Nurse Educators\u27 Perceptions of Ecoliteracy in Undergraduate Nursing Education

Introduction: Increased human health concerns related to the natural environment and climate change are having a growing impact on nursing practice. This past year in Canada, for example, British Columbia reported the highest number of heat related deaths, followed by devasting forest fires in many provinces that have disproportionately impacted Indigenous Peoples. Nurses are well positioned to address the direct health impacts associated with climate change. As a result, nurses require an increased level of ecoliteracy to address the health impacts linked to climate change. The role of the nurse in addressing the health impacts of climate change are vast, ranging from direct patient care, education and advocacy, their role includes supporting individuals, communities, and populations to mitigate, adapt and build resiliency in the face of a changing climate. Background: Regulatory and professional associations support the professional emphasis on the significance of ecoliteracy yet there is insufficient understanding of the resistance to the content in nursing curricula. Although current literature supports an increased emphasis on the integration of ecosystem health concerns and the impact on human health within undergraduate nursing education, there is a paucity of empirical evidence regarding nursing educators’ perspectives on the subject. This study is a first step in gaining a greater understanding of the perspectives of nurse educators on ecoliteracy within undergraduate nursing education programs in one Canadian province. Methods: This qualitative research study included 13 nurse educators from three diverse academic settings. Data were collected using semi-structured, open-ended interview questions, followed by content analysis of the data. Results: Data analysis revealed five key themes: 1) Importance of ecoliteracy in undergraduate nursing programs; 2) Current integration of ecoliteracy concepts in curricula; 3) Future considerations for ecoliteracy content; 4) Barriers to the inclusion of content supportive of ecoliteracy in curricula; 5) Strategies to address barriers. While educators feel that ecoliteracy is important in undergraduate nursing, they noted that the current integration of climate content in the curriculum is uneven. Barriers and potential strategies to integrating this content are identified. Conclusion: The findings of this study can be used for curriculum revision and to stimulate innovation and research in nursing education. This study creates the opportunity for a larger scale replication study, pilot studies of the integration of concepts that would support ecoliteracy, and further research on the topic. This study identified that many complexities are involved in achieving ecoliteracy in nursing education and suggest that while threading of content can address the urgent need, further research is required to identify entry to practice requirements for undergraduate nursing programs. Résumé Introduction : Les préoccupations grandissantes associées aux liens entre la santé humaine, l’environnement naturel et les changements climatiques touchent de plus en plus la pratique infirmière. Au cours de la dernière année au Canada, la Colombie-Britannique a signalé le plus grand nombre de décès liés à la chaleur, suivie par des incendies de forêt dévastateurs dans de nombreuses provinces qui ont affecté de manière disproportionnée les peuples autochtones. Les infirmières sont bien placées pour faire face aux impacts directs des changements climatiques sur la santé, et doivent donc avoir un niveau plus élevé d’écolittératie afin de composer avec les impacts des changements climatiques sur la santé. Le rôle de l’infirmière dans la lutte contre les impacts du changement climatique sur la santé est vaste, allant des soins directs aux patients, à la formation et à la défense des droits, et comprenant le soutien aux individus, aux communautés et aux populations pour atténuer, favoriser l’adaptation et renforcer la résilience par rapport au changement climatique. Contexte : Les associations réglementaires et professionnelles appuient l’accent mis par les professionnels sur l’importance de l’écolittératie, mais la compréhension de la résistance au contenu des programmes d’études en sciences infirmières est insuffisante. Bien que la littérature actuelle appuie l’importance accrue accordée à l’intégration des préoccupations liées à la santé des écosystèmes et à l’impact sur la santé humaine dans la formation en sciences infirmières au premier cycle, il existe peu de résultats empiriques concernant les perceptions des infirmières enseignantes sur le sujet. Cette étude représente une première étape pour mieux comprendre leurs perspectives sur l’écolittératie dans le cadre des programmes de formation en sciences infirmières au premier cycle dans une province canadienne. Méthode : Cette recherche qualitative incluait 13 infirmières enseignantes de 3 milieux universitaires différents. Les données ont été recueillies à l’aide de questions ouvertes lors d’entrevues semi-structurées, suivies d’une analyse de contenu. Résultats : L’analyse des données a dévoilé cinq thèmes clés : 1) L’importance de l’écolittératie dans les programmes en sciences infirmières de premier cycle; 2) Le niveau actuel d’intégration des notions d’écolittératie au sein des programmes d’études; 3) Les considérations pour l’ajout de contenu en matière d’écolittératie à l’avenir; 4) Les obstacles à l’inclusion de contenus favorables à l’écolittératie dans les programmes d’études; et, 5) Les stratégies pour franchir ces obstacles. Bien que les enseignantes estiment que l’écolittératie est importante en sciences infirmières au premier cycle, elles ont noté que l’intégration actuelle de contenu lié au climat dans les programmes d’études est inégale. Les obstacles et les stratégies potentielles à l’intégration de ce contenu sont identifiés. Conclusion : Les résultats de cette étude peuvent servir pour la révision des programmes et pour stimuler l’innovation et la recherche en formation en sciences infirmières. Cette étude crée l’occasion de refaire l’étude à plus grande échelle, de proposer des études pilotes sur l’intégration de concepts qui soutiendraient l’écolittératie et d’autres recherches sur le sujet. Cette étude a mis en évidence de nombreuses complexités qu’implique l’atteinte de l’écolittératie dans la formation en sciences infirmières et suggère que même si la mise en place du contenu peut répondre au besoin urgent, des recherches supplémentaires sont nécessaires pour déterminer les exigences d’entrée à la pratique au terme des programmes de sciences infirmières de premier cycle

Improving Social Work Practice with Persons Who are Homeless and Mentally Ill

Despite a proliferation of programs targeted for persons who are homeless and mentally ill, few reports in the literature detail the challenges experienced or strategies utilized by workers, the majority of whom are social workers. The present study reports results from two focus group sessions held with staff running a model service intervention for this population at two separate sites. The methodology that was utilized quanitified results, allowing presentation of themes, as well as comparisons of the frequency of responses across categories and by site. Staff perceived barriersa ssociatedw ith client behaviors and characteristicsp redominated at both sites. However, systemic and other external barriers were also frequently mentioned. Although not part of the focus group questions, staff spontaneously made mention of their personal feelings and how they were handled. Site differences were identified in the frequency with which certain strategies to handle client and systemic barriers were mentioned. The discussion focuses on implications for the education and training of social workers who provide services to individuals who are homeless and mentally ill

Dynamic Fano Resonance of Quasienergy Excitons in Superlattices

The dynamic Fano resonance (DFR) between discrete quasienergy excitons and sidebands of their ionization continua is predicted and investigated in dc- and ac-driven semiconductor superlattices. This DFR, well controlled by the ac field, delocalizes the excitons and opens an intrinsic decay channel in nonlinear four-wave mixing signals.Comment: 4pages, 4figure

Crimson: A Data Management System to Support Evaluating Phylogenetic Tree Reconstruction Algorithms

Evolutionary and systems biology increasingly rely on the construction of large phylogenetic trees which represent the relationships between species of interest. As the number and size of such trees increases, so does the need for efficient data storage and query capabilities. Although much attention has been focused on XML as a tree data model, phylogenetic trees differ from document-oriented applications in their size and depth, and their need for structure based queries rather than path-based queries. This paper focuses on Crimson, a tree storage system for phylogenetic trees used to evaluate phylogenetic tree reconstruction algorithms within the context of the NSF CIPRes project. A goal of the modeling component of the CIPRes project is to construct a huge simulation tree representing a gold standard of evolutionary history against which phylogenetic tree reconstruction algorithms can be tested. In this demonstration, we highlight our storage and indexing strategies and show how Crimson is used for benchmarking phylogenetic tree reconstruction algorithms. We also show how our design can be used to support more general queries over phylogenetic trees

Reusable oxidation catalysis using metal-monocatecholato species in a robust metal-organic framework.

An isolated metal-monocatecholato moiety has been achieved in a highly robust metal-organic framework (MOF) by two fundamentally different postsynthetic strategies: postsynthetic deprotection (PSD) and postsynthetic exchange (PSE). Compared with PSD, PSE proved to be a more facile and efficient functionalization approach to access MOFs that could not be directly synthesized under solvothermal conditions. Metalation of the catechol functionality residing in the MOFs resulted in unprecedented Fe-monocatecholato and Cr-monocatecholato species, which were characterized by X-ray absorption spectroscopy, X-band electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy, and (57)Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy. The resulting materials are among the first examples of Zr(IV)-based UiO MOFs (UiO = University of Oslo) with coordinatively unsaturated active metal centers. Importantly, the Cr-metalated MOFs are active and efficient catalysts for the oxidation of alcohols to ketones using a wide range of substrates. Catalysis could be achieved with very low metal loadings (0.5-1 mol %). Unlike zeolite-supported, Cr-exchange oxidation catalysts, the MOF-based catalysts reported here are completely recyclable and reusable, which may make them attractive catalysts for 'green' chemistry processes

Driven Rydberg atoms reveal quartic level repulsion

The dynamics of Rydberg states of a hydrogen atom subject simultaneously to uniform static electric field and two microwave fields with commensurate frequencies is considered in the range of small fields amplitudes. In the certain range of the parameters of the system the classical secular motion of the electronic ellipse reveals chaotic behavior. Quantum mechanically, when the fine structure of the atom is taken into account, the energy level statistics obey predictions appropriate for the symplectic Gaussian random matrix ensemble.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Let

Linkage and Referral to HIV and Other Medical and Social Services: A Focused Literature Review for Sexually Transmitted Disease Prevention and Control Programs

BACKGROUND: Sexually transmitted disease (STD) program and clinic staff play an important role in providing linkage and referrals to programs and services that address the complex medical and psychosocial needs of their clients. We synthesized recent published literature related to effective practices for linkage to care for HIV and referral to other medical and social services. METHODS: Three PubMed searches were conducted to identify relevant studies published since 2004 on (1) linkage to HIV care, (2) referral within STD clinical contexts, and (3) (review articles only) referral practices among all medical specialties. Systematic review procedures were not used. RESULTS: Thirty-three studies were included in this review. Studies highlight the limited value of passive referral practices and the increased effectiveness of active referral and linkage practices. Numerous studies on linkage to HIV care suggest that case management approaches, cultural-linguistic concordance between linkage staff and clients, and structural features such as colocation facilitate timely linkage to care. Integration of other medical and social services such as family planning and alcohol screening services into STD settings may be optimal but resource-intensive. Active referral practices such as having a written referral protocols and agreements, using information technology to help transfer information between providers, and making appointments for clients may offer some benefit. Few studies included information on program costs associated with linkage and referral. CONCLUSIONS: Recent literature provides some guideposts for STD program and clinical staff to use in determining their approach to helping link and refer clients to needed care. Much experience with these issues within STD services remains unpublished, and key gaps in the literature remain

Yoga and Rehabilitation: Physical, Psychological, and Social

Non peer reviewe