Starting a New Revolution in Nursing.

The onset of COVID-19 and the murder of George Floyd shed light on social justice inequities, disparities in health care and the continuing rise of racism within society. Studies conducted by the American Nurses Foundation also revealed acts of racism within the nursing profession. The creation of the National Commission to Address Racism in Nursing and the American Nurses Association's issuance of an apology through its Racial Reckoning work have begun a revolution within the nursing profession to address this phenomenon. This commentary will provide a brief overview of collaborative initiatives currently underway and address ways in which nurses can do their part to obliterate racism from the nursing profession.

Black Appalachia's Oldest Old: Untold Stories of Experienced Racism and Coping With Religious Practices/Beliefs.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Racism and religion are recognized as prevailing Social Determinants of Health (SDoH). To explore ways in which racism and religion looms in the daily lives of African Americans, we analyzed the experiences of African Americans born during the Jim Crow years and living in the Southern Appalachian Region of the United States. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Twenty-seven African Americans participated in this qualitative descriptive study that utilized criterion sampling, open-ended semistructured interviews, and content analysis to identify a typology of categories related to experienced racism and ways in which religion was used in response to those experiences. RESULTS: Participants were an average age of 82.22 years (SD = 5.07); primarily women (n = 19, 70.4%); married (n = 11, 40.7%); junior high school (n = 6, 22.2%), high school or general educational diploma (n = 7, 25.9%), completed college or professional school (n = 6, 22.2%); were retired (n = 27, 100.0%); and affiliated with Baptist churches (n = 18, 66.7%). Experiences with racism included inequities in healthcare and education, and racially motivated physical violence. Religious practices/beliefs included forgiveness, humility, and humanity. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: Racism experienced by African American participants was likely countered by religious practices/beliefs inspired through intergenerational teachings with affiliations to the Black Church. These experiences of the oldest old ) African Americans living in communities of the Southern Appalachia, United States, illustrate the pervasive nature of racism. The religious beliefs that are frequently transmitted intergenerationally through the Black Church are relevant to understand present-day encounters with racism among African Americans and possibly other communities of color.

Health equity: A concept analysis.

BACKGROUND: Although health equity is critically important for healthcare delivery, there are inconsistencies in its definitions or lack of definitions. PURPOSE: Develop a comprehensive understanding of health equity to guide nursing practice and healthcare policy. METHOD: Walker and Avant's concept analysis method was used to establish defining attributes, antecedents, consequences, and empirical referents of health equity. FINDINGS: Health equity defining attributes are grounded in ethical principles, the absence of unfair and avoidable differences, and fair and just opportunities to attain a person's full health potential. Health equity antecedents are categorized into environmental; financial or economic; law, politics, and policy; societal and structural; research; and digital and technology. DISCUSSION: Health equity's antecedents are useful to distinguish health disparities from health outcomes resulting from individual preferences. To achieve health equity, organizations need to focus on addressing the antecedents.

African American Women Breast Cancer Survivors: Coping with the COVID-19 Pandemic.

African American women breast cancer survivors are among those with the greater burden of cancer. Breast cancer is the second leading cause of death among black women, and this death rate is 40% higher than that of white women. The COVID-19 pandemic increased the burden of morbidity and mortality among this population of cancer survivors. In this report, we explore the ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic was a source of stress for African American women breast cancer survivors and their subsequent responses to these stressors. This is a qualitative descriptive study with content analysis of data from the narratives of 18 African American breast cancer survivors. Participants were interviewed via phone and video conferencing platform and asked questions related to their experiences with the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings suggest stressors associated with (1) potential COVID-19 spreaders in their immediate environments; (2) closures and restricted access to social- and faith-based activities; (3) televised news broadcasts of COVID-19; and (4) disruptions to planned cancer prevention and control healthcare. Three categories emerged that captured the ways in which these women responded to stressors during the early phase of this pandemic: (1) seeking control in their social environments; (2) following the rules; and (3) seeking support from God, family, and friends. These findings can be used to better support breast cancer patients during the early phases of a pandemic.

American Burn Association Burn Prevention Framework.

In February 2020, burn prevention experts from a variety of professional backgrounds gathered for a national Burn Prevention Summit. Through lively discussion and debate, this group came to a consensus on several core burn prevention concepts in order to create a framework for burn prevention program planning. The resulting document includes components of a successful program, a five-step process for program planning, best practices in messaging, and general advice from the summit attendees. This framework is designed for both novice professionals who are new to burn prevention programming development and experienced professionals who would like to strengthen existing programming.

Burn Injuries: Prevention, Advocacy, and Legislation.

Each year in the United States and Canada, thousands of individuals seek medical care for a burn injury. Some individuals are burned significantly enough they require treatment at specialized burn care facilities. Most of these injuries are preventable. This article presents an historical perspective related to burn prevention and elements of successful burn prevention programs and explores ways in which the plastic surgeon can promote burn prevention through education, advocacy, and the legislative process. Prevention efforts undertaken by the surgeon can increase awareness, ensure a safe environment, and reduce burn injuries.

Evaluation of the New North Carolina Burn Registry.

High-quality burn registries can facilitate best practices in burn treatment, patient education, and research. A new burn registry was designed and implemented at the North Carolina Jaycee Burn Center in June 2013. The primary goals for the design of the new North Carolina (NC) burn registry were to improve reporting to the American Burn Association's National Burn Repository while maintaining current functionality and preserving previously collected data. The objective of this evaluation was to review the literature for best practices in designing a disease registry, benchmark the design of the NC burn registry with the best practices identified in the literature, and compare data quality before and after implementation of the new NC burn registry. The NC burn registry was evaluated using six measurable elements identified from essential indicators of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality user's guide for design, implementation, analysis, interpretation, and quality evaluation of registries. These elements were achieving objectives, using literature to inform the choice of data elements, improving completeness of information, employing consistency checks, providing clear, operational definitions of outcomes and other data elements, and minimizing active data collection. Five of the six chosen essential elements were found to have been met during the evaluation of the new NC burn registry. One essential element, improving completeness of information, had mixed results. The new NC burn registry improved reporting to the National Burn Repository while maintaining current functionality and preserving previously collected data.

Multicenter assessment of burn team injury prevention knowledge.

Engaging burn professionals to utilize "teachable moments" and provide accurate fire safety and burn prevention (FSBP) education is essential in reducing injury incidence. Minimal data is available regarding burn clinicians' evidence-based FSBP knowledge. A committee of prevention professionals developed, pilot-tested, and distributed a 52-question online survey assessing six major categories: demographical information (n = 7); FSBP knowledge (n = 24); home FSBP practices (n = 6); burn center FSBP education (n = 7); self-assessed competence and confidence in providing FSBP education (n = 2); and improving ABA reach (n = 6). Responses with <50% completion of FSBP knowledge section were excluded. Total group's (TG) mean FSBP score of 61.5% was used to define and compare underperformers (UP). After excluding 36 incomplete responses, test scores ranged: TG (n = 427) 21-88% and UP (n = 183) 21-58%. Ten FSBP knowledge questions covering seven topics were incorrectly answered by >50% of TG. ANOVA showed self-reported competence and confidence in providing FSBP education were not good predictors of FSBP scores, but staff with <2 years experience scored lower. Over 90% of TG wants FSBP fact sheets for patient education. Burn professionals have a responsibility to educate patients, families, and communities on FSBP. Team members report competence and confidence in their ability to provide FSBP education. However, this multicenter survey demonstrates the need for professional training on best practices in injury prevention, specifically targeting knowledge gaps on: smoke alarms, fire-safe cigarettes, children's sleepwear, burn/fire epidemiology, fireworks, bathing/scald injuries, and residential sprinklers. Based on these findings, FSBP educational materials will be created.

Preventing burns in the elderly: a guide for home healthcare professionals.

Burn injury to individuals older than 60 years occurs with a frequency that is disproportionate to that of all other victims except the very young. Burns continue to remain a major healthcare problem in the United States and globally. Seniors 65 years and older make up 13.7% of the total population of the United States, and these numbers are expected to increase during the next 30 years (). Further, older adults who live alone are 30% more likely to suffer an unintentional injury than the rest of the population. As seniors age, their potential for suffering a fire or burn-related injury increases because of the aging process, comorbidities, and limited financial means. These factors describe a vulnerable population in need of protection and safety. This article assists the home healthcare provider to recognize the characteristics and vulnerability of the older adult as related to a burn injury. Guidelines that will assist the home healthcare provider in promoting a safe and comfortable environment are discussed.

Achieving fire-safe cigarette legislation through coalition-based legislative advocacy.

Advocates who work for tobacco control legislation through coalition-based policy advocacy have access to a broad base of support and resources that are critical to overcoming the tobacco industry lobby. This article provides an example of how a coalition-based advocacy strategy that engaged a diverse group of stakeholders and was supported by a national coordinating movement achieved state level fire-safe cigarette legislation in a tobacco-producing and manufacturing state.

Burn prevention.

The APN can help prevent bums from occurring by regularly participating in health promotion programs that stress fire and bum prevention education. APNs are in a uniquely advantageous position to recognize unsafe practices in the home and to help families develop safe living habits while remaining culturally sensitive to the needs of the patient. Infants and children sustain the most common bum injuries in the home and should never be left at home alone. Children should be taught at an early age about the hazards of fire. Parents must carefully check the home,bath, and play areas for fire and bum hazards, such as live extension wires, matches, and electrical appliances, and remove them. The APN must also recognize that promoting safety legislation can also make the working and living environment safer.