Hispanic nursing students’ journey to success: a meta-synthesis

With the Hispanic population considered the largest and fastest growing minority population, Hispanic health care needs will continue to place significant demands on our current system. Increasing the number of Hispanic nurses has become a priority. However, Latinos continue to account for only a small percentage of those enrolled in nursing programs. High attrition rates also negatively affect the number of Hispanic graduates. A more in-depth investigation of this complex issue may lead to increased awareness and understanding of the obstacles. This meta-synthesis aims to identify facilitators and barriers for Hispanic nursing students along their journey to success

Listening to the narratives of our patients as part of holistic nursing care

Nurses in all settings interact with individuals often identified as vulnerable or marginalized, and at times are frustrated by their own inability to “make a difference.” By allowing oneself to listen, a fuller appreciation of the individual circumstance, or that which is unwritten, can be appreciated. Storytelling is a way to set the stage for experiences to be shared and can provide insight into lives. The narratives told by patients are often complex, affected by various influences of the environment, and personal, which in combination with nursing informs their individual healing journeys. Using a philosophy of nursing that encompasses all of the distinct influences on these narratives can allow nurses to more holistically care and advocate for their patients. As this case study shows, nursing plays a significant role in the narratives of others. Although many vulnerable populations live in a perpetual cycle of poverty and poor health, some nurses are able to assess the intricacies of a situation and facilitate understanding, as part of their support, caring, and advocacy for their patients

Community based health education to decrease pediatric obesity

Background: Pediatric obesity is a significant health problem affecting 41 million children under the age of five in the United States, with African-American and Latino children being disproportionately affected. Obesity often leads to chronic disease and has contributed to escalating healthcare expenses in the United States. Early interventions targeted at parents are a piece of the solution to this complex problem. Methods: This pilot study evaluated the impact of a community-based nutrition education program ( My Plate for My Family, developed by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) on parents\u27 (N=16) self-efficacy to make healthy choices for their families. An urban preschool in Southwest CT was used as the community partner. Results: Although there was no statistical difference in the pre and post-test scores, items specific to drinks, fruits and protein, as well as cost, demonstrated small increases in parental self-efficacy. Conclusions: With the emphasis being placed on including children in the learning process to create healthy lifestyles, implementing community-based health education programs for parents at the child\u27s school seems ideal. Future recommendations would include suggesting health care practitioners consider the advantages of working together with early childhood education centers as strategic partners in the fight against pediatric obesity

Improving self-efficacy for Latinos through goal setting at a community health center

Chronic disease continues to cost the United States billions of dollars a year, with Latinos being disproportionately affected because of various obstacles and issues. Efforts focused on interventions to assist patients to self-manage are integral to decrease these health disparities. Goal setting implemented by staff nurses during routine primary care visits was used to investigate whether self-efficacy and selfrated health scores would improve among Spanish-speaking participants ( = 184). Although not statistically significant, the intervention group did experience a greater increase in mean self-efficacy scores than the usual care group. Self-efficacy is an important factor in any health promotion activity geared toward behavior change. Providing patients with goal-setting experience will assist them in gaining mastery experience, which is an essential way to improve self-efficacy. Future research should include ongoing training of the nurses during the implementation and evaluation of instrumentation used specific to Latino populations

Shifting Our Focus to Support the Educational Journey of Underrepresented Students

Background: The racial and ethnic distribution of RNs has been unable to keep pace with the growth seen in minority populations. Although nursing schools have recognized the need to increase the number of underrepresented students entering the profession, significant challenges with retention and graduation exist. Guided by Tinto\u27s student integrative model, this study not only sought to understand why students leave, but also to identify what helps them persist. Method: A phenomenological approach was used to understand the lived experience of 10 Hispanic nursing students at a Jesuit university in the northeastern United States. Results: Three main themes emerged: Journey Into the Unknown, Creating a Culture of Acceptance, and Keeping on Course in Uncharted Territory. Conclusion: Although these students did describe feeling unprepared, a primary concern was not experiencing a connectedness or welcoming environment within their campus community. In addition to the academic and financial supports provided, shifting focus and targeting campus climate may help underrepresented students to be more successful

Perceptions of Campus Climate on Program Satisfaction for Accelerated Nursing Students

Background: Nationwide, schools of nursing have recognized the significance of increasing their diversity but continue to be challenged with recruitment and retention of historically underrepresented students. In 2008, the New Careers in Nursing program was implemented to alleviate the shortage and increase nursing diversity. Method: Secondary analysis of a subsample of participants was used to investigate how campus climate affected program satisfaction of accelerated nursing students of color. Specific objectives included exploring social supports such as interpersonal interactions and experiences with faculty and peers. Results: Those who self-identified with an under-represented group were more likely to feel uncomfortable with those whose race/ethnicity was different from their own, more likely to report hearing racists or stereotypical remarks in school, and less likely to have a supportive group of friends on campus. Conclusion: The results of this study revealed significant relationships between campus climate variables that included peer and faculty interactions. These results are relevant to all nursing programs seeking to create a more welcoming environment within their campus community

Barriers to Providing Health Education During Primary Care Visits at Community Health Centers: Clinical Staff Insights

The rapid increase of diverse patients living in the US has created a different set of needs in healthcare, with the persistence of health disparities continuing to challenge the current system. Chronic disease management has been discussed as a way to improve health outcomes, with quality patient education being a key component. Using a community based participatory research framework, this study utilized a web-based survey and explored clinical staff perceptions of barriers to providing patient education during primary care visits. With a response rate of nearly 42 %, appointment time allotment seemed to be one of the most critical factors related to the delivery of health education and should be considered key. The importance of team-based care and staff training were also significant. Various suggestions were made in order to improve the delivery of quality patient education at community health centers located in underserved areas

COVID-19 Risk Perceptions and Social Distancing Practice in Latin America

Objectives: Many developing countries use social distancing as part of their mitigation strategy during epidemics. This study aimed to understand individual decisions to practice different social distancing measures in the immediate emergence of COVID-19. Study design: Utilizing social media advertising and snowball sampling, a web-based survey was administered in 16 Latin American countries. Methods: We estimated seemingly unrelated Probit models to identify factors associated with the decision to implement social distancing practices. Results: From 5,480 respondents, estimated marginal effects indicate that risk perceptions are positively related to distancing from friends or relatives and avoiding public places but do not seem to influence the decision to stay home. Results also indicate that risk perceptions are related to household income, the number of reported COVID-19 cases in the country, and perceived preparedness of the health care system. Conclusions: Our findings support the notion that people will follow social distancing measures if there is a clear understanding of risk. Providing the public ways to access accurate numbers of confirmed cases can inform perception of disease severity. Since household income was a determinant of practicing social distancing, without financial assistance, some will be forced to break regulations in order to procure food or resources for their survival

A qualitative study of older adults and computer use for health education: ‘It opens people’s eyes’

Adults over the age of 60 struggle with achieving target blood pressure readings due to difficulties seeing, hearing and understanding medical information which can result in poor adherence and drug interactions that can be fatal. According to the Institute of Medicine (2000) approximately 10% of adverse drug events may be attributed to communication failure between the provider and patient. Informing patients of potential drug interactions with over-the-counter (OTC) medications, supplements and alcohol use can contribute to better blood pressure control. The Next Generation Personal Education Program (PEP-NG) was designed to improve patient care by educating both older adults and their providers about the dangers of adverse drug interactions arising from self-medication. This web based program analyzes information entered by the patient user (with a stylus on a tablet computer) and delivers tailored interactive educational content applicable to the user’s reported medication behaviors. This qualitative study demonstrated that even amongst participants that may not feel computer literate (older-age generation) it can be a useful tool for information dissemination and also a successful way to improve communication between provider and patient

Using an e-health intervention to enhance patient visits for hypertension: The nurse practitioner perspective

This article reports the findings from interviews with 11 nurse practitioners (NPs) who provided an in-office, e-health intervention as part of a randomized clinical trial aimed at improving medication adherence and reducing adverse self-medication behaviors in older adults with hypertension. The NPs\u27 perspective of their experience with training for the research protocol, recruitment of patient participants, implementing the e-health intervention, and patient response was elicited through open-ended questions in individual face-to-face tape recorded interviews