Disaster Care, Brain Drain, More: Recommended Reading in AJN’s March Issue

The March issue of AJN is now live.

“Nurses play a critical role in disaster preparedness, response, and recovery,” says Linda M. MacIntyre, PhD, RN, PHN, FAAN, chief nurse of the American Red Cross (see On the Cover). Two articles in this month’s issue address disaster care:

Brain drain is increasing in health care. “Original Research: Nurses’ Attitudes Toward Brain Drain and the Associated Factors” explores the attitudes of Turkish nurses, nurse academics, and nursing students toward this problem in the nursing profession.

In this month’s CE article, “Beyond PICO—A New Question Simplifies the Search for Evidence,” the authors present the framework for an alternative to the PICO question—PPCO, or problem, population, change, outcome—that provides a universal approach to question development for evidence-based practice QI initiatives and for all nursing issues that need addressing.

Read […]

2024-02-26T09:29:37-05:00February 26th, 2024|Nursing|0 Comments

February Issue: Contraception Options Update, Polypharmacy’s Dangers, Managing Urinary Incontinence, More

“Yes, we need to be fiscally responsible, but nurses’ main priority shouldn’t be patient throughput or implementing changes that save money while compromising care and patient outcomes. Nurses must be enabled to nurse.”editor-in-chief Shawn Kennedy in her editorial, “Who Will Be Left to Care?”

The February issue of AJN is now live! Here are the highlights:

CE: An Evidence-Based Update on Contraception

A comprehensive review of the major characteristics of nonpermanent contraceptive methods, including combined hormonal contraceptives, progestin-only methods, nonhormonal methods, and recent innovations in contraception.

CE: Mitigating the Dangers of Polypharmacy in Community-Dwelling Older Adults

The author explores the factors that contribute to polypharmacy in
older adults, examines its negative physiological and economic effects, and outlines strategies to promote safe and appropriate medication prescribing.
[…]

2020-01-27T09:45:06-05:00January 27th, 2020|Nursing|0 Comments

The Health Impacts of Hurricane Harvey—What Nurses Need to Know

Geocolor imagery of Hurricane Harvey on verge of making landfall. Image created by the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere.

As Hurricane Harvey, now a tropical storm, continues to affect a large area of southern Texas and other parts of the South, the full impact on human health has yet to be determined. But it’s clear the flooding has caused a historical crisis in Houston and surrounding areas—and that nurses and other health professionals will be in great demand in the coming days, weeks, and months.

Short- and Long-Term Health Concerns

The short- and long-term health consequences people are facing as they escape rising water levels are detailed in the Washington Post. Although drowning is the most immediate and dangerous threat during a flood, those seeking safety are also endangered by sharp objects and even wild animals caught up in floodwaters. Mold and its impact on human health will be a concern in the coming weeks and months, as water-damaged buildings are reoccupied.

In the meantime, health authorities are worried about the spread of infectious diseases. As sewage contaminates the floodwaters and people […]

Information for Nurses Who Help in Disasters

Nurses are often at the front lines of disaster response. How prepared are nurses—and the hospitals and other facilities where they may work?

Louisiana National Guard at Baton Rouge River Center, Aug 15, 2016, after major flooding pushed residents from homes. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Spc. Garrett L. Dipuma/RELEASED) Louisiana National Guard, Baton Rouge River Center, Aug 15, 2016, after flooding pushed residents from homes. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Spc. Garrett L. Dipuma/RELEASED)

The television news reports have recently been full of the devastating flooding in Louisiana. Especially heart-wrenching are the images of people, especially […]

Hurricane Aftermath

By Shawn Kennedy, MA, RN, AJN editor-in-chief

Well, Hurricane Irene has come and gone in the northeast United States. While it certainly destroyed property, downed power lines, and caused flooding, many are thinking that we escaped the worst, since Irene morphed from a hurricane into a tropical storm when it made landfall in Long Island, New York.

This is not to diminish the tragedy that it caused—in loss of life (CNN reports 25 Irene-related deaths)  and destruction of property.  And I sympathize with those who experienced flooding or lost power. Cooking, showering, and basic daily activities become major challenges and require ingenuity, creativity, and sometimes a touch of genius. While initially this merely seems inconvenient, after a few days it’s exhausting. I’m sure there will be many households without power for weeks, judging from some local news reports.

An important potential health hazard that wasn’t covered in depth on the news is walking or wading in flood waters in shorts and bare feet or flip-flops. Flood waters often contain contaminants from storm drains and sewers, including raw sewage (as one news reporter discovered only after he was covered in it). Debris, sharp objects, and even power lines may be hidden underwater, as well as ditches or drains (47-year-old postal worker Ronald Dawkins, from Orange, New Jersey, was killed when he tried to wade through rising water to a postal facility where he worked and stepped into a hidden drainage creek).

The Centers for Disease Control […]

2016-11-21T13:12:02-05:00August 29th, 2011|Nursing|0 Comments
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