Comparison of Personal, Health and Family Characteristics of Children With and Without Autism

Today it is reported that one in 88 children in the U.S. has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), with rates continuing to rise. Early diagnosis and intervention are imperative, as well as a systematic way to identify characteristics of children that put them at risk for ASD as well as associated comorbidities. Few studies have examined whether the health status of the child or the type of health insurance impacts the diagnosis and intervention. The aim of this study is to examine and compare the personal (child), family, and health status characteristics of children (< 18 years) with autism with a matched sample (age and gender) of children without autism as reported in the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS): 2009. A descriptive, exploratory study with secondary analysis was performed using data from the NHIS: 2009. Frequencies, chi-square, and ANOVA were used in data analysis. In this study there was a higher proportion of children with autism residing with biological, adoptive, and step parents. The study also reveals that children with autism have a significantly (p<.05) higher incidence of specific comorbidities such as developmental delays, learning disabilities/ADHD, and seizures, a higher number of health care visits, as well as lower average family health status scores. Identifying characteristics that are common among children with autism will help identify other health problems associated with ASD, create a systematic way to identify potential risks, and serve as a baseline for early intervention programs.University of Kansas School of Nursing. Bachelor of Science in Nursing Honors Progra

Maternal/infant Characteristics And Birth Location Impact On Breastfeeding Initiation And Duration

PURPOSE: Healthy People 2020 goals emphasize the importance of breast milk as the best source of nutrition for infants. Variability in breastfeeding outcomes (initiation and duration) is attributable to maternal/infant characteristics and healthcare practices. Studies in Australia and Sweden reported no significant differences in breastfeeding duration by location; however, no U.S. study has evaluated duration outcomes in relation to birth location. OBJECTIVE: This study investigates the influence of maternal/infant characteristics and birth location on breastfeeding outcomes. Design: A descriptive, secondary analysis was conducted using the CDC’s National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) 2006-2010. Participants: Data were obtained from in-person interviews. The sample (N=4,485) consists of women between the ages of 15 and 44 who reported their first live birth. DATA ANALYSIS: ANOVA, Chi-Square, t-tests, and Pearson (r) were used to evaluate differences in breastfeeding outcomes among birth location and maternal/infant characteristics. RESULTS: Mothers who delivered in a birth center breastfed significantly (p ≤ .01) longer (M=44.1 weeks) than mothers who delivered in a hospital (M=17.2 weeks). Full term infants were breastfed significantly (p < .001) longer (M=19.2 weeks) than preterm infants (M=14.7 weeks). Maternal demographic factors that strongly influenced breastfeeding initiation and duration included race, education, marital status, smoking status, and poverty level. CONCLUSIONS: The results support that birth centers consistently practice care associated with longer breastfeeding duration. Improving access to birth centers for care and integrating Baby Friendly care practices into hospitals may enhance efforts to meet the Healthy People 2020 goals for breastfeeding

Family caregiver strain and resident distress in the dementia population of nursing home facilities

End-of-life care in the U.S. is increasingly provided in nursing homes (NHs), and over half of all NH residents have some degree of cognitive impairment. Given the prevalence of this cognitive decline, there is a surprising gap in research related to the management of distress in this patient population and their family caregivers. Symptoms of distress vary based on multiple factors (e.g., pain, cognitive status, type of caregiver) and can be masked in the cognitively impaired due to communication difficulties. The purpose of this study was to examine whether resident and family caregiver distress and strain are different among three NH resident groups based on diagnoses: (a) Alzheimer’s, (b) other dementia disorders, and (c) non-cognitive diagnoses. This exploratory study was a secondary analysis of data collected from a longitudinal study examining end-of-life care in NHs. The sample was comprised of 1,282 pairs of NH residents and their family caregivers from two Midwestern states. Caregiver and resident distress and strain were measured with the Caregiver Strain Index and the Family Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale Global Index, respectively. ANOVA procedures were used to test for differences among the groups, and follow-up tests were conducted using Duncan/Dunnett’s T3 tests. Findings indicated significant decreases in distress (F(2,1267) = 34.16, p<.001) and strain (F(2,1267) = 10.08, p<.001) among cognitively-impaired residents from those who were cognitively intact. No significant differences were found in caregiver distress or strain based on the cognitive status of their loved one. It is uncertain whether the reported differences are attributable to communication difficulties of the cognitively-impaired residents or whether they are experiencing less distress and strain. Research in other geographic locations using larger samples are needed to provide further insight.UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS SCHOOL OF NURSING BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN NURSING HONORS PROGRAMSELF REPORTED HEALTH PROMOTION BEHAVIORS OF INDIVIDUALS WITH PSYCHIATRIC DISABILITIES IN A WEIGHT LOSS INTERVENTION Biethman, E Hamera, E PATIENT SATISFACTION FOR THE ADULTS WITH DOWN SYNDROME SPECIALTY CLINIC Bowman, S Peterson, M BUILDING STUDENT RESOURCES FOR THE KANSAS CENTER FOR NURSING SCHOLARSHIP & LEADERSHIP Feighny, M Teel, C EXPLORING BARRIERS TO EXCLUSIVE BREASTFEEDING AMONG ADOLESCENT LATINA WOMEN Hansen, L L Wambach, K FAMILY CAREGIVER STRAIN AND RESIDENT DISTRESS IN THE DEMENTIA POPULATION OF NURSING HOME FACILITIES Harris, B Bott, M J COMPLEMENTARY THERAPY/CARE TO RELIEVE PEDIATRIC CANCER-THERAPY RELATED SYMPTOMS IN THAILAND Shanberg, R Williams, P D Piamjariyakul,

Understanding Nursing Home Culture Change: The High and Low

Submitted to the School of Nursing in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Nursing Honors Program.Culture Change is the transformation of a nursing home (NH) from an institutional establishment with a top down approach to decision making to a resident‐centered program that creates an environment that focuses on what is most important to residents and staff. Twenty‐five care practices from the Colorado Foundation for Medical Care served as the theoretical framework for seven dimensions of Culture Change—home‐like environment, resident‐directed care, staff/resident relationships, NH staff empowerment, NH leadership, quality improvement, and shared values. Using a secondary data analysis, the overall aim of the study was to examine differences in staff and leadership reports of Culture Change among Kansas nursing homes with high (n = 7) and low turnover rates (n = 5). Facility turnover rates were obtained from the 2006 Kansas Medicaid Cost Report. Leadership (n=75) and staff (n=437) participants from Kansas nursing homes (6 rural and 6 urban) completed data collection with response rates ranging from 26 to 85%. We hypothesized that staff in nursing homes with low turnover rates would report higher levels of Culture Change than staff in high turnover homes. Data analysis was conducted using two sample t‐tests. Although both leaders and staff in low turnover nursing homes reported higher levels of Culture Change across all dimensions than those in high turnover homes, we only found significance (p <.05) differences in the staff/resident relationships dimension by leaders and staff, and in the leadership dimension by leaders. The results of this study revealed that turnover rates have potential to serve as a proxy measure for some aspects of Culture Change. However, further testing in a larger sample is needed.University of Kansas Medical Center University of Kansas School of Nursing, Bachelor of Science in Nursing Honors Progra

The Journal of BSN Honors Research, Volume 5, Issue 1, Summer 2012

University of Kansas School of Nursing. Bachelor of Science in Nursing Honors ProgramExploration Of Health Care Needs Among Sudanese Refugee Women - Albin, J M, Domian, E. Is There An App For That? Developing An Evaluation Rubric For Apps For Use With Adults With Special Needs - Buckler, T, Peterson, M. The Relationship Between Nursing Characteristics And Pain Care Quality - Davis, E, Dunton, N. The Relationship Between Sleep And Night Eating On Weight Loss In Individuals With Severe Mental Illness - Huynh, Thu Nhi, Hamera, E. Examining Nurse Leader/Manager-Physician Communication Strategies: A Pilot Study - Jantzen, M, Ford, D J. Comparison Of Personal, Health And Family Characteristic Of Children With And Without Autism - Martin, A, Bott, M J. Association Between Obstructive Sleep Apnea And Postoperative Adverse Events - Nielsenshultz, Y, Smith, C, Bott, M, Schultz, M P, Cole, C. Challenges Associated With Partnering With Sudanese Refugee Women In Addressing Their Health Issues - Pauls, K L, Baird, M B. Complementary Therapy To Relieve Pediatric Cancer Therapy-Related Symptoms In The Usa - Slaven, A, Williams, P D

Culture Change in Nursing Homes: The Perception of Leaders Versus Staff

The elderly population in Kansas is growing, leading to an increased need for nursing home care. To improve the quality of life for residents and staff, many facilities have implemented care models called culture change that are focused on resident-centered care and staff empowerment. The Kansas Culture Change Instrument (KCCI) was developed using six constructs using the 2006 Commonwealth fund definition (Doty, Koran, & Sturla, 2009) as the theoretical framework. The six constructs were: resident-centered care, a homelike environment, staff/resident relationships, staff empowerment, nursing home leaderships, and quality improvement with an added seventh construct, share values. The purpose of this study was to determine: a) how leader and staff perceptions differed on the seven subscales of culture change in nursing homes; and b) whether staff and leaders scores vary differently in culture change nursing homes when compared to non-culture change nursing homes. The study is a secondary analysis using data from the Kansas Nursing Home Project. Staff and leaders employed at 100 randomly selected nursing homes in Kansas comprised the sample. The response rate was 72% (n=72). Data were collected using the KCCI. Paired t-tests and Pearson Correlations (r) were used for data analysis. The results indicated statistically (p < .01) different scores between the staff and the leaders on the total culture change score and the seven subscales Mean differences ranged from .08 to .38 on average subscales scores that ranged from 1 (never) to 4 (always). There were stronger correlations between staff and leader scores in nursing homes that had undergone extensive culture change. Collecting information from all staff and leaders in nursing homes can be time consuming and expensive. Nursing homes that had extensively implemented culture change had more consistent findings than the nursing homes that had partial or limited implementation. Consequently, it is important to assess where the nursing home is on the continuum of culture change implementation before determining who will be involved in the data collection

The Journal of BSN Honors Research. Spring 2015. Full Issue.

Maternal/infant characteristics and birth location impact on breastfeeding initiation and duration (Börk, L.; Bott, M. J.), p2-31. Rhetorical strategies implemented by the American Medical Association to identify roles within the interprofessional healthcare team (Ekholm, E. M.; Ford, D. J.), p32-72. Nurse-reported vs. patient-reported symptom occurrence, severity, and agreement using the Therapy-Related Symptoms Checklist (TRSC) in cancer patients (Heiman, A.; Williams, P. D.), p73-96. The effect of nurse characteristics on satisfaction with professionalism in the work environment (Wright, Z.; Cramer, E.), p.97-12