed to uncover the potential benefits of these rapid technological advances. This viewpoint paper reviews existing empirical support for integrating VR with EBTs (with a focus on its use with EDs) and proposes key next steps to more rapidly bring this innovative technology-based intervention into real-world clinic settings, as warranted. VR-CET for EDs is used to illustrate a suggested process for developing such treatment enhancements. We recommend following a deployment-focused model of intervention development and testing to enable rapid implementation of robust, practice-ready treatments. In addition, our review highlights the need for a comprehensive clinical protocol that supports clinicians and researchers in the implementation and testing of VR-CET and identifies key missing protocol components with rationale for their inclusion. Ultimately, this work may lead to a more complete understanding of the full potential of the applications and integrations of VR into mental health care globally.

Association between psychotropic drug use and prescription opioid use among older adults.

This study investigated the association between psychotropic drug use and prescription opioid use/high dosage opioid use among older adults. A sample of 203,750 older adults enrolled in Pennsylvania's Pharmaceutical Assistance Contract for the Elderly (PACE) program during 2017 was evaluated for prescription opioid and psychotropic drug usage. High dosage opioid use was defined as using >90 morphine milligram equivalents (MME)/day for ≥90 consecutive days. Overall, 20.7% of enrollees filled opioid prescriptions, of which 1.4% used them at high dosages. Multivariate logistic regression indicated that the odds of prescription opioid use increased with anxiolytic/sedative/hypnotic use and antidepressant use. Moreover, high dosage opioid use was significantly associated with anxiolytic/sedative/hypnotic use, antidepressant use and other factors including being younger, male, white, and married but living separately, and having multiple opioid prescribers. Clinicians should carefully evaluate opioid use among older patients using anxiolytics or antidepressants to minimize risks for adverse consequences of opioids.

What's in a name? Group fitness class names and women's reasons for exercising.

The benefits of intrinsic exercise motivation are well recognized, yet extrinsically focused group-fitness class names/descriptions dominate the fitness industry. To explore the impact of how fitness classes are marketed, women (N = 389) were asked to indicate their preference for either intrinsically or extrinsically focused fitness classes based on title/description. Participants who favored intrinsic class names/descriptions were more likely to report greater interest/enjoyment, perceived competence, and greater effort and report exercising for health/fitness-related reasons. Those favoring extrinsic class names/descriptions were more likely to experience tension/pressure when exercising and report exercising for appearance/weight-related reasons. The results demonstrate the importance of wording when marketing fitness classes.

Chromosome instability in diffuse large B cell lymphomas is suppressed by activation of the noncanonical NF-κB pathway.

Diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common form of lymphoma in the United States. DLBCL comprises biologically distinct subtypes including germinal center-like (GCB) and activated-B-cell-like DLBCL (ABC). The most aggressive type, ABC-DLBCL, displays dysregulation of both canonical and noncanonical NF-κB pathway as well as genomic instability. Although, much is known about the tumorigenic roles of the canonical NF-kB pathway, the precise role of the noncanonical NF-kB pathway remains unknown. Here we show that activation of the noncanonical NF-κB pathway regulates chromosome stability, DNA damage response and centrosome duplication in DLBCL. Analysis of 92 DLBCL samples revealed that activation of the noncanonical NF-κB pathway is associated with low levels of DNA damage and centrosome amplification. Inhibiting the noncanonical pathway in lymphoma cells uncovered baseline DNA damage and prevented doxorubicin-induced DNA damage repair. In addition, it triggered centrosome amplification and chromosome instability, indicated by anaphase bridges, multipolar spindles and chromosome missegregation. We determined that the noncanonical NF-κB pathway execute these functions through the regulation of GADD45α and REDD1 in a p53-independent manner, while it collaborates with p53 to regulate cyclin G2 expression. Furthermore, this pathway regulates GADD45α, REDD1 and cyclin G2 through direct binding of NF-κB sites to their promoter region. Overall, these results indicate that the noncanonical NF-κB pathway plays a central role in maintaining genome integrity in DLBCL. Our data suggests that inhibition of the noncanonical NF-kB pathway should be considered as an important component in DLBCL therapeutic approach.

The relationship between proton pump inhibitor adherence and fracture risk in the elderly.

Studies suggest that long-term use of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) may be associated with an increased risk of fracture. However, the role of medication adherence in this association is not fully understood. A retrospective cohort study was conducted to examine the relationship between PPI use/adherence and fracture risk among elderly subjects by combining administrative pharmacy claims data, survey data, and Medicare data. The study cohort included 1,604 PPI users and 23,672 nonusers who were enrolled in Pennsylvania's Pharmaceutical Assistance Contract for the Elderly program. PPI adherence was measured by the proportion of days covered (PDC). Time-dependent Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) of PPI use/adherence for fracture risk while controlling for demographics, comorbidity, body mass index, smoking, and non-PPI medication use. The overall incidence of any fracture per 100 person-years was 8.7 for PPI users and 5.0 for nonusers. A gradient in fracture risk according to PPI adherence was observed. Relative to nonusers, fracture HRs associated with the highest (PDC ≥ 0.80), intermediate (PDC 0.40-0.79), and lowest (PDC <0.40) adherence levels were 1.46 (p < 0.0001), 1.30 (p = 0.02), and 0.95 (p = 0.75), respectively. In addition, the fracture risk of PPI use was significant for hip (HR = 1.32, p = 0.04) and vertebral (HR = 1.69, p = 0.0005) fractures, and risk was similar between major osteoporotic and other fractures. These results provide further evidence that PPI use may increase fracture risk in the elderly and highlight the need for clinicians to periodically reassess elderly patients' individualized needs for ongoing PPI therapy, while weighing potential risks and benefits.

The Women: A Rarely Told War Story.

A gripping read about U.S. Army nurses during the Vietnam War.

Association between females' perceptions of college aerobic class motivational climates and their responses.

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between female college students' perceptions of the motivational climate in their aerobics classes to their adaptive exercise responses. Data were collected from university group exercise classes in spring 2008. The participants (N = 213) responded to a questionnaire measuring perceptions of the climate (i.e., caring, task-, and ego-involving), correlates of intrinsic motivation (i.e., interest/enjoyment, perceived competence, effort/importance, and tension/pressure), commitment to exercise, and reasons for exercising. Canonical correlation analyses revealed that participants who perceived a predominately caring, task-involving climate reported higher interest/enjoyment, perceived competence, effort/importance, and commitment to exercise, as well as lower tension/pressure. Further, those who perceived a high caring, task-involving, and low ego-involving climate were also more likely to report more health-related reasons for exercise versus appearance-focused reasons. Results suggested that important motivational benefits might exist when women perceive caring, task-involving climates in their aerobics class settings. Aerobics class instructors who intentionally create caring, task-involving climates may promote more adaptive motivational responses among their female participants.

The Invisibility of Women.

Why the gender data gap matters.

Why Black Americans 'Live Sicker and Die Quicker'.

Exposing the hidden toll of persistent racism.

The Cost of Living While Human.

Observations on the craziness in American health care.

Making a difference from the inside out.

Nursing leaders, researchers, and activists have called for change in mass media depictions of nurses since the 1980s, but some nurses are not sure they should make any effort. This article offers a focused look at the trajectories of 2 individuals: Theresa Brown, a clinical nurse and author who writes for the New York Times, and Larry Deutchman, the Executive Vice President of Marketing and Industry Relations at Entertainment Industries Council, Inc. Both Brown and Deutchman were motivated to acquire skills and to take risks to think creatively, and/or to collaborate with other professionals in media to benefit nursing and health. Analysis of their paths offers ideas for action, growth, learning, and collaboration for nurses in relation to the ways that nursing is represented in written and visual media.

The Beauty in Breaking and the Power to Heal.

Michele Harper's striking memoir contextualizes racism in health care.

A Retrospective Study of Psychotropic Drug Use and Prescription Opioid Initiation Among Older Adults.

Individuals with mental health problems may be more vulnerable to using prescription opioids than their counterparts. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to assess the initiation of prescription opioids in older adults who used psychotropic drugs compared with those who did not. The authors used a retrospective cohort design and included a sample of older adults enrolled in Pennsylvania's Pharmaceutical Assistance Contract for the Elderly program who did not use prescription opioids in 2013. Using pharmacy claims, patients who used anxiolytics/sedatives/hypnotics (n = 13,512) or antidepressants (n = 17,492) between October and December 2013 were identified and compared with those who did not use anxiolytics/sedatives/hypnotics (n = 114,091) or antidepressants (n = 110,111) during that period, to determine the incidence of prescription opioid use in 2014. Chi-square tests and multivariate logistic regressions were performed for analyses. Compared with patients who did not use anxiolytics/sedatives/hypnotics, those who used were more likely to initiate prescription opioids (15.0% versus 22.0%, P < .0001). Similarly, compared with patients who did not use antidepressants, those who used were more likely to initiate prescription opioids (14.7% versus 21.9%, P < .0001). Multivariate logistic regression indicated that the odds of prescription opioid initiation increased with anxiolytic/sedative/hypnotic use by 44% (AOR = 1.44; P < .0001) and antidepressant use by 48% (AOR = 1.48; P < .0001) among older adults after adjusting for potential confounding variables. Results showed that prescription opioid initiation is associated with prior anxiolytic/sedative/hypnotic or antidepressant use among older adults. Patients with mental health problems should also be queried about pain experiences for effective treatment.

Establishment and characterization of a new mantle cell lymphoma cell line with a NOTCH2 mutation, Arbo.

Cell lines represent an essential tool used in preclinical research. Most hematologic malignancies have a wide array of cell lines representing their respective molecular and pathologic spectra. In mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), cell lines become specifically valuable in view of the heterogeneity of this disease. Unfortunately, the number of MCL cell lines that are available for the research community remains small, with only nine cell lines available for purchase through the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC). We have established a novel blastoid MCL cell line, isolated from the malignant pleural effusion of a 69-year-old male with refractory MCL. Arbo was fully characterized with cytogenetics, immunophenotyping, whole exome sequencing and drug sensitivity assays. One of the most notable mutations identified in Arbo (but not in normal tissue) was the missense mutation NOTCH2 R2400*, which has been proposed as a clinically significant mutation in MCL seen in 5% of cases. NOTCH2 R2400* results in a truncated Notch2 protein, leading to a more stable and active protein. Using pharmacologic inhibition of Notch2, we showed a dependence of Arbo on NOTCH2 signaling, as well as a link between CD23 expression on Arbo and NOTCH2 activity. Arbo represents a NOTCH2 mutated model that is useful in MCL as well as other lymphomas with such mutation. We plan to deposit Arbo at the ATCC to be available for the research community.

Aroused: A Rousing Look at Hormones.

Stories of discovery, wrong turns, and hope.

COVID-19 and Our National 'Moral Imperative'.

A novel take on epidemic disease management.

The 'Grueling Process' of Emancipation.

Black Americans' fight for health care remains highly relevant.

Translating Virtual Reality Cue Exposure Therapy for Binge Eating into a Real-World Setting: An Uncontrolled Pilot Study.

Binge-eating disorder (BED) and bulimia nervosa (BN) have adverse psychological and medical consequences. Innovative interventions, like the integration of virtual reality (VR) with cue-exposure therapy (VR-CET), enhance outcomes for refractory patients compared to cognitive behavior therapy (CBT). Little is known about the feasibility and acceptability of translating VR-CET into real-world settings. To investigate this question, adults previously treated for BED or BN with at least one objective or subjective binge episode/week were recruited from an outpatient university eating disorder clinic to receive up to eight weekly one-hour VR-CET sessions. Eleven of 16 (68.8%) eligible patients were enrolled; nine (82%) completed treatment; and 82% (9/11) provided follow-up data 7.1 (SD = 2.12) months post-treatment. Overall, participant and therapist acceptability of VR-CET was high. Intent-to-treat objective binge episodes (OBEs) decreased significantly from 3.3 to 0.9/week (p < 0.001). Post-treatment OBE 7-day abstinence rate for completers was 56%, with 22% abstinent for 28 days at follow-up. Among participants purging at baseline, episodes decreased from a mean of one to zero/week, with 100% abstinence maintained at follow-up. The adoption of VR-CET into real-world clinic settings appears feasible and acceptable, with a preliminary signal of effectiveness. Findings, including some loss of treatment gains during follow-up may inform future treatment development.