Beyond Biometrics: Including Mental Health Screenings in Annual Wellness Programs.

Mental health is an important component of overall wellness and is a growing concern in occupational settings. Approximately one half of Americans will experience a mental health disorder at some time in their life. The current descriptive correlational study used a convenience sample of manufacturing employees (N = 236) to examine the association of mental and physical health risks collected during an annual wellness program. A researcher-developed questionnaire was used to holistically screen for health risks. Pearson's r and chi-square tests were performed to determine the relationship among variables. Younger workers and individuals with higher body mass index had increased anxiety and depression scores (p = 0.005). Results suggest younger workers may have increased risk for mental health and biometabolic disorders. Due to the connections between mental and physical health, screening for anxiety and depression should be included in annual worker wellness programs to potentially improve overall health and wellness outcomes. [Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 59(10), 19-25.].

Creating a Safe Space for Nursing Students' Spiritual Reflection.

In an effort to improve students' comfort level and confidence with spiritual care, nursing faculty initiated a classroom activity to encourage students to think about and reflect upon 10 questions. Students responded by answering whether they had ever thought about the question being asked, then writing a short narrative response. Topics included issues about life, death, afterlife, spiritual well-being, truth, and God. Although 88.8% of participants (n = 107) considered themselves to be religious or spiritual, results revealed many had never thought about the questions being asked. Based on these findings, nurse educators should consider including a similar classroom reflection exercise to better prepare students for providing spiritual care prior to beginning clinical rotations.

A Survey of School Nurses' Perceptions of Complementary, Alternative, and Integrative Therapies.

Complementary, alternative, and integrative therapies (CAIs) involve the use of practices outside of mainstream, conventional medicine. Few studies have been conducted on nurses' perception and knowledge of CAI therapies. There is limited information on the protocols school nurses must follow in their practice on CAI use. The purpose of this study is to assess school nurses' perception and knowledge of CAI therapies. A cross-sectional, nonexperimental survey study design was used, and participants were sampled with a cross-sectional convenience method. Members of four state School Nurses Associations were invited to participate in the study. Of the 290 participants, 100% of certified school nurses and 63% of non-certified school nurses believed CAI therapies have a place in their current practice (χ2 = 1.83, df = 1, p < .05). The study found that school nurses believe CAI therapies have a role in the school setting; however, the participants were not comfortable with assessing and administering these therapies.

A descriptive study of bathing practices in acute care facilities in the United States.

BACKGROUND: Patient bathing basins are a potential source of health care-acquired infections. This descriptive study was designed to describe current patient bathing procedures and the cleaning and storage of disposable bath basins after use. METHODS: After instrument validation, a 20-item questionnaire designed by the researchers was delivered electronically to infection prevention professionals working in acute care facilities in the United States. Descriptive statistics including frequencies and percentages were used to analyze the data. RESULTS: A total of 344 participants completed the survey. Of those responding, most were employed in facilities with ≤300 beds and accredited by the Joint Commission. Many of the facility staff assisting patients with bathing were nursing aides. Participants reported varying bathing procedures in their facilities. CONCLUSIONS: A collaborative approach is needed to ensure standard and efficient procedures that focus on quality, safety, and patient satisfaction. A mechanism to continually evaluate patient bathing practices should also be developed to address evolving changes in the health care system.

The "Total Worker Health" Concept: A Case Study in a Rural Workplace.

OBJECTIVE: This case study was conducted to identify barriers of integration of health protection and health promotion in rural workplaces with tailored interventions that address the identified barriers. METHODS: Data on a workplace's ability to integrate wellness programs and health protection programs were collected through a questionnaire along with a seven-question interview. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the quantitative data. Qualitative measures were assessed using thematic analysis. Based off the results of the assessments, the company received tailored training sessions. RESULTS: The largest hindrance to organizational support was time. However, improved knowledge about the need and importance of integration helped the participants to conceptualize and plan for more collaboration between departments. CONCLUSIONS: New ways to increase integration at workplaces, especially rural workplaces are needed. More comprehensive interventions that include management are also needed.

Variability between self-reported diabetes and measured glucose among health screening participants in South Central Kentucky.

AIMS: To assess self-reported diabetes and random glucose among health screening participants and examine factors associated with these two diabetes outcomes. METHODS: Study subjects were adults aged ≥18 years who participated in diabetes screenings via a mobile health clinic operated by the Institute for Rural Health at Western Kentucky University from 2006 to 2011. Data on self-reported diabetes were based on physicians' past diagnosis. Random plasma glucose was obtained during the screenings. Non-fasting plasma glucose levels of ≥180mg/dl and ≥140mg/dl were used as cutoffs to determine diabetes and diabetes or pre-diabetes, respectively. Logistic regression was used to examine factors associated with self-reported diabetes and elevated non-fasting glucose levels controlling for comorbidities and sociodemographic factors. RESULTS: The proportion of self-reported diabetes was 9.6%. The proportion of participants with ≥180mg/dl was 3.2% and that with ≥140mg/dl was 7.4%. Odds ratios indicated that self-reported diabetes was higher in older and obese groups and those who had hypertension and hypercholesterolemia and family history of diabetes, while elevated non-fasting glucose levels were higher among participants without health insurance and those who reported they had diabetes. CONCLUSIONS: Variability in risks between self-reported diabetes and measured glucose should be incorporated in diabetes self-care.

Twins born over weekends: are they at risk for elevated infant mortality?

OBJECTIVE: To assess the impact of the day of birth on twin mortality in a population sample. METHODS: We analyzed weekend versus weekday twin births from the United States national twin birth data for the periods 1989-2002. We computed adjusted hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) to assess the association between infant mortality and weekday of birth using the Cox proportional hazards model. RESULTS: The crude rates for all types of mortality were found to be significantly higher for twins born on weekends than on weekdays. After adjustment, only post-neonatal mortality risk was higher on weekends as compared to weekdays [Hazards ratio (HR)=1.19, CI: 1.04, 1.36]. Twins of white mothers were at greater risk for neonatal death (HR=1.16, CI: 1.08, 1.24) but were less likely to experience post-neonatal death (HR=0.68, CI: 0.64, 0.76) as compared to twins of black mothers. We found an interaction between maternal age and weekday of birth. Twins born on weekends to teenage mothers (age<18) had a 35% greater risk for neonatal death (HR=1.35, CI: 1.06, 1.71) while those born on weekends to older mothers did not show elevated risk for any of the mortality indices. CONCLUSION: Increased risks for post-neonatal death are significantly higher amongst twins born on weekends as compared to weekdays. Further research is required to identify the detailed differences in structure and procedures that result in the disadvantage associated with weekend birth.

Primary grade teachers' perceptions and practices regarding pedestrian safety education.

BACKGROUND: Pedestrian injury is the third leading cause of unintentional injury and death among children 1-14 years old. The purpose of this study was to examine primary grade teachers' perceived role in pedestrian safety education. METHODS: A total of 630 surveys were sent to a national random sample of primary school teachers and 54% responded. RESULTS: The results of the study found that 85% of primary grade teachers believed it was extremely important or important to teach pedestrian safety. Forty percent of the teachers identified that they had been teaching pedestrian safety for more than 1 year (maintenance stage), whereas 1 in 3 teachers had never thought about (precontemplation stage) teaching pedestrian safety to their students. Eighty-eight percent of primary grade teachers were very confident about teaching students how to safely cross the street, where to safely cross the street (87%), when to safely cross the street (86%), and how to safely walk along streets with sidewalks (83%). An examination of how pedestrian safety information was presented found that a plurality (39%) of the teachers who taught pedestrian safety presented information through classroom discussion. Also, 46% of the teachers who taught pedestrian safety identified the following as the most common curriculum content: when to safely cross the street (46%), how to safely cross the street (45%), and where to safely cross the street (43%). CONCLUSIONS: Only 16% of primary school teachers reported pedestrian safety education was required for their grade levels. Yet, pedestrian safety education decreases pedestrian-related deaths. Therefore, it is important for schools and primary grade teachers to expose their students to this essential topic.

Elementary school nurses' perceptions of student bullying.

The aim of this study was to assess elementary school nurses' perceptions of student bullying, actions when they encounter bullies or victims, and perceived level of preparation for dealing with this problem. School nurses identified the most common barriers to dealing with bullying, which included bullying taking place where the nurse is not supervising (49%), someone else in the school being more qualified to address bullying (41%), not having enough time (26%), and not being prepared to handle the problem (25%). Only 14% stated that there were no barriers to dealing with student bullying. School nurses believed that the most effective means to reduce school bullying were consistent discipline and improved supervision. However, these perceptions are not in line with current research, which indicates that the most effective method to reduce bullying is to create a whole-school atmosphere to prevent the problem from occurring.