Educating and Empowering Inner-City High School Students in Bleeding Control.

INTRODUCTION: Unintentional bleeding is the leading cause of death in people 1-44 years of age in the United States. The Stop the Bleed (STB) campaign is a nationwide course that teaches the public to ensure their own safety, call 911, find the bleeding injury, and achieve temporary hemorrhage control by several techniques. Although the national campaign for the training course was inspired by active shooter events, the training can be applied to motor vehicle accidents and small-scale penetrating and gunshot wounds. Extending the audience to inner-city high school students in a violence-prone neighborhood has the potential to save lives if they are first on the scene. OBJECTIVES: We hypothesized that students would have a greater degree of comfort, willingness, and preparedness to intervene in acute bleeding after taking the course. METHODS: This was a prospective, interventional pilot study in one inner-city high school in Brooklyn, New York. Students were given the option to participate in the STB course with pre- and post-surveys. We recruited 286 students from physical education or health education class to take a 50-minute bleeding control training course. Mean age was 15.7 years old. Students were divided into groups of 20-25 and taught by 2-3 emergency medicine, pediatric, or trauma surgery STB instructors. Each course included 2-3 skills stations for placing a tourniquet, wound packing, and pressure control. RESULTS: Prior to the course, only 43.8% of the students reported being somewhat likely or very likely to help an injured person who was bleeding. After the course, this increased to 80.8% of students even if no bleeding control kit was available. Additionally, there were significant improvements in self-rated comfort level from pre- to post-course 45.4% to 76.5%, and in self-rated preparedness from 25.1% to 83.8%. All three measures showed statistically significant improvement, P <.0001. CONCLUSION: Teaching the STB course to high school students from a community with high levels of violence resulted in increased comfort level, willingness, and preparedness to act to control bleeding. If these opinions translate into action, students' willingness to act could decrease pre-hospital blood loss and empower youth to perform life-saving interventions.

No Rush to Motherhood: The Lived Experience of African American Never Pregnant Sexually Active Female Teens.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of the lived experiences of underserved minority sexually active teenaged girls' successful avoidance of unwanted pregnancy. DESIGN AND METHOD: Merleau-Ponty's methodology and van Manen's method of doing phenomenological research guided and facilitated the process of the study. 7 participants were eligible and all of them were interviewed for this study. RESULTS: Six main themes were identified: sense of emotional safety; sense of being free from a potential pregnancy; feeling supported by family and friends; connections built on trust and communication; regard for self through self-esteem and self-confidence; and sense of having life goals. CONCLUSION: The interpretive statement of 'these teen-agers experienced a sense of emotional safety, support by family and friends, trust and connection with family, friends and healthcare providers, and self-confidence resulting in the opportunity to develop life goals and feel strongly motivated to be free from pregnancy' was developed after further reflection upon the study themes. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Healthcare providers, primarily nurses, can use the findings of this study to improve their interactions with sexually active never pregnant female teens.

A concept analysis of self-efficacy and adolescent sexual risk-taking behavior.

TOPIC: Concept Analysis: Self-efficacy and Sexual Risk-Taking Behaviors of Adolescents PURPOSE: This paper provides an in-depth analysis of the concept of self-efficacy and adolescent sexual risk-taking behaviors CONCLUSIONS: Using the Walker and Avant framework of concept analysis, the concept of self-efficacy has shown to be an important part in changing unhealthy behaviors. It has also shown that the concept of self-efficacy can be pivotal in health promotion activities of adolescents in a variety of settings, especially as it relates to adolescent sexual risk-taking behaviors. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: The concept of self-efficacy as it relates to adolescent sexual risk-taking behaviors has clear nursing implications and usage among the adolescent population. Self-efficacy is a key concept to be used in health promotion. Health promotion activities are pivotal in the prevention of sexually transmitted infections in the adolescent population. Knowledge of the self-efficacy level of the adolescent patient can give the nurse greater insight in the meaning of the patient's response in a given situation. This also helps the nurse identify which adolescents would benefit from early intervention with regard to sexual health.

Sexually transmitted disease in a female young adult.

PURPOSE: This case study demonstrates the sexual health challenges experienced by a woman newly married and recently migrated to the United States. DATA SOURCES: Data were obtained through the author's clinical experiences in primary healthcare nursing and published sources. DATA SYNTHESIS: The nursing diagnoses, nursing interventions, and patient outcomes for this woman were identified using the classifications of NANDA-International, the Nursing Interventions Classification, and the Nursing Outcomes Classification. CONCLUSION: This case study demonstrates the appropriate nursing diagnoses, interventions, and outcomes that are relevant for an individual with a sexually transmitted infection. It provides a framework for nurse practitioners in primary health care when caring for individuals with sexually transmitted infections. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE: Based on the NANDA-International standardized nursing diagnoses, the Nursing Interventions Classification, and the Nursing Outcomes Classification provided the needed structure to improve the care of a woman with issues involving sexual health.