Self-Care Activities and Nurse Manager Well-Being

The role of the nurse manager is important in organizations and influences outcomes such as the safety and quality of care provided on a unit, satisfaction, turnover of nursing staff, and overall health of the work environment. Stressors for managing nurses can impair physical and emotional health and lead to poor patient and staff satisfaction, safety, and outcomes. The evidence-based practice project will explore nurse managers\u27 well-being and self-care activities. The theoretical framework of the project is the Relationship-Based Care Model as well as Kotter\u27s change theory. The literature suggests that self-care activities can reduce stress and improve well-being. A group of nurse managers who have accountability for inpatient hospital units will be recruited to participate in the project through public discussion boards and email groups of organizations that support nurse leaders. They will be educated through a self-guided learning module about stress and self-care and then will be asked to participate in self-care activities 3 times weekly for 4 weeks. Following the education, the nurse managers will complete a researcher-crafted posteducational assessment to evaluate whether the education and activities met their needs, whether they learned new information, and the helpfulness of the project. Nurse managers participating in regular self-care are able influence positive social change by role modeling healthy coping skills to nurses providing direct care to patients. Self-care promotes effective stress management and contributes a healthier work environment

Increasing the Social Connection Between Immigrant English Language Learners, School Staff, and Peers in the High School Setting

An Immigrant English Language Learner (ELL) encounters many new and different experiences when they enter high school. This transition can lead to a sense of loneliness and isolation if the student is not comfortable. However, if ELLs feel welcomed, valued, and connected to others, the high school experience can be a positive one. This research project was designed to use a personal presentation learning tool as a way to establish a needed social connection between ELLs, school staff, and native speaking peers as a way to enhance personal relationships, promote cultural understanding, and connect students to their new setting

QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS OF THROWING MECHANICS IN SOFTBALL POSITION PLAYERS

The purpose of this study was to thoroughly describe the biomechanics of the throwing motion of collegiate softball infielders, catchers, and outfielders. Eighteen Division I National Collegiate Athletic Association softball players (19.2 ±1.0 y; 68.9 ±8.7 kg; 168.6 ±6.6 cm) who were listed on the active playing roster and deemed free of injury for the past 6 months volunteered to participate. Kinematic and kinetic data were collected with an electromagnetic tracking system via the MotionMonitorTM and calculated as per ISB recommendations. Of all the kinematic and kinetic variables, there where no significant differences between different position players and the throwing events. There was a significant difference in the catcher’s shoulder plane of elevation when compared to the other two position players when examining the entire throw (p=0.03)

User's Guide: Mississippi River Water Quality and the Clean Water Act

The 2008 National Research Council (NRC) report, Mississippi RiverWater Quality and the CleanWater Act: Progress, Challenges, and Opportunities, was initiated and funded by The McKnight Foundation to answer key questions about the state and federal responsibilities along the 10-state river corridor. The report is thorough in its analysis and offers compelling recommendations for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S.Department of Agriculture, and state agencies. This User's Guide was created by The McKnight Foundation's Environment Program as a resource for utilizing the NRC's important and substantive report

The Effect of Small Class Sizes on Mortality Through Age 29 Years: Evidence From a Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial

Limiting the number of students per classroom in the early years has been shown to improve educational outcomes. Improved education is, in turn, hypothesized to improve health. The authors examined whether smaller class sizes affect mortality through age 29 years and whether cognitive factors play a role. They used data from the Project Student Teacher Achievement Ratio, a 4-year multicenter randomized controlled trial of reduced class sizes in Tennessee involving 11,601 students between 1985 and 1989. Children randomized to small classes (13–17 students) experienced improved measures of cognition and academic performance relative to those assigned to regular classes (22–25 students). As expected, these cognitive measures were significantly inversely associated with mortality rates (P < 0.05). However, through age 29 years, students randomized to small class size nevertheless experienced higher mortality rates than those randomized to regular size classes (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.58, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.07, 2.32). The groups at risk included males (HR = 1.73, 95% CI: 1.05, 2.85), whites/Asians (HR = 1.68, 95% CI: 1.04, 2.72), and higher income students (HR = 2.20, 95% CI: 1.06, 4.57). The authors speculate that small classes might produce behavior changes that increase mortality through young adulthood that are stronger than the protective effects of enhanced cognition

Avoiding obstetrical interventions among US-based Somali migrant women: a qualitative study

Objective: Somali refugee women are known to have poor health-seeking behavior with a higher proportion of adverse pregnancy outcomes compared to US-born women. Yet unknown is how they avoid obstetrical interventions. This study sought to identify perceived protective mechanisms used to avoid obstetric interventions as well as the underpinning factors that influence aversion to obstetrical interventions by Somali refugee women. Design: A descriptive, exploratory qualitative study purposively sampled Somali refugee women recruited via snowball technique in Franklin County, Ohio, United States. Data were collected through audio-recordings of individual interviews and focus groups conducted in English and Somali languages. The collected data were transcribed and analyzed using thematic analyses. Results: Forty Somali refugee women aged 18–42 years were recruited. Participants reported engaging in four perceived protective mechanisms to avoid obstetrical interventions during pregnancy and childbirth: (1) intentionally not seeking or misleading prenatal care, (2) changing hospitals and/or providers, (3) delayed hospital arrival during labor, and (4) refusal of care. Underpinning all four avoidance mechanisms were their significant fear of obstetrical interventions, and perceived lack of choice in their care processes as influenced by cultural and/or religious beliefs, feeling judged or undervalued by service providers, and a lack of privacy provided to them while receiving care. Conclusion: Like every woman, Somali women also have a right to choose or refuse care. If the intention is to improve access to and experiences with care for this population, building trust, addressing their fears and concerns, and respecting their culture is a critical first step. This should be well established prior to the need for critical decisions surrounding pregnancy and childbirth wherein Somali women may feel compelled to refuse necessary obstetrical care. Bridging gaps between Somali women and their providers is key to advance health equity for this vulnerable population

Life on the Fringe: Muskoxen in the Alaskan Arctic

The Arctic is experiencing some of the most dramatic temperature changes on the planet. Species at the edge of their range often confront conditions that differ from those in the center–to the extent that the persistence of peripheral populations might be more challenged if bioclimatic factors rule. An indisputable Arctic-adapted species are muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus) which occur at their historic southwestern terminus in Arctic Alaska. We instigated a multi-year project to assess sources of variation in demography, attendant life-histories, and vital rates by contrasting populations on National Park Service and adjacent lands at Bering Land Bridge and Cape Krusenstern. A major challenge of Arctic work is expense; in lieu of handling large numbers of animals, we present a simple non-invasive method to predict body mass in young and sub-adults. We used photogrammetry to document head sizes at known distances and angles on more than 300 wild muskoxen from four age cohorts( 1 to 3 yrs, and older). With head size parameters calibrated on captive individuals, 85 percent of the variance in body mass was explained for animals &lt; 4 yrs of age. Accuracy diminished at &gt; 65 meters and as animals reached puberty, the latter because nutrients allocated for skeletal growth are re-directed to meet reproductive demands. We believe that our ability to associate changes in mass/yr with abiotic and biological factors and survival will enhance opportunities to test hypotheses about causes and correlates of variation in population persistence

The Effect of an Early Education Program on Adult Health: The Carolina Abecedarian Project Randomized Controlled Trial

Objectives. We explored whether a successful randomized controlled trial of early education, the Carolina Abecedarian Project (ABC), which enrolled infants from 1972 to 1977 at the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, improved health outcomes and behaviors by 21 years of age. Methods. ABC randomized 111 infants to receive an intensive early education program or nutritional supplements and parental counseling alone; participants have been followed to the present day. We examined the effect of ABC on health outcomes and behavioral risk factors when participants were aged 21 years, and then explored the mediators of this relationship. Results. Relative to the control group, the ABC treatment group was previously found to have improved cognition and educational attainment. We found that the intervention also improved heath (P = .05) and health behaviors (P = .03) when participants were aged 21 years. These improvements in behaviors were not mediated by IQ, math and reading scores at 15 years of age, educational attainment, or health insurance. Conclusions. Effective early education programs may improve health and reduce risky health behaviors in adulthood