Some Dentrix and Dexis Basics to Help You with Your Case Study

A report on a service learning project to help future dental hygiene students with their case studies

Knowledge and Use of a Nursing Professional Practice Model at a Critical Access Hospital

Purpose: Nursing Professional Practice Model (NPPM) is a visual representation of nursing practice, communication, collaboration, and professional development. NPPM is critical to autonomous practice of nurses. The aim of the study was to investigate the level of knowledge and use in daily practice of Mariners Hospital (MH) NPPM among registered nurses, nurse practitioners, nurse leadership, and clinical partners. Method: This was an observational cross-sectional study that utilized the MH- NPPM instrument, a 45-item Likert-type scale survey open to registered nurses, nurse practitioners, nurse leadership, and clinical partners at MH. Findings: The MH-NPPM instrument (survey) determined the level of knowledge and use of the MH-NPPM in nurses and clinical partners working at MH and showed that the tool is able to distinguish between those who use and integrate the model into their practice and those who do not. The MH-NPPM instrument score can vary between 45 and 315, a higher score indicating a higher agreement with the usefulness of the NPPM.Of the 38 respondents who answered the questions “Do you know the core concepts of the MH- NPPM?”, only 6 (15.8%) answered no. Of the 39 respondents who answered the questions “Do you feel you understand how the MH-NPPM relates to daily practice?”, only 6 (15.4%) answered no. Finally, of the 39 respondents who answered the questions “Do you use the MH-NPPM in your daily practice?” 10 (25.6%) answered no. The scores on the MH-NPPM are significantly lower for those who have lower knowledge of the model and do not use of the model in their daily practice. Discussion: Nursing Professional Practice Models (NPPM) are valuable in promoting excellence in nursing practice. It is crucial for nurses of all levels to understand the components of their NPPM and how they use it as a guide in their daily practice

Patterns of Health Care Use among Rural-Urban Medicare Beneficiaries Age 85 and Older, 2010-2017

The purpose of this study was to examine rural-urban differences in health care use among Medicare beneficiaries age 85+. Understanding these differences, and the socioeconomic characteristics that contribute to them, can have important implications for Medicare policies aimed at serving the age 85+ population. Using the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey 2010-13 Cost and Use and 2015-17 Cost Supplement Files, we examined whether and how rural and urban Medicare beneficiaries age 85+ differ in terms of their: socioeconomic and health characteristics that may inform health care use; trends in health care use, including use of inpatient and emergency department (ED) care; outpatient and prescription services; specialists and dentists; and home health and durable medical equipment. Although the percentage of older adults (age 65+) remains higher in rural areas of the U.S., we found that adults over age 85 comprise a similar proportion of the Medicare population in rural and urban areas. Findings showed that rural and urban beneficiaries age 85+ had similar health (general health, chronic conditions) and functional outcomes (ADLs, and IADLs) across the study years and that the average number of visits to primary care providers for both rural and urban beneficiaries decreased over time. However, compared with urban beneficiaries, rural beneficiaries were significantly less likely to visit specialists, dentists, and receive outpatient services. Rural-urban differences in the percentage of beneficiaries who visited the Emergency Department were higher in all study years, with significant differences in 2011, 2012, and 2017. FMI: Yvonne Jonk, PhD, Deputy Director, Maine Rural Health Research Center

Effects of a College-Mentored Physical Activity Program for Elementary Students

Health risks of a sedentary lifestyle for children, defined as being less than 5,000 steps per day, include unfavorable indicators of body composition and cardio-metabolic risk. Results of school-based physical activity interventions to increase physical activity levels have been mixed. However, mentorship programs have shown promise. Previous mentorship programs have relied on peer-to-peer mentorships, with participants being of a similar age group. College mentors present an alternative and low-cost resource that may also provide positive results, yet have been largely ignored in research studies to date. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of a novel, individualized college-mentored physical activity program on physical activity levels among older elementary school students. METHODS: Fifth grade students (n = 12) were paired one-to-one with local college mentors for 30 minute bi-weekly running sessions on the elementary school campus for six weeks. Multiple assessments from activity trackers were compared on intervention versus non-intervention days using paired-samples t-tests. RESULTS: Significant increases in steps (t(11) = 8.056; p ≤ .001) and moderate-to-vigorous activity (t(11) = 5.202; p ≤ .001) were seen on intervention days, as compared to non-intervention days. The average increase in step count on intervention days (6,381) versus non-intervention days (3,158) also resulted in students being elevated out of a sedentary classification. CONCLUSION: Individualized mentoring from college students significantly increased multiple assessments of physical activity, including minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity and number of steps taken. Perhaps most notably, the mentored physical activity program promoted students from a sedentary to active lifestyle on intervention days as determined by step count. This novel high-impact and low-cost approach should be further developed for future school-based physical activity programs and research

Revisiting the Mystery of Recent Stratospheric Temperature Trends

Simulated stratospheric temperatures over the period 1979–2016 in models from the Chemistry-Climate Model Initiative are compared with recently updated and extended satellite data sets. The multimodel mean global temperature trends over 1979–2005 are -0.88 ± 0.23, -0.70 ± 0.16, and -0.50 ± 0.12 K/decade for the Stratospheric Sounding Unit (SSU) channels 3 (~40–50 km), 2 (~35–45 km), and 1 (~25–35 km), respectively (with 95% confidence intervals). These are within the uncertainty bounds of the observed temperature trends from two reprocessed SSU data sets. In the lower stratosphere, the multimodel mean trend in global temperature for the Microwave Sounding Unit channel 4 (~13–22 km) is -0.25 ± 0.12 K/decade over 1979–2005, consistent with observed estimates from three versions of this satellite record. The models and an extended satellite data set comprised of SSU with the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit-A show weaker global stratospheric cooling over 1998–2016 compared to the period of intensive ozone depletion (1979–1997). This is due to the reduction in ozone-induced cooling from the slowdown of ozone trends and the onset of ozone recovery since the late 1990s. In summary, the results show much better consistency between simulated and satellite-observed stratospheric temperature trends than was reported by Thompson et al. (2012, https://doi.org/10.1038/nature11579) for the previous versions of the SSU record and chemistry-climate models. The improved agreement mainly comes from updates to the satellite records; the range of stratospheric temperature trends over 1979–2005 simulated in Chemistry-Climate Model Initiative models is comparable to the previous generation of chemistry-climate models

The CSI Effect: Can Watching Crime Television Make You a Better Criminal?

The CSI effect suggests that watching crime-based television influences how viewers relate to various factors of the criminal justice system. Although many researchers have investigated how the CSI effect impacts jurors, defense attorneys, and law enforcement, no research thus far has examined the effect of viewing crime television on potential criminals. The purpose of this study is to explore the CSI-effect in relation to criminal behavior by determining whether people who watch crime television are more likely to consider detection-prevention techniques (such as avoiding leaving fingerprints) while planning a crime in comparison to people who do not watch crime television. Two hundred undergraduate participants responded to an open-ended prompt that asked them to plan a burglary and then completed a survey about their television viewing habits. Their responses were coded for a variety of features, including knowledge of forensics, and compared to their survey responses regarding their type, frequency, and level of engagement with crime television viewing. Preliminary results indicate that participants who frequently watch general crime-based shows (like Law and Order) were more likely to mention forensics and detection-prevention techniques in their burglary plans. However, participants who frequently watch programs in the CSI: Crime Scene Investigation genre or non-fictional crime shows like 48 Hours Mysteries were not more likely to mention forensics or detection-prevention techniques. Male participants reported higher engagement with crime television programs, and were more likely to mention forensics and detection-prevention techniques than female participants. Implications for the fields of media research, criminal justice, and social psychology are discussed