Nurses' lived experience of peacebuilding.

Nursing has a unique opportunity to address issues of structural violence that contribute to poor health outcomes. Models for designing nursing care relative to the social determinants of health can be adapted from the discipline of peace studies and the phenomenon of peacebuilding. The aim of this qualitative study was to describe the lived experience of peacebuilding from the perspective of community or public health nurses. Interviews were conducted with eight participants. Attributes of the peacebuilder included fostering human relationships that value the inherent worth and dignity of others, nurturing a character of humility and moral courage, and contemplating the personal cost of engaging in prolonged processes of peacebuilding. Practices of peacebuilding included mediating conflict through multilayered processes, accompanying others to places of empowerment, and utilizing interdisciplinary teaching and learning to build capacity for change. Increasing an understanding of the lived experience of peacebuilding by nurses is relevant to nursing research, theory, and practice, and adds to a broader understanding of peacebuilding.

The nurse as peacebuilder: Intersections of health and peace.

The purpose of this review is to examine peacebuilding as a concept relevant to nursing practice. A historical view of Lilian Wald's contribution to public health nursing sets the stage for nursing's commitment to the ethics of social justice and responsibility to address the social determinants of health as root causes to health inequities. The interweaving of health and peace are highlighted through exploration of works from leading organizations in health and nursing, nationally and globally. Finally examples of current peacebuilding in public health nursing are highlighted.

The effects of coping skills training among teens with asthma.

This pilot study used a pretest and posttest design to examine the effect of a school-based intervention, Coping Skills Training, among teens with asthma (N = 39) aged 14 to 18 years randomly assigned to treatment and control groups from three midwestern high schools. Variables included asthma self-efficacy, social support, asthma-related quality of life, peak expiratory flow rate, asthma diary symptoms, and rescue medication usage. The treatment group scored significantly higher on self-efficacy (p < .001), activity-related quality of life (p = .05), and social support (p < .001) compared with the control group after using ANCOVA to adjust for baseline scores. Significant improvements were also noted from pre- to posttest in the treatment group for self-efficacy (p < .001) and quality of life (p = .02). This study indicates that Coping Skills Training is an important intervention for further study with teens with asthma.

Health promotion in adolescents: a review of Pender's health promotion model.

Adolescents have unique health considerations as they transition from parent-managed healthcare to personal responsibility for health behavior. One question to consider is the goodness-of-fit of available theoretical models for explaining and predicting adolescent health-promoting behavior. This integrative review explored Pender's health promotion model in relation to adolescent health. Specifically, this review summarizes the components of Pender's model and the supporting theoretical underpinnings based in the social cognitive theory. Research literature related to the health promotion model and various aspects of teen health is explored. Recommendations for further research and theory development are discussed.