A systematic review of U.S. nursing faculty's knowledge, awareness, inclusion, and perceived importance of sexual and gender minority-related content in nursing curricula.

BACKGROUND: In the US, sexual and gender minority (SGM) individuals continue to experience health inequities, and nursing curricula content and nursing faculty with SGM health expertise in the US remain limited. Addressing health disparities begins with the preparation of future nurses-US nursing faculty must be supported to meet these growing needs. PURPOSE: To describe, appraise, and synthesize research from 2000-2020 on US nursing faculty knowledge, awareness, inclusion, and perceived importance of SGM health content. METHODS: Following PRISMA 2020 guidelines, we registered a systematic review and appraisal protocol in PROSPERO, and then executed the protocol and synthesized the literature. DISCUSSION: We found an empirical evidence base surrounding US nursing faculty and SGM health much more limited than expected. Only four cross-sectional, descriptive empirical articles fit the a priori inclusion criteria. The studies were of moderate quality at best and often relied on unvalidated or older measures. In general, the studies focused on examining characteristics of nursing programs, faculty comfort with content, faculty perceptions of content importance, and hours dedicated to content. CONCLUSION: Since the close of the review, new commentaries and editorials expanding the call for change in the US were published-the time for commentary has passed. It remains unclear whether US nursing faculty are adequately prepared to educate future nurses about SGM health issues-and an unprepared healthcare workforce is yet another barrier to SGM health equity. The evidence base supporting US nursing faculty development desperately needs more studies using rigorous methodologies.

Unplanned emergency department visits and hospital admissions of older adults under treatment for cancer in the ambulatory/community setting.

PURPOSE: This study aims to identify the incidence and risk/protective factors for (1) unplanned emergency department (ED) visits and hospital admissions (HA) and (2) nausea/vomiting/dehydration (NVD) at time of treatment in older adults under treatment for cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a exploratory retrospective cohort study of adults (60 and older) with cancer. Adults were included if they had a new cancer diagnosis and were being treated with chemotherapy. Study outcomes included the number of ED visits and HA (cycles 1-4) and NVD at the time of receiving chemotherapy (cycles 2-4). Repeated measures, Poisson regression was used to obtain risk ratios with 95% confidence intervals for independent predictors of outcomes. RESULTS: Of 402 study participants, 20% experienced an ED visit, and 18% experienced a HA. Common reasons for ED visits were pain (23.5%) and NVD (20.4%). Common reasons for HA were infection (34.4%) and NVD (22.2%). Multivariate analysis showed risk factors for ED visits included chemotherapy cycle 1, having esophageal cancer, being treated with ≥ 3 chemotherapy agents, and increasing levels of functional impairment. Risk factors for HA included chemotherapy cycle 1, increasing levels of functional impairment, intravenous fluids between treatment, and being prescribed antiemetics for home use. Predictors of NVD at time of chemotherapy treatment included Hispanic ethnicity, insurance status, cancer type, chemotherapy emetic potent, treatment frequency, intravenous fluids between cycles, and number of home antiemetics. CONCLUSION: Unplanned ED visits and HA occur in older adults under treatment for cancer due to numerous treatment-related side effects. Helping older adults identify and manage side effects early may reduce the number of unplanned admissions.

Intervention Mapping Approach in the Design of an Interactive Mobile Health Application to Improve Self-care in Heart Failure.

Heart failure is a complex syndrome among older adults who may experience and interpret symptoms differently. These differences in symptom interpretation may influence decision-making in symptom management. A well-informed and motivated person may develop the knowledge and skills needed to successfully manage symptoms. Therefore, the patient-centered mobile health application HeartMapp was designed to engage patients with heart failure in self-care management by offering tailored alerts and feedback using mobile phones. The main objective of this article is to describe the six-step intervention mapping approach including (1) the initial needs assessment, (2) proximal program objective, (3) selection of theory-based methods, (4) the translation of objectives into an actual program plan for mobile health intervention, (5) adaptation and implementation plan, and (6) evaluation plan that assisted the team in the development of a conceptual framework and intervention program matrix during the development of HeartMapp. The HeartMapp intervention takes the information, motivation, and behavioral skills model as the theoretical underpinning, with "patient engagement" as the key mediator in achieving targeted and persistent self-care behavioral changes in patients with heart failure. The HeartMapp intervention is proposed to improve self-care management and long-term outcomes.

Leveraging the lived experience of surrogate decision makers of the seriously ill to develop a decision support intervention.

BACKGROUND: Surrogate decision makers of seriously ill patients are frequently asked to make healthcare decisions without evidence-based decision support. AIMS: To describe the lived experiences of surrogate decision makers who have made advance care decisions and identify relevant features of a decision support intervention from their perspectives. METHODS: A convenience sample of surrogate decision makers (n=10) of seriously ill patients discharged to an extended care facility within the past 6 months participated in focus group discussions. Data were analyzed using content analysis. RESULTS: Three salient themes were identified: (1) limited preparation, (2) decisional and emotional burden, and (3) content and features of a decision support intervention. CONCLUSIONS: Surrogate decision makers of the seriously ill are not prepared for their new role, and experience decisional and emotional burden. Effective decision support interventions must address the decisional and emotional needs of surrogate decision makers to enhance the quality of their decisions.

Zika virus: emergency and aftercare of patients.

Zika virus, a mosquito-borne vector, is an emerging population health threat, and is linked to fetal microcephaly, pregnancy loss and neurologic symptoms like Guillain-Barré syndrome. Global travel and migration increase the risk of transmission significantly, and growing numbers of cases are expected internationally. This article describes transmission of the virus, early and late clinical manifestations, and emergency and supportive care. It also recommends interventions for prevention.

Effects of snake envenomation: a guide for emergency nurses.

Only one species of venomous snake, the adder, is indigenous to the UK, but many people keep venomous snakes as pets and others travel to places, such as the United States, where a wider variety of venomous snakes can be found. Emergency nurses should therefore be prepared to treat bite wounds caused by venomous and non-venomous snakes. This article offers an overview of the most common forms of envenomation in the UK and makes recommendations for the clinical care of people who have sustained snake bites.

CREATING A SERIOUS GAME FOR HEALTH.

The prevalence of chronic illnesses continues to increase as does the cost of such care. Teaching self-management skills is more effective than solely providing information and teaching technical skills at improving health outcomes. Serious games for health provide an opportunity to support learning and health-related behavior change using messages and experiences in an engaging and entertaining format. We developed eSMART-HD with the intention of improving interactions between patients with chronic disorders and their health care providers. This paper describes the factors that we considered when creating eSMART-HD, a serious game for health.

IMPACT OF A SERIOUS GAME FOR HEALTH ON CHRONIC DISEASE SELF-MANAGEMENT: PRELIMINARY EFFICACY AMONG COMMUNITY DWELLING ADULTS WITH HYPERTENSION.

Most Americans will acquire a chronic disease during their lifetime. One of the most prevalent chronic diseases that affect Americans is hypertension (HTN). Despite the known comorbidities and increased mortality rate associated with uncontrolled HTN, most community dwelling adults with HTN do not have sufficient blood pressure control Therefore, the aim of this article is to report the preliminary efficacy of a serious game for health to enhance blood pressure control among community dwelling adults with HTN. A nonprobability sample of 116 community dwelling adults with HTN participated in this nonblinded, randomized controlled trial. Participants were randomly assigned to: (1) an intervention arm that consisted of four exposures to a serious game for health known as eSMART-HD; or (2) an attentional control arm that compromised of four exposures to screen-based HTN education. The primary outcome measure for this trial was blood pressure reduction over a four month observational period. In this study, baseline characteristics and blood pressure measurements were similar between participants in each study arm. There was no significant between-group difference in blood pressure reduction over time. However, there were significant within-group reductions in systolic and diastolic blood pressures across time among favoring participants exposed to eSMART-HD. This study establishes the preliminary efficacy of eSMART-HD that can be easily administered to community dwelling adults and facilitate clinically significant reductions in systolic and diastolic blood pressures. Future studies should assess the influential components of this promising serious game for health (eSMART-HD) combined with medication management in larger and more diverse samples of community dwelling adults with HTN.

Assessing and managing spider and scorpion envenomation.

Envenomation by spiders or scorpions is a public health problem in many parts of the world and is not isolated to the tropics and subtropics. Spiders and scorpions can be unintentionally transported globally, and keeping them as pets is becoming more popular, so envenomation can occur anywhere. Emergency nurses should be prepared to assess and treat patients who present with a bite or sting. This article gives an overview of the signs, symptoms and treatment of envenomation by species of arachnids that are clinically significant to humans.

WAIT, WON'T! WANT: BARRIERS TO HEALTH CARE AS PERCEIVED BY MEDICALLY AND SOCIALLY DISENFRANCHISED COMMUNITIES.

OBJECTIVES: We explored barriers to healthcare as perceived by members of medically and socially disenfranchised communities. METHODS: We conducted focus groups with 28 women and 32 men from Northeast Ohio who identified themselves as African-American, Hispanic/Latino, lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgendered, and/or Russian immigrant. RESULTS: Participants described their experiences of waiting, things they won't tolerate, when they won't participate, and what they want from providers. They described behaviors, actions and relationship characteristics that they want from their providers and characteristics that they prefer in health systems. CONCLUSIONS: The themes of Wait, Won't, and Want have healthcare practice and policy implications. Patient-provider interactions are known to be significant determinants of healthcare outcomes and these exploratory findings suggest that they might also affect patient self-management strategies. Future efforts should focus on developing and testing patient-centered strategies that address the themes identified to increase engagement to increase self-management of health.

Use of arterial catheters in the management of acute aortic dissection.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the use of invasive arterial blood pressure (IBP) monitoring and reaching established aggressive medical management goals in acute aortic dissection. METHODS: Data were collected through a retrospective chart review of patients diagnosed with acute aortic syndromes of the thoracic cavity who required transport to tertiary care over a 28-month period. The 2010 American Heart Association medical management goals of thoracic aortic disease were used as hemodynamic end points. RESULTS: A total of 208 patients were included, with 113 (54%) diagnosed at least in part with acute Stanford Type A aortic dissections and the remaining 95 (46%) having isolated Stanford Type B dissections. Emergency departments made up 158 (76%) of transfer departments; 129 (62%) patients had IBP catheters placed. The highest mean systolic blood pressures (SBPs) recorded were 165 mm Hg in the IBP group versus 151 mm Hg when noninvasive blood pressure (NIBP) cuffs were used (P < .01). The mean decrease in SBP during transport was 51 mm Hg in the IBP group versus 34 mm Hg in the NIBP group (P < .001). The difference between the last reported NIBP and the first IBP was noted as 19 mm Hg higher. The IBP group met the SBP goal more frequently than the NIBP group (P < .05) when the SBP was noted as greater than 140 mm Hg during transport. Bedside time increased only 6 minutes with IBP placement (P < .007). CONCLUSION: Patients with IBP catheters were noted to be more aggressively managed with antihypertensive medications, met hemodynamic goals more frequently, and had only 6 minutes longer bedside times. These findings support the placement of IBP catheters by emergency departments and critical care transport (CCT) teams in patients with acute aortic syndromes requiring interfacility transport to definitive care.

Early examination of the middle-range theory of flight nursing expertise.

Reliance on expert flight nurses to move critically ill or injured patients generates considerable need for these nurses to obtain advanced education and maintain clinical expertise. The newly proposed middle-range theory of flight nursing expertise provided an initial framework to guide education and training in this rapidly changing specialty, but the framework had yet to be compared to the actual experiences of flight nurses in research. A cooperative inquiry approach was used to guide an investigation into the validity of the theory. The study consisted of two cycles of inquiry. In the first cycle, post-flight questionnaires were administered after patient missions to assess the presence or absence of each concept described in the theory. In the second cycle, individual interviews were used to further explore the flight nurses' decision-making during patient transport missions. Data collected from flight nurses about their decision-making on patient transport missions supported the presence of all the concepts in the newly proposed theory. Another concept, partner cuing, emerged as a concept to be added to the theory, while the concept decision-making, was revised to expanded decision-making. The importance of partner cuing was confirmed by flight nurses as reflecting their expanded decision-making during patient missions.

Effects of an eHealth Intervention on Patient-Provider Interaction and Functional Health Literacy in Adults With Hypertension.

INTRODUCTION: Hypertension is a life-limiting, chronic condition affecting millions of Americans. Modifiable factors, quality of the patient-provider interaction and functional health literacy, have been linked to effective hypertension self-management. However, there has been limited interventional research targeting these modifiable factors. Electronic hypertension self-management interventions, in particular those incorporating virtual simulation, may positively influence the quality of the patient-provider interaction and functional health literacy status of adults with hypertension. Yet there is a dearth of evidence examining the efficacy of eHealth interventions targeting these modifiable factors of hypertension self-management. OBJECTIVE: Evaluate the effects of two electronic hypertension self-management interventions on the quality of the patient-provider interaction and functional health literacy in adults with hypertension. METHODS: A convenience sample of community-dwelling adults (>18 years) with hypertension were recruited and randomized to an avatar-based simulation (eSMART-HTN) or a video presentation on hypertension self-management (attention control). Participants were administered questionnaires to capture demographic characteristics, the quality of the patient-provider interaction, and functional health literacy. Questionnaire data were collected at baseline, and then monthly across three months. Two separate repeated measures analysis of covariance models were conducted to assess the effects of the interventions across the time points. RESULTS: The sample included 109 participants who were predominately middle-aged and older, nonwhite, and female. Scores for the quality of the patient-provider interaction demonstrated significant within-group changes across time. However, there were no significant differences in the quality of the patient-provider interaction or functional health literacy scores between experimental conditions while adjusting for covariates. CONCLUSION: An avatar-based simulation (eSMART-HTN) intervention proved to have a positive effect on patient-provider interaction compared to an attention control condition. Although the results are promising, future research is needed to optimize the effectiveness of eSMART-HTN and enhance its efficacy and scalability in a larger cohort of adults with hypertension.

Conflicts Within the Discipline of Nursing: Is There a Looming Paradigm War?

This paper presents a view of the current sources of potential conflicts in the academic discipline of nursing. It suggests that these conflicts could lead, in the Kuhnian sense, to a paradigm war. The differing paradigms underlying the education and traditions of the PhD prepared nurse scientist/researcher/scholar and the DNP prepared nurse practitioner are a challenge for the discipline. DNP programs are swelling and faculty are needed to teach in these programs, and their position with regard to the usual rank and tenure structures of academe are not yet clear. Concern arises when the tenured PhD nurse scientist faculty numbers drop as the DNP faculty numbers increase. The body of nursing science is threatened as fewer students enter PhD programs and faculty retire. The DNP faculty paradigm does not provide for the rigor and preparation need to carry forward the disciplinary scientific knowledge mission. Rather than a fruitless war between the two paradigms, ways are suggested to fully embrace the differences as important to nursing, and to increase the number of PhD prepared nurse scientists.

Using Serious Games to Increase Prevention and Self-Management of Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea and Vomiting in Older Adults With Cancer.

OBJECTIVES: To examine the frequency and types of preventive and self-management behaviors reported by participants, as well as report acceptability and usability data for the electronic Symptom Self-Management Training-Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea and Vomiting (CINV) serious game. SAMPLE & SETTING: 80 adults who were aged 60 years or older and newly diagnosed with cancer were recruited from a community cancer center. METHODS & VARIABLES: Participants were randomized to an intervention or control group. A symptom management checklist was used to record preventive and self-management behaviors used after each chemotherapy treatment at home. Acceptability and usability were assessed using a brief survey. RESULTS: The intervention group reported using more preventive behaviors, and the control group reported using more self-management behaviors. Antiemetics were the most common strategy used, followed by dietary strategies. Participants rated all aspects of the serious game highly for usability and acceptability. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING: Oncology providers can help older adults plan for self-managing treatment-related side effects at home. Recording self-management behaviors may reinforce the importance of active prevention and management of CINV.

Psychometric evaluation of the Chinese version of the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire.

BACKGROUND: Health-related quality of life has emerged as an important outcome in treating and managing patients with heart failure (HF). However, there is no existing instrument for use in Chinese populations. OBJECTIVES: To translate the Minnesota Living With Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLHFQ) into a Chinese version and to validate it in the clinical setting. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study. A convenience sample of 247 participants with New York Heart Association Class II to III chronic HF were recruited from a cardiovascular outpatient department in Taiwan. RESULTS: The content validity index was 0.98. Construct validity was supported by exploratory factor analysis, which showed three factors with 20 of 21 items loading above .50, explaining 71% of the variance. Total scale and subscale scores were correlated highly with the reference instruments, indicating satisfactory concurrent and convergent validity. The mean scores of the Chinese version of the MLHFQ were significantly higher among participants with HF than those from a non-HF comparison group. The instrument demonstrated high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha of .95 for the scale and .93 to .95 for the subscales). CONCLUSION: The psychometric properties indicate that the Chinese version of the MLHFQ is a valid and reliable instrument for future research. This instrument provides a holistic approach for measuring health-related quality of life in New York Heart Association Class II and III HF patients.

Construct Validity and Reliability of the Questionnaire on the Quality of Physician-Patient Interaction in Adults With Hypertension.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: There are limited reliable and valid measures of the patient- provider interaction among adults with hypertension. Therefore, the purpose of this report is to describe the construct validity and reliability of the Questionnaire on the Quality of Physician-Patient Interaction (QQPPI), in community-dwelling adults with hypertension. METHODS: A convenience sample of 109 participants with hypertension was recruited and administered the QQPPI at baseline and 8 weeks later. RESULTS: The exploratory factor analysis established a 12-item, 2-factor structure for the QQPPI was valid in this sample. The modified QQPPI proved to have sufficient internal consistency and test- retest reliability. CONCLUSIONS: The modified QQPPI is a valid and reliable measure of the provider-patient interaction, a construct posited to impact self-management, in adults with hypertension.