Parents' Intentions to Vaccinate Their Children Against COVID-19.

INTRODUCTION: With the COVID-19 vaccine rollout is well underway now beginning in children ages 12 and over, it is unknown what percent of parents plan to vaccinate their children against COVID-19. METHOD: The purpose of this descriptive correlational study was to examine parents' attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors in administering a COVID-19 vaccine. RESULTS: Only 21.93% of the subjects reported overall VH. Half of parents (49.45%) say they want the COVID vaccine for their child, and 44.17% plan to vaccinate against COVID once the vaccine becomes available to them. Concern for vaccine side effects (61.5%) and vaccine safety (48.96%) were significant factors that increased VH. In addition, there was a significant correlation between parents who were planning to vaccinate their child against the flu and being less VH about a COVID-19 vaccine for their child. DISCUSSION: This is the first known study to describe parental perceptions' of COVID-19 VH and identify factors that increase VH for parents.

Opioid Prescribing by Nurse Practitioners in Medicare Part D: Impact of State Scope of Practice Legislation.

Many state legislatures restrict nurse practitioner (NP) scope of practice as a way of addressing patient safety concerns. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of state NP scope of practice laws on the prescription of oxycodone and hydrocodone containing medications by NP and MD/DO/PA prescribers to Medicare Part D beneficiaries. Using the Medicare Part D public use file, we analyzed oxycodone and hydrocodone containing prescriptions per Medicare Part D beneficiary by prescriber type, NP state scope of practice, and geographic variables. Our results demonstrate that the state scope of practice variable had the same effect, in identical direction and significance, on NP opioid prescribing patterns as it had on MD/DO/PA prescribers, a group to whom NP scope of practice laws do not apply. Thus, scope of practice in this study was not an exclusive predictor of NP practice and prescribing.

Nurse practitioner malpractice data: Informing nursing education.

BACKGROUND: Nurse practitioners (NPs) are often identified in medical malpractice claims. However, the use of malpractice data to inform the development of nursing curriculum is limited. The purpose of this study is to examine medical errors committed by NPs. METHODS: Using National Practitioner Data Bank public use data, years 1990 to 2014, NP malpractice claims were classified by event type, patient outcome, setting, and number of practitioners involved. RESULTS: The greatest proportion of malpractice claims involving nurse practitioners were diagnosis related (41.46%) and treatment related (30.79%). Severe patient outcomes most often occurred in the outpatient setting. Nurse practitioners were independently responsible for the event in the majority of the analyzed claims. CONCLUSION: Moving forward, nurse practitioner malpractice data should be continuously analyzed and used to inform the development of nurse practitioner education standards and graduate program curriculum to address areas of clinical weakness and improve quality of care and patient safety.