Sibling adjustment to diabetes and educational needs: A literature review.

ABSTRACT: As cases of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) increase, so do their impact on sibling relationships. This literature review of four databases from 2010 to 2024 discusses findings from five studies and the themes that emerged: education needs and family functioning. Improvements in family-centered care and education are needed for siblings of children with T1DM.

Development of Telemedicine Simulations Addressing Social Determinants of Health.

BACKGROUND: Five telemedicine simulations were created during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic to elucidate implicit biases and enhance awareness of social determinants of health among nursing students. Social determinants affect overall health, functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes and risks. Implicit biases are related to patient-provider interactions, treatment decisions and adherence, and ultimately patient health outcomes. PURPOSE: This article explains the simulation development and content, describes the student learning outcomes, and presents faculty insights that highlight the necessity of simulation experiences in nursing education. METHOD: Five telemedicine simulations that presented different social determinants of health and implicit biases were created for undergraduate nursing students. RESULTS: Nursing students increased knowledge related to social determinants and their own implicit biases. CONCLUSION: Telemedicine simulations were effective in assisting nursing students recognize their own implicit biases and the economic challenges of individuals living in poverty, as well as the potential influence of social determinants of health. [J Nurs Educ. 2023;62(1):58-61.].

Service learning: Nursing students' civic engagement with diverse populations of children with special needs.

PURPOSE: There is limited knowledge of nursing students' perspectives about engagement with special needs populations. The purpose of this study was to identify the advantages/benefits and disadvantages/challenges of nursing students' engagement experience with children with special mental and physical disabilities. Recommendations to enhance student engagement experiences were also provided. METHODS: A descriptive, qualitative design was employed. Undergraduate nursing students (N = 28) responded to open-ended questions about their civic engagement experiences at a community-based, respite care program for children with special needs. Student accounts underwent directed content analysis, with coding, category and theme development according to the Theory of Planned Behavior. The Atlas.Ti computer program was used to manage the data. RESULTS: Advantages/Benefits: Filling cognitive and experiential learning gaps, rewarding connections/relationships, positive emotions, perceptions and interactions, and fun and stress relief. Disadvantage/challenges: Managing negative/uncomfortable emotions and uncertainty, witnessing and managing disruptive behaviors, negative perceptions of program operations/expectations. CONCLUSIONS: Students experienced cognitive, emotional, interpersonal and educational advantages and/or disadvantages while engaging with this defined population. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: To enhance engagement faculty can provide education and anticipatory guidance, detail responsibilities and expectations, and/or utilize simulation for student preparation. Nurses and researchers can utilize community based participatory methods to guide discussions with community-based organizations to collaboratively develop strategies to institute, evaluate and enhance student engagement during service learning experiences with children who have special needs.

Systematic Curriculum Mapping of Virtual Patient Assignments to End-of-Program Outcomes.

BACKGROUND: During the COVID-19 pandemic, virtual clinical learning assignments replaced onsite clinical instruction in many prelicensure nursing programs, but the alignment of those learning experiences to end-of-program outcomes was unknown. PURPOSE: This article describes the process and results of mapping student competencies gained via virtual patient simulation experiences to a program's end-of-program outcomes and accrediting standards. METHODS: A faculty team followed the process of curriculum mapping as described in the literature to evaluate the effectiveness of the program's virtual clinical learning product in addressing end-of-program outcomes. RESULTS: The mapping process identified where competencies were being met, which needed enhancing or were redundant, and where gaps existed. CONCLUSIONS: Curriculum mapping is an effective strategy in evaluating whether virtual patient simulation learning experiences support end-of-program outcomes. Mapping learning activities to outcomes will be fundamental to curriculum development and evaluation as schools of nursing integrate accrediting standards.

Mental Health Assessment of the Frequent Visitor-Part 2: Assessment and Interventions.

This article is the second part of a two-part series on mental health in school-age children. The focus of this article is on mental health assessment in the school setting, including the use of screening tools, with a review of common medications prescribed for youth with anxiety and depression. Students with mental health conditions frequently seek refuge in the school health office, many times for psychosomatic complaints such as stomach ache, headache, nausea, and fatigue. School nurses need to be adept to assess mental health and intervene as necessary.

Mental Health Assessment of the Frequent Visitors in the School Setting-Part 1: An Overview.

School nurses manage children with mental health problems on a routine basis. However, many school nurses report having had limited to no training in assessment, recognizing signs and symptoms, or therapeutic interventions for mental health problems in children in their educational programs. This article is Part 1 of a two-part series. Part 1 will provide a background of common mental health conditions, common symptoms, underlying complaints, along with helpful resources for multiple audiences. Part 2 will continue with a focus on mental health assessment in the school setting, including the use of screening tools with a review of the most common medications prescribed for youth with anxiety and depression.

Asthma Assessment in the School Health Office: Can They Stay or Should They Go?

The Assessment Refresher for School Nurses series will review the health assessment and interventions of common complaints of children in the school health setting, making it easier for school nurses to determine whether children should stay in school or be sent home. Initial topics to be covered include asthma and allergies, immunizations, bullying/depression, and diabetes.

The Smart Nutrition and Conditioning for Kids (SNACK) Program: An Approach to Increasing Nutrition Knowledge of Second-Grade Students.

BACKGROUND: The Smart Nutrition and Conditioning for Kids (SNACK) program was developed in response to the 2010 Childhood Obesity Study () recognizing a 49% childhood obesity rate in Trenton New Jersey. Lifestyle influences contributing to childhood obesity and Type 2 diabetes mellitus include poor food choices, inadequate access to healthy foods, decrease in physical activity, and insufficient access to safe play environments. METHODS: Second-grade students were selected by teachers to be in the SNACK intervention group or a control group based on their classroom assignment. The SNACK program integrated nutrition lessons to students in an urban and urban rim elementary school during regularly scheduled physical education class. Nutrition lesson plans were developed to educate the children on healthy eating in a fun, interactive manner. The SNACK intervention was performed twice a week for 8 weeks. Pre- and poststudy CATCH (CATCH [Coordinated Approach to Child Health] Global Foundation, 2017) Nutritional Knowledge surveys were completed by all of the participating children. RESULTS: Students who were offered the nutrition-based lessons (SNACK intervention group) performed better on their Healthy Choices survey (p < 0.05), but not the Nutritional Knowledge survey (p = 0.87), when compared with control group students. CONCLUSION: Results suggest that the SNACK program was a partial success and is one example of an interdisciplinary approach to early intervention that can teach young children how to choose healthy foods.

Rashes in School: Can They Stay, or Should They Go?

School-aged children frequently present to the school nurse office due to a rash. School nurses need to be familiar with common childhood rashes and evidence-based treatment recommendations. Most importantly, school nurses must possess knowledge of whether rashes are contagious and whether the child should remain in school or at home until resolution of the rash. It is essential that school nurses are aware of interventions to reduce the risk of spreading a contagious skin infection throughout their school.

Increasing Physical Activity in Children: From Evidence to Action.

Daily physical activity has the potential to improve health and well-being, yet worldwide surveillance of physical activity levels indicate a growing number of children and adolescents do not meet current physical activity recommendations. The current symptom-reactive paradigm should be reconsidered, and preventive actions initiated, before inactive children become resistant to targeted interventions and require pharmacotherapy, and expensive medical procedures for treatment of preventable illnesses. A cascade of adverse events are associated with a sedentary lifestyle. Nurses are uniquely qualified to identify youth with exercise deficits and encourage daily participation in a variety of age-related physical activities that enhance both health- and skill-related components of physical fitness.Physical activity guidelines should support evidence-based activity recommendations by nurses working with children. New insights regarding the importance of improving muscular strength and motor skill performance early in life are valuable to nurses in formulating exercise recommendations for school-age youth. Specific education in pediatric exercise science provides the foundation for prescribing age-related exercise interventions consistent with the needs, abilities, and interests of infants, toddlers, children, and adolescents. Given the critical importance of primary prevention, transformational change in the current system for identifying and treating youth with exercise deficits is warranted.

Does school scoliosis screening make the grade?

School nurses have provided routine health screenings of school-age children for decades. During the 1970s, recommendations for school scoliosis screening, which were based upon poor access to health care, led state boards of education to mandate that school nurses screen for scoliosis. The history of mandated scoliosis screening in U.S. schools is reviewed, and current school nurse practices for scoliosis screening are presented. Elevated referral rates for repeat scoliosis examination following school scoliosis screenings have led to questions of efficacy. Further controversy exists regarding school nurses screening for scoliosis due to a lack of evidence indicating a decreased need for scoliosis surgery. This article contains evidence-based recommendations for discontinuing school scoliosis screening to help school nurses refocus their efforts on complex health needs and preventive health issues more likely to impact the majority of their students.