Older Oklahomans' knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors related to advance directives.

This study sought to document older Oklahomans' knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors regarding the decision to write an advance directive. In Oklahoma, 67% of individuals older than age 18 do not have an advance directive; 76% say the reason is that they "have not gotten around to it." The findings from this study also indicate that some groups in Oklahoma, because of their age and race, need nurses to initiate this conversation. The discussion about advance directives should be part of the health promotion teaching provided by nurses and presented to the general public as a normal part of health care, with the focus on planning for a comfortable and peaceful death.

Evaluating a Sexual Health Patient Education Resource.

This article shares the findings of an evaluation of a patient teaching resource for sexual health entitled Everything Nobody Tells You About Cancer Treatment and Your Sex Life: From A to Z, which was accomplished through systematic conceptualization, construction, and evaluation with women diagnosed with breast or gynecologic cancer. This resource, which has evolved from patient-focused research and has been tested in the clinical setting, can be used in patient education and support. Oncology professionals are committed to addressing quality-of-life concerns for patients across the trajectory of illness. Sexuality is a key concern for patients and impacts relationships and overall quality of life. Through careful assessment, patient education, and support, clinicians can ensure that sexuality is respected as an essential part of patient-centered care.

Quality of life in dialysis patients from the United Arab Emirates.

BACKGROUND: The quality of life (QOL) has emerged as an important parameter for evaluating the quality of health-care for patients with renal failure. The literature suggests that many factors impact QOL. The QOL of dialysis patients in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has not been studied before. This research examined the QOL of patients in the UAE on dialysis using two QOL tools. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A descriptive comparative survey design was used to study 161 dialysis patients. The participants completed the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) and the QOL index dialysis version tool. Comparative analyses of the results for both tools were done using descriptive statistics. Multiple linear regression analysis determines the effect of the variables on the QOL scores. RESULTS: The questionnaires return rate was 93%. The overall QOL for dialysis patients was rated low when self-assessed using the SF-36 (58.9) compared to QOL index (77.2). The multiple regression analysis revealed that having a chronic illness had the strongest impact on the total scores of both tools. The comparison between the statistically significant variables for both samples revealed contradictory results from the two tools used. This meant that the two tools measured QOL differently. CONCLUSION: The two QOL tools scores impacted very differently on most socio-demographic variables on the two samples. More studies are required to explore the concept of QOL in the Arab dialysis population.