Evaluation of a Human Trafficking Educational Intervention for Nursing Professionals.

BACKGROUND: Human trafficking (HT) is a serious public health issue. Survivors of HT seek medical care. Health care professionals may be inadequately trained to identify and support survivors. This study evaluated improvements in nurses' knowledge after a professional development workshop on HT. METHOD: Pre- and postevaluation surveys assessed nurses' self-reported changes in perceived knowledge of HT and its vulnerability factors, the health impact of HT, strategies for identification and assessment of HT, and response to and follow-up of HT. RESULTS: After the workshop, participants showed significant improvement in perceived knowledge of all measures, regardless of hours of previous training and years of practice. CONCLUSION: Perceived knowledge of HT identification and response can be improved through training of nurses, regardless of hours of previous training and years of practice. [J Contin Educ Nurs. 2024;55(1):26-32.].

Asset-based Community "Response": A Model Promoting Effective Student- Community Engagement in Disaster Scenarios.

BACKGROUND: In response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, medical students organized grass-roots volunteer initiatives to address community-level needs. These required community partnerships and extra-institutional resources to effectively operate. Due to curricular constraints, these efforts often lacked familiarity and working knowledge of existing university infrastructure on how to engage with established community partnerships and resources. OBJECTIVES: The authors call for institutions to capitalize upon the response experience gained by medical students during the pandemic. This includes 1) formally integrating the infrastructure and community relationships established by student COVID-19 volunteer initiatives into existing university community-engagement systems, and 2) incorporating asset-based community development (ABCD) into medical student curricula as a framework for community engagement and disaster response. METHODS: A case study from the University of Nebraska Medical Center presents student COVID-19 response initiatives, their outcomes, and how their approach emulated the ABCD model. The ABCD model asserts that communities should use asset mapping to identify the skills and resources of community members, rather than using deficiency-oriented approaches. Further, the case study demonstrates how the use of an established ABCD model could have contributed to a more effective and efficient COVID-19 student response. CONCLUSIONS: Experiences at University of Nebraska Medical Center support the value of using a modified ABCD model to facilitate community relationships related to rapid health response. Formal integration of the ABCD model within a university's centralized office of community engagement will increase access and foster town-gown reciprocal relationships, empowering students, academic health centers, and surrounding communities in times of crisis and calm.

Building structural competency through community engagement.

CONTEXT: The importance of addressing the social determinants of health (SDOH) in medical education has been ubiquitously recognised. However, current pedagogical approaches are often limited by inadequate or ahistorical exploration of the fundamental causes of health inequity. Community-engaged pedagogy and structural competency frameworks advocate for progressing from passive SDOH education to directly discussing systemic aetiologies of health inequity through reciprocal partnership with marginalised communities. Herein, we describe the development and exploratory evaluation of a community-engaged structural competency curriculum implemented in 2019 at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Our curriculum explored the downstream impacts of sociopolitical structures on local health inequities. We engaged university, health system and community stakeholders throughout curriculum development, implementation and evaluation. Curricular components included didactic lectures, reflective writing assignments and a community-based, stakeholder-led experience in North Omaha. METHODS: We used inductive thematic analysis to explore free-text responses to a post-curriculum survey. RESULTS: Eighteen community stakeholders, eleven multidisciplinary UNMC facilitators, and all 132 first-year medical students were involved in the curriculum pilot, with 93% and 55.1% of students and faculty/community facilitators, respectively, responding to the post-session evaluation. Analysis revealed themes including widespread desire for community-engaged teaching, appreciation for the hyperlocal focus of curricular content and recognition of the importance of creating space for lived experiences of community members. DISCUSSION: Co-created by a university-community coalition, our pilot findings highlight the crucial role of community-engaged pedagogy in promoting critical understanding of historic structural inequities and present-day health disparities. Our communities can and should be reciprocal partners in training the physicians of tomorrow.

Examining the Impact of Board-Certified Registered Nurses in Skilled Nursing Facilities Using National and State Quality and Clinical Indicators.

A convenience sample of skilled nursing facilities was selected from a sample of graduates of an online training program for RNs who subsequently achieved board certification in gerontological nursing (RN-BC). Facilities that employed one or more RN-BC were pair-matched using 11 organizational characteristics with facilities that did not employ a RN-BC. Facility data were collected at two time points, and differences between time points and between facility type (RN-BC versus non-RN-BC) were analyzed. Findings showed that there were no statistically significant differences between RN-BC and non-RN-BC facilities with respect to quality ratings and nurse sensitive clinical indicators (e.g., restraint use, urinary tract infections, falls, antipsychotic medication use) between the two time periods; however, in the second time period, RN-BC facilities showed greater improvement versus non-RN-BC facilities in seven of nine outcomes, achieving significance in Overall (4.10 vs. 3.55, p < 0.01) and Survey (3.48 vs. 2.86, p < 0.01) 5-Star ratings. [Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 45(11), 39-45.].

A Scoping Review of Transitions, Stress, and Adaptation Among Emerging Adults.

This scoping review examined research on transitions among emerging adults, 18- to 30-year-olds, to identify designs, populations, frameworks, transition types, and transition outcomes. A librarian conducted the search, yielding 2067 articles. Using predefined criteria, teams screened abstracts and reviewed articles, with 82% to 100% interrater agreement. Data from the final 160 articles were placed in evidence tables and summarized. Most frequently, the studies had exploratory-descriptive designs (69%), nondiagnosed samples (58%), no theoretical frameworks (58%), developmental transitions (34%), and health-related behavior outcomes (34%). This transition research is in an early stage of knowledge development and would benefit from further theory development.

Virtual Mentorship Network to Address the Rural Shortage of Mental Health Providers.

INTRODUCTION: The process of identifying effective responses to the challenges of placing and retaining a rural behavioral health workforce remains elusive. The Virtual Mentorship Network was developed to test the feasibility of using distance technology to connect rural students interested in mental health careers with mentors. METHODS: In Year 1, college and high school students were virtually mentored using a near-peer approach both live and asynchronously as a cohort over 7 months. In Year 2, college students only were virtually intensely mentored live over 1 month. High school students were asynchronously provided with informational videos produced by mentors. Program benefits were measured using the Mentoring Functions Questionnaire, and an activity satisfaction survey captured student response to the content and delivery methods. Retrospective analysis of Years 1 and 2 mentoring and satisfaction variables mean differences was performed and overall feasibility assessed. RESULTS: Mentoring Functions Questionnaire scores, overall interaction, and reported satisfaction significantly improved in Year 2 over Year 1. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that distance mentoring is a feasible option, but that the near-peer benefits of virtually mentoring high school and college students together are overshadowed by different mentoring needs expressed for each group. High school students expressed needs for basic information about career possibilities, whereas college student needs are specific to achieving career goals. Shorter mentoring sessions may be more sustainable long-term and focus limited mentoring resources. This project may serve as a professional pipeline model for others who face a critical shortage of mental health providers. SUPPLEMENT INFORMATION: This article is part of a supplement entitled The Behavioral Health Workforce: Planning, Practice, and Preparation, which is sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the Health Resources and Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Establishing a learning repository to facilitate collaboration and communication of academic work among nursing faculty.

There is an increasing need for collaboration and communication among nurse educators to advance the quality of nursing education and show excellence in curriculum development, content delivery, leadership, and scholarship roles. In this article, the establishment of a learning repository, its unique functionalities, procurement of faculty, and future advancements are described in detail. Our approach is based on evidence-based research, instructional design, and emerging technologies to address the gaps and problems faced by nurse educators.

Policy considerations for improving influenza vaccination rates among pregnant women.

BACKGROUND: Influenza exposure during pregnancy can cause severe health problems for both the mother and her offspring, including an increased risk of mortality. Influenza vaccination during all trimesters of pregnancy is safe and effective, and recommended by professional organizations such as the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Despite these recommendations, the U.S. vaccination rates remain low in this high-risk population. METHOD: A policy analysis based on the five-part method identified by Teitelbaum and Wilensky () addresses factors to consider in identifying the best voluntary policy options to improve the vaccination rates. The authors provide discussion of the background, landscape, and stakeholder interests and the pros and cons of two voluntary policy options to increase vaccination. The policy options include: (a) financial incentives for providers and (b) an education emphasis for providers and staff. CONCLUSIONS: The authors conclude that based on considerations of cost, provider preference, and practicality of implementation, a continuing educational intervention is the preferred policy venue to increase vaccination rates.

An integrative model of adolescent health risk behavior.

Nursing research in adolescent health risk behavior is lacking because there are few comprehensive nursing models to guide it. Nurses need to understand what influences adolescents to engage in health risk behavior or to refrain from it. The Integrative Model of Adolescent Health Risk Behavior was developed to guide adolescent nursing research using existing theoretical and empirical data. Components include protective/escalatory factors, risk stimulus, maturity of judgment (as a meditational influence), and the risk decision (dichotomized into risk avoidance and taking). The model will facilitate development of nursing interventions to increase health protection by discouraging adolescents from making unhealthy choices.

A policy analysis of federal registered nurses safe staffing legislation.

Public and professional concerns over the registered nurse shortage and its effect on quality of care have led to 18 state and 2 federal initiatives to ensure safe hospital nurse staffing. Policy analysis of registered nurses safe staffing legislation introduced by the Congress suggests that its implementation is not likely to achieve all of its stated goals. An alternative policy approach is introduced.