Predictors of Burden and Resilience in Family Caregivers of Individuals With Opioid Use Disorder.

BACKGROUND: Family caregivers are an essential resource for individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD). Overburdened caregivers often experience detrimental effects to their emotional and physical well-being. METHOD: A cross-sectional, nonexperimental, correlational study was used to identify correlates and predictors of burden and resilience in caregivers of care recipients with OUD. Pearson product-moment correlation and multiple regression analysis were used to explore the relationships between caregiver characteristics, care recipient characteristics, the caregiver-care-recipient dyad characteristics, and burden and resilience among caregivers of individuals with OUD and to determine the best predictive model. Participants ( N = 152) completed the study using an online electronic survey. RESULTS: The standardized regression coefficients indicated that supervision of care recipient behavioral problems (ß = .29), dyadic interaction (ß = .29), caregiver stress (ß = .28), and care recipient opioid use (ß = .12) were the strongest predictors of caregiver burden, whereas caregiver mental health (ß = -.31) and physical health (ß = .30) were the strongest predictors of caregiver resilience. CONCLUSIONS: Caregiver and care recipient characteristics, and their dyadic interaction, directly influence the degree of burden and resilience reported by family caregivers. Caregivers experiencing increased stress who are tasked with supervising problematic care recipient behaviors are more likely to experience higher levels of burden. In contrast, caregivers with good physical and mental health and adequate resources showed higher levels of resilience.

Nursing student perceptions of required online educational programs utilized outside the classroom.

BACKGROUND: The use of online educational programs (OEPs) such as ATI™, Kaplan™, and Course Point™, to facilitate learning is generally thought to be an innovative and complementary approach to supplement learning across many nursing programs. The rapid transition to an online learning environment, dominated by Zoom, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic has further increased faculty and student reliance on OEPs both in and out of the classroom. The aim of this study is to examine student perceptions of faculty assigned OEPs utilized outside the classroom. METHOD: Cross-sectional, correlational survey design was used to explore the relationships between student perceptions and the use of OEPs among nursing students enrolled in a traditional baccalaureate nursing program. RESULTS: Nursing students (n = 221) spent an average of 7.85 h on OEPs and an additional 6.4 h on the Zoom platform. Sophomore students spent significantly more hours engaging in the OEPs (F(3,191) = 10.09, p = .00) and Zoom (F(3,193) = 8.89, p = .00) than the other academic levels. On average, sophomores spent a total of 20 h per week engaging in OEPs (M = 10.9, SD = 11.5) and Zoom (M = 9.18, SD = 4.3). Freshmen students had a significantly more favorable view of OEPs than senior students did (p = .02). Qualitative data analysis from open ended responses revealed four themes: Too many programs, Cost, Technological challenges, and Benefits. CONCLUSIONS: The cost, ease of use, and the number of OEPs assigned influence student perception of OEP. Faculty should be mindful of student burden related to number of OEPs assigned, time required to complete the OEPs, and cost. Furthermore, faculty should consider collaborating with other faculty to streamline the use of OEPs, enhance relevancy, and eliminate redundancy.

A Community Hospital's Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The novel coronavirus 2019-nCoV (COVID-19) has disrupted and altered the way health care is delivered in the United States and across the world. Patient care guidelines and isolation recommendations continue to hastily change, demonstrating the key role of nursing professional development practitioners in educating and preparing frontline staff to provide safe patient care during the COVID-19 pandemic. This article describes a community hospital's strategic educational response to a highly contagious respiratory pandemic. Initiatives to increase staff education and conserve personal protective equipment are discussed.

An Integrative Review of Measuring Caregiver Burden in Substance Use Disorder.

BACKGROUND: Family caregivers contribute to engagement in treatment and adherence, reduced substance misuse and relapse, and increased well-being of recipients with substance use disorder. However, providing care has also been associated with negative emotional and physical health outcomes for caregivers. The purpose of this integrative review was to determine what instruments are used to measure caregiver burden in informal caregivers of individuals with substance use disorder. METHODS: An integrative review framework was applied to examine empirical and theoretical literature to answer the guiding research question, "How is caregiver burden measured in caregivers of individuals with substance use disorder?" PubMed, CINAHL, and APA PsychINFO were searched using a combination of search terms. The initial 1,198 articles were narrowed to 32 that fit the search criteria and purpose of the review. RESULTS: A variety of scales have been used to measure caregiver burden. Caregiver burden is operationalized as objective or subjective burden. Objective burden refers to changes in the home, finances, employment, social life, and leisure, whereas subjective burden refers to the emotional reaction of the caregiver in coping with providing care. Caregiver burden was most often reported as moderate to severe in populations with substance use disorder. Attributes measured included anxiety, depression, stress, worry, displeasure, care recipient behavioral problems and substance abuse, stigma, relationship strain, financial expenses, social support, family disruption, and the effect on caregiver physical and emotional health. CONCLUSIONS: Specific instruments that can accurately evaluate objective and subjective caregiver burden are needed to measure the quality of caregiver health. More research is necessary to better understand the physical and emotional health of caregivers of persons with substance use disorder and the factors that contribute to increased quality of life. Understanding the relationship between outcomes and protective factors could help nurses to develop prevention strategies and treatment interventions aimed at decreasing the psychosocial trauma and stress associated with caregiver burden.