A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Discharge Nursing Intervention to Promote Self-Regulation of Care for Early Discharge Interventional Cardiology Patients

Thesis advisor: Barabara HazardThis randomized controlled trial (RCT) examined a discharge nursing intervention (DNI) aimed at promoting self-regulation of care for early discharge interventional cardiology patients. The purpose of this study was to compare medication adherence, patient satisfaction, use of urgent care, and illness perception in patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD) undergoing interventional revascularization procedures who receive usual care and those who receive a DNI. The Common Sense Model (CSM) of illness representation provided the theoretical foundation for this study. The CSM is a cognitive parallel processing model that draws relationships between illness representation, coping methods, and illness outcomes to help explain the process by which people make sense of their illness. Intervention research aimed at life style changes to reduce secondary events after treatment for CVD is needed to guide evidence based care. Treatment for CVD has shifted from surgical repair with prolonged hospitalizations to interventional procedures requiring shorter hospital stays. This trend reduces nursing time to monitor complications and provide education about medication management and lifestyle changes. Patients recover in short stay areas and return home within hours or one to two days of the procedure. Cardiac disease is then managed as a chronic, but often stable condition. With this change in the delivery of care, several trends have emerged that have implications for quality nursing care and patient outcomes: a) the burden of care shifts from the hospital setting to home, b) patients are discharged without extensive education about complications and disease management, c) the occurrence of secondary events and disease progression remain a valid threat, and d) nurses with expert practice are in a unique position to assist patients and families with CVD management. This study addressed the following questions. 1. Do patients receiving the nursing intervention differ significantly from those receiving usual care on medication adherence? 2. Do patients receiving the nursing intervention differ significantly from those receiving usual care on patient satisfaction? 3. Is there a significant difference in the utilization of urgent care between those patients receiving the nursing intervention when compared to those patients receiving usual care? 4. Does a difference exist between the patients receiving the nursing intervention and those patients receiving usual care on illness perception, as measured by seven components of the IPQ-R: time line (acute and chronic), consequence, personal control, treatment (cure) control, illness coherence, timeline (cyclical), and emotional representations? Purposive sampling was used to select a sample of patients admitted for interventional procedures at an academic teaching hospital. One hundred and fifty four patients were and randomized into control and experimental groups. Final analyses included data from 129 patients. Sixty-four participants in the experimental group received the DNI which included: 1) additional written information about taking medications, 2) a medication pocket card, 3) a list of 3 cardiac internet sites,and 4) a phone call, 24 hours post procedure, from an expert cardiac nurse to review discharge instructions. Sixty-five participants in the control group received usual care. Analyses on four outcome measures, medication adherence, use of urgent care, patient satisfaction, and illness perception, revealed one statistically significant result. Participants in the experimental group, receiving the DNI, scored significantly higher than the control group on one measure, the timeline (acute/chronic) component of illness perception (p = .006) indicating a greater appreciation of the chronicity of their disease. Otherwise, there were no significant group differences found. This study provides support for nursing intervention research guided by self-regulation theory that examines the patient's perception of illness. Patients with cardiac disease who received the DNI were statistically more likely to acknowledge that their illness would last a long time. This awareness, may improve adherence to a prescribed regimen of medication and lifestyle modification. Nursing interventions guided by an understanding of patients' belief that their cardiovascular disease is chronic will add to the body of knowledge that informs providers about decisions patients make concerning medication adherence and lifestyle modifications. However, the results underscore the limitations of adding additional discharge care to this population of patients to improve medication adherence, use of urgent care, and patient satisfaction. Future research should include a longitudinal study to examine how patients who perceive their disease to be chronic in nature managed their medications and care decisions at home.Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2009.Submitted to: Boston College. Connell School of Nursing.Discipline: Nursing

The Iowa Homemaker vol.26, no.5

Poem, Rosemary Moody, page 2 The Homemaker Celebrates, Kathleen Boland, page 4 From the Man’s Angle, Tom Swearingen, page 5 Success Formula, Maryann Jones, page 6 Radio Workshop Broadcasts, Luanne Madsen, page 7 Home for Christmas, Shirliann Fortman, page 8 Christmas Lighting, Ann Rozeboom, page 9 What’s New in Home Economics, Marjorie Clampitt, page 10 Vicky’s Christmas Fashion Cue, Shirliann Fortman, page 12 I Moved to Texas, Jo Ahern, page 14 Hawaiian Interlude, June Welch, page 16 ’46 Speaks, Goldie Rouse, page 18 Across Alumnae Desks, Mary Neff, page 2

Patient/Family Education for Newly Diagnosed Pediatric Oncology Patients

There is a paucity of data to support evidence-based practices in the provision of patient/family education in the context of a new childhood cancer diagnosis. Since the majority of children with cancer are treated on pediatric oncology clinical trials, lack of effective patient/family education has the potential to negatively affect both patient and clinical trial outcomes. The Children’s Oncology Group Nursing Discipline convened an interprofessional expert panel from within and beyond pediatric oncology to review available and emerging evidence and develop expert consensus recommendations regarding harmonization of patient/family education practices for newly diagnosed pediatric oncology patients across institutions. Five broad principles, with associated recommendations, were identified by the panel, including recognition that (1) in pediatric oncology, patient/family education is family-centered; (2) a diagnosis of childhood cancer is overwhelming and the family needs time to process the diagnosis and develop a plan for managing ongoing life demands before they can successfully learn to care for the child; (3) patient/family education should be an interprofessional endeavor with 3 key areas of focus: (a) diagnosis/treatment, (b) psychosocial coping, and (c) care of the child; (4) patient/family education should occur across the continuum of care; and (5) a supportive environment is necessary to optimize learning. Dissemination and implementation of these recommendations will set the stage for future studies that aim to develop evidence to inform best practices, and ultimately to establish the standard of care for effective patient/family education in pediatric oncology

The Iowa Homemaker vol.27, no.3

The Path to Campus Success, Ruth Walker Allen, page 3 Add Activity Spice to Your College Menu, Kathleen Schwanz and Mary Neff, page 4 Why I Like Dormitory Life, Irene Meyer, page 6 Why I Like Sorority Life, Marian Dawson, page 7 These Traditions Belong to Us, Margaret Rutherford, page 8 What’s New, June Welch, page 9 Vicky Enters Campus Life, Shirliann Fortman, page 10 Christian Peterson Shapes 3 Ton Coeds, Jean Lund, page 12 Alums in the News, Muriel Collier, page 14 Here’s an Idea, Margaret Buswell, page 16 Union Food Fads, Joan Ahern, page 19 Keeping Up with Today, Nancy Johnson, page 2

Collective efficacy, alcohol outlet density, and young men’s alcohol use in rural South Africa

Alcohol use contributes to morbidity and mortality in developing countries by increasing the risk of trauma and disease, including alcohol dependence. Limited research addresses determinants of alcohol use beyond the individual level in sub-Saharan Africa. We test the association of community collective efficacy and alcohol outlet density with young men's drinking in a cross-sectional, locally representative survey conducted in rural northeast South Africa. Informal social control and cohesion show protective associations with men's heavy drinking, while alcohol outlet density is associated with more potential problem drinking. These findings provide initial support for intervening at the community level to promote alcohol reduction

Study protocol: the effects of work-site exercise on the physical fitness and work-ability of older workers

BACKGROUND: Older workers have a higher rate and cost of injury than younger workers and with a rapidly ageing work force there is a need to identify strategies to address this problem. Older workers are less physically active and fit than younger workers and so have reduced work ability. The reduced work ability means they are more likely to be fatigued at work and so at greater risk of injury. Exercise could potentially assist this problem. Exercise training has been previously shown to improve fitness in older people however there has been no evaluation of workplace exercise program for older workers. We do not know if the programs are feasible and can improve the fitness and work ability of older workers. We have designed a randomised controlled trial to evaluate whether exercise improves fitness and perceived work-ability of older workers. METHODS/DESIGN: This paper describes the protocol for a trial examining the effects of a 12-week physical training program in workers over the age of 45. Participants will be randomized to an exercise or no-intervention control group. The primary outcomes are cardiorespiratory endurance, lifting capacity, upper and lower limb strength and perceived work-ability. DISCUSSION: This trial will test the feasibility of implementing a worksite-based exercise program as a means of improving the physical fitness and work-ability of older workers performing physically demanding work. If we demonstrate the feasibility of the program we will conduct a larger trial that additionally measures injury outcomes

Depression and incident HIV in adolescent girls and young women in HPTN 068:Targets for prevention and mediating factors

Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health 2019. This work is written by (a) US Government employee(s) and is in the public domain in the US. The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic among adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) in sub-Saharan Africa is a critical public health problem. We assessed whether depressive symptoms in AGYW were longitudinally associated with incident HIV, and identified potential social and behavioral mediators. Data came from a randomized trial of a cash transfer conditional on school attendance among AGYW (ages 13-21 years) in rural Mpumalanga Province, South Africa, during 2011-2017. We estimated the relationship between depressive symptoms and cumulative HIV incidence using a linear probability model, and we assessed mediation using inverse odds ratio weighting. Inference was calculated using the nonparametric bootstrap. AGYW with depressive symptoms had higher cumulative incidence of HIV compared with those without (risk difference = 3.5, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.1, 7.0). The strongest individual mediators of this association were parental monitoring and involvement (indirect effect = 1.6, 95% CI: 0.0, 3.3) and reporting a partner would hit her if she asked him to wear a condom (indirect effect = 1.5, 95% CI: -0.3, 3.3). All mediators jointly explained two-thirds (indirect effect = 2.4, 95% CI: 0.2, 4.5) of the association between depressive symptoms and HIV incidence. Interventions addressing mental health might reduce risk of acquiring HIV among AGYW