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Effectiveness of Sensory Rooms in Acute Inpatient Psychiatric Units
No full textTo determine the effectiveness of sensory rooms for allowing patients to self-regulate in hopes of reducing the usage of restraints and seclusion on psychiatric units
Servant Leadership in Developing Cohousing with the Christine Center. A Descriptive Service - Learning Project
No full textThis study explored the importance of community and how servant leadership better serves this concept into reality. This study evaluated the Christine Center�s mission, history, and present situation. It defined how cohousing, in a personally designed structure, can be in alignment with the Christine Center�s next step of growth. It defined the qualities of a servant leader as a well-suited guide in developing this next step. The study brought the question, if additional community is wanted by the Christine Center
The Prevalence of Eating Disorder Related Behaviors in College Age Students Involved in Health-Related Areas of Study Versus Those in a Non-Health Related Area of Study
No full textThe purpose of this study was to examine the incidence rate of eating disorder related behaviors in college age students involved in a health-related area of study versus those who are not in a health-related area of study. A survey-based study of 104 college age students found that students involved in human health were not at any significantly higher risk of eating disorder related behaviors than their non-health counterparts. Those who met the criteria for disruptive food thought (DFT), were more likely to skip meals than those who did not meet criteria; 1.67 and meals per day 2.76 meals per day respectively. Participants also shared stories of events, course content, and impact of diet culture on their food and body choices. While significance in the health-related area of study was not found in this study, other qualitative data gather related to specific course contest, displayed need for further research and interventions for this group
"More Competency, Please": Exploring Counselor Educators' Experiences Cultivating Disability Competence.
No full textThe purpose of this study was to explore counselor educators' experiences cultivating disability-related competence in counseling programs accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Programs (CACREP). Consensual qualitative methodology (CQR), semi-structured interviews, and a demographic questionnaire were used to collect data from counselor educators (N = 11) infusing disability-related content into counseling courses across specialty areas. Following the rigorous processes as outlined in CQR methodology, the analysis team examined the data individually and reached consensus on three domains to include: ableism exists, deficiencies, and competence. The findings of the current study require a compulsory focus concerning disability equity in society and within the counseling profession
Program Evaluation of a Medication Teaching Intervention
No full textThere is growing evidence to suggest that older adults are taking an increasing number of medications. When combined with vision impairment, mental status changes, and overall frailty—safety of the individual may be jeopardized if one not well versed on their medication regimen. Bedside nurses have the opportunity to increase a patient's knowledge and safety of their medication regimen by means of providing teach-back education. The research question guiding this project was as follows: In hospitalized patients greater than 60 years of age and discharging home with two or more medications, what is the effectiveness and efficiency of self administration of medications with simultaneous teach-back to the bedside registered nurse? The purpose and goal of this intervention was to increase the knowledge and safety associated with a patient’s medication regimen, as well as develop a plan for medication adherence. This project was a program evaluation which measured the effectiveness and efficiency of the intervention based on patient pre- and post-intervention survey data, staff survey data, staff interviews, workflow observation, and document review. Based off a cumulation of evaluation data, the current program is neither efficient nor effective, therefore several recommendations have been made. A greater emphasis on staff education, implementing a medication of the week/month, creating a medication video guide, and introducing the idea of involving the pharmacist are all recommendations that may be implemented to improve the current program
Palliative Care Consults Effect on Patients' Quality of Life and Rehospitalization Rates
No full textAn estimated 117 million U.S. citizens have chronic illnesses, yet only 14% of individuals receive palliative cares services (Phongtankuel et al., 2018). An 81-bed, Midwestern U.S. hospital's palliative care team, comprised of certified nurse practitioners (CNP) and medical doctors (MD), identified the underutilization of palliative care services within the organization's inpatient population. The palliative care team relies on palliative care consults from the attending physician. Within a 3-year period, only 13.8% of patients admitted to the facility received palliative care consults (S. Thompson, personal communication, October 12, 2020). Consequently, the palliative care team identified the need for a standardized screening process to identify inpatients appropriate for palliative care services. Two Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) students sought to implement a standardized screening process using the Palliative Performance Scale (PPS; DeWitt et al., 2019). The purpose of the study was to explore the relationship between palliative care services and patients' perceived quality of life (QOL) and 30-day readmissions. The convenience sample included patients admitted to a 23-bed medical floor between June 2021 and September 2021. Overall, 80 patients were identified via the standardized screening process. Post-identification follow-up data was collected from September 2021 to December 2021. Study results demonstrated insufficient data was collected to fully analyze the impact of palliative care on patients' perceived QOL. There was no significant reduction in 30-day readmissions with palliative care involvement (χ² = 0.482; df 1; p = .488). Secondary outcomes, such as death within 90 days of discharge and hospice enrollment, were also analyzed
Reducing Medication Errors in ICUs through Use of Automated Medication Dispensing Systems
No full textMedication errors harm over 1.5 million people each year (Academy of Managed Care, 2019). The most common type of medical error that critical care patients experience are medication errors (Bourne et al., 2018). Medication errors jeopardize patient safety, a vital pillar of patient care
Patient Education Related to Tobacco Cessation Among Native Alaskan Pregnant Women
No full textTo determine the efficacy of providing individualized tobacco education to patients who are pregnant in hopes to reduce tobacco use throughout pregnancy
Oncolytic Reovirus Inhibits Breast Cancer Aggressiveness
No full textBreast cancer has a 99% 5-year survival rate when diagnosed early, but in patients with tumors that have progressed and spread throughout the body, the 5-year survival rate drops to around 30%. This is due to decreased therapies for systemic tumors and highlights the need for therapies that inhibit cancer spread. Within cancerous tumors hypoxic regions, areas lacking oxygen, result in the accumulation of HIF-1a that has been shown to induce blood vessel formation to the tumor called angiogenesis. HIF-1a induces pro-angiogenic factors, like vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and angiopoietin 2 (Ang-2), that promote new vasculature between the tumors and previously established blood vessels, making the perfect highway for cancer spread. Subsequently, research has shown that increased HIF-1a accumulation in tumors results in poorer prognosis for cancer patients. Interestingly, mammalian orthoreovirus (MRV), an oncolytic virus that is currently being investigated in clinical trials as a therapy for breast cancer patients, has been shown to inhibit HIF-1a accumulation in several cancer types. Using immunofluorescence assay we were able to observe and quantify a statistically significant decrease in HIF-1a accumulation in AU565 breast cancer cells. This work suggests that MRV also inhibits HIF-1a in clinically relevant breast cancer cells and suggests that MRV may also decrease angiogenesis and cancer spread. Ongoing and future work will investigate if MRV can also inhibit the transcription of pro-angiogenic factors VEGF and Ang-2. The results generated from this research will contribute to insight needed for MRV approval as an oncolytic virus therapy. Additionally, this work suggests that apart from killing tumors, MRV may also inhibit cancer spread and should be investigated in patients with high levels of HIF-1a expression
Tailored RN-Led Hypertension Teaching in a Small Hmong Community
No full textHypertension (HTN) continues to be a leading cause of many health complications, such as strokes, heart failures, heart attacks, and renal problems. Despite its prevalence, prevention and management interventions are limited to ethnic groups, particularly in the Hmong population. This quality improvement project aimed to improve HTN knowledge and blood pressure readings in Hmong participants who were 45 years of age and older and had a diagnosis of HTN through tailored education. A pre-and post-knowledge test was administered, as well as blood pressure collection at baseline (week 1), weeks 2, 4, 6, and 12. Four participants attended all sessions and recorded their blood pressures for analysis. The tailored-RN education sessions were shown to improve knowledge and belief about HTN. In addition, an overall reduction in blood pressure was also noted. The mean systolic blood pressure was 148.75 mmHg at baseline and decreased to 134.75 mmHg after the sessions were completed (p = .09). Similarly, average diastolic blood pressure decreased from 86 mmHg to 77.25 mmHg (p = .01). As noted in the literature, this tailored-RN education project seemed to be effective in improving Hmong participants' knowledge and beliefs about HTN as well as reducing their blood pressure. As such, programs like this could potentially help participants manage their blood pressure and prevent complications