Application of the Rasch Model to Measure Five Dimensions of Wellness in Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Background and Purpose: Nurse researchers and practicing nurses need reliable and valid instruments to measure key clinical concepts. The purpose of this research was to develop an innovative method to measure dimensions of wellness among older adults. Method: A sample of 5,604 community-dwelling older adults was drawn from members of the COLLAGE consortium. The Wellness Assessment Tool (WEL) of the COLLAGE assessment system provided the data used to create the scores. Application of the Rasch analysis and Masters\u27 partial credit method resulted in logit values for each item within the five dimensions of wellness as well as logit values for each person in the sample. Results: The items fit the Rasch model, and the composite scores for each dimension demonstrated high reliability (1.00). The person reliability was low: social (.19), intellectual (.33), physical (.29), emotional (.20), and spiritual (.29). The small number of items within each dimension and the homogenous sample appear to have contributed to this low reliability. Conclusion: Ongoing research using multidimensional tools to measure dimensions of wellness among older adults is needed to advance wellness science and wellness promotion in nursing practice

Self-Care Rates Among Undergraduate Human Services Students

For students enrolled in undergraduate human services programs, self-care can be a strategy for managing the stress and strains of academic life. However, few studies investigate the self-care practices of students enrolled in these educational programs. This study looks at the rate human services undergraduate students engage in self-care practices and considers how exploring these self-care practices can contribute to the knowledge base of future students related to this topic. Findings reveal the types of self-care behaviors most often engaged in and at what rate students practiced these behaviors. More studies are needed to examine the self-care practices of students enrolled in undergraduate human services programs

Five Dimensions of Wellness and Predictors of Cognitive Health Protection in Community Dwelling Older Adults: A Historical COLLAGE Cohort Study

Wellness is associated with cognitive health protection; however, findings are limited because they only examine variable(s) within one dimension of wellness. This research examined the association between multiple dimensions of wellness and cognition among aging adults. The sample included 5,605 male and female community-dwelling adults 60 years and older. Four dimensions of wellness demonstrated a statistically significant higher mean difference in cognitively healthy older adults compared to cognitively impaired older adults, F(4, 5,595) = 47.57, p \u3c .001. Emotional wellness demonstrated the strongest association with cognitive health, followed by physical and spiritual wellness, F(5, 5,372) = 50.35, p \u3c .001. Future research is needed to examine the cognitive protective benefits of wellness using longitudinal, prospective designs that control for the potential temporal relationship between wellness and cognition.DOI: 10.1177/089801011454032

Wellness Promotion and the Institute of Medicine\u27s Future of Nursing Report: Are Nurses Ready?

This article highlights the gap between wellness in nursing practice and the mission statement of the Institute of Medicine\u27s Future of Nursing Report. It explores wellness from 3 philosophical arguments, provides a historical evolution of wellness, and explores nurses\u27 current understanding of wellness. Future directions for implementing wellness in nursing practice are provided for science, education, and leadership

Sustainability of Reforms, Both School and University Based

Further Reform in Teacher Preparation: School and University Based Abstract This study grew out of a five-year grant whose purpose was reform of teacher preparation programs. A Professional Development School (PDS) model was designed to support this work thus a university partnered with five elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school. At a transitional phase near the end of the grant, this study was designed to discover what teachers involved in the PDS thought should be kept in the programs and activities, what should be changed, and what should be added. Anonymous data was then compiled and analyzed to uncover categories and themes. Three main categories emerged in two of prompts (Keep and Add), which were program-based - professional development and activities. The prompt, Change, had only one category, which was also program-based. As the partnership moves forward this information has been vitally important to PDS sustainability

Impact of Summer Residential Camps on the Tourism System

A study was conducted to understand the contributions of organized summer camps to the tourism system, as well as their contributions to the local economy. The sources of information families used for trip planning were also explored. Results revealed that summer residential camps in Western North Carolina can be a catalyst for the travel and tourism industry. In addition to the generation of considerable economic impact and substantial tax revenues, summer camps also draw the majority of camp families and staff to travel great distances to local areas, spend large amounts of money there, and actively participate in tourist opportunities

What Might Encourage the Male Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) Victim to Speak Out to End the Abuse?

AbstractWhat Might Encourage the Male Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) Victim to Speak Out to End the Abuse? by Madeline W. Kelley MA, Walden University, 2017 BS, Liberty University, 2016 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Criminal Justice (CRJS) – Leadership; Teaching Walden University May 2021 Abstract In over 55%-80% of intimate partner violence (IPV) cases, the victim is male. Nonetheless, the police arrest the male as the perpetrator in over 80% of IPV cases. Embarrassed at being regularly beaten by his female domestic partner, the male IPV victim commonly says nothing in his defense. He is likely to cover for his abuser, quietly taking the blame for the offenses she projects upon him. The Criminal Justice Systems (CJSs) of western states require police responding to IPV calls distinguish the victim from the perpetrator. Even so, police may not regularly use their evidence-based practices (EBP) training to gather evidence to make such a distinction. The purpose of this study using the lens of punctuated equilibrium theory was to explore what makes the male IPV victim reluctant to speak out to end the abuse, focusing specifically on police actions when arriving at an IPV site where the victim is male. The key research questions of the phenomenological, qualitative study then asked the seven participants what the silent male IPV victim perceived his experiences with the police to have been and what he perceived would be the effect if police and judges were consistently to apply their EBP training in IPV cases. The analyzed results indicated the participants wanted the police and judges to make use of evidence to distinguish perpetrator from victim to reform the victimizer and stop the violence by deterring the crime. The findings may be used by police and judges for positive social change to reduce IPV

Cyclobutanone Inhibitors of Diaminopimelate Desuccinylase (DapE) as Potential New Antibiotics

Based on our previous success in using cyclobutanone derivatives as enzyme inhibitors, we have designed and prepared a 37-member library of α-aminocyclobutanone amides and sulfonamides, screened for inhibition of the bacterial enzyme diaminopimelate desuccinylase (DapE), which is a promising antibiotic target, and identified several inhibitors with micromolar inhibitory potency. Molecular docking suggests binding of the deprotonated hydrate of the strained cyclobutanone, and thermal shift analysis with the most potent inhibitor (3y, IC50 = 23.1 µM) enabled determination of a Ki value of 10.2 +/− 0.26 µM and observed two separate Tm values for H. influenzae DapE (HiDapE)