ABSTRACT
Asthma remains one of the most challenging chronic illnesses faced by school nurses both nationally and in the State of West Virginia. There is a clear need to provide ongoing continuing asthma education to school nurses. However, nurses face many barriers to receiving this education. The purpose of this pilot project was to develop and evaluate distance learning technology as a method to deliver continuing asthma education to school nurses in West Virginia. A sample of 20 school nurses from 2 counties in West Virginia participated in the study using the Wimba live classroom distance learning program. Significant modest improvements were found in both the intervention groups compared to a control group postintervention. The results of this pilot study are promising and show that distance learning technology could be a viable solution for school nurses to receive asthma continuing education.
Subject(s)
Asthma/nursing , Education, Distance/methods , Education, Nursing, Continuing/organization & administration , School Health Services/organization & administration , School Nursing/education , Adult , Appalachian Region , Asthma/prevention & control , Child , Child Welfare , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Nurse's Role , Nursing Evaluation Research , Pilot Projects , West VirginiaABSTRACT
This study assessed nurses' knowledge, attitudes, experience, and confidence in discussing advance directives with patients. Concepts were measured using a questionnaire administered to 87 acute care registered nurses. Results indicated lack of knowledge about laws regarding advance directives, moderately negative attitudes toward advance directives, moderate confidence, and moderate experience with advance directives. The study supports the need to explore ways to assist nurses to be comfortable with advance directives discussions to improve quality patient care.
Subject(s)
Acute Disease/nursing , Advance Directives , Clinical Competence , Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice , Nursing Staff, Hospital/standards , Attitude of Health Personnel , Attitude to Death , Humans , Nursing Staff, Hospital/psychology , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) affects millions worldwide. Despite advances in the treatments of other chronic diseases, little progress in decreasing COPD morbidity and mortality has been made. The death rate associated with COPD has doubled in 30 years. The presence of psychiatric comorbidities, such as anxiety and depression, has been linked to increased mortality, decreased functional status, and decreased quality of life. OBJECTIVE: This review was undertaken to determine the state of the science of COPD, anxiety, and depression, and to identify nursing implications derived from these findings. CONCLUSION: Although the prevalence of anxiety and depression among patients with COPD is significantly higher than the general population, there are serious barriers to the recognition and treatment of these comorbid conditions. Routine assessment and screening for anxiety and depression in all patients diagnosed with COPD should be considered.