nursing research Archives - Page 10 of 39

AJN in May: Night-Shift Naps, Intrathecal Cancer Pain Relief, Teaching Nurses to Write, More

On this month’s cover is A Maid Asleep (1656–57) by the Dutch master Johannes Vermeer. We chose this painting to call attention to the issue of sleepiness in nurses who work the night shift, which is explored in this month’s Original Research article.

On-the-job sleepiness among nurses can increase the risk of patient care errors, job-related injuries, and long-term health problems.

For night-shift nurses, one potential solution is being allowed to take brief naps during a shift, which the American Nurses Association recommends as an evidence-based countermeasure to fatigue. But nurses may face barriers to doing so, including a lack of formal breaks on the unit and concerns about impeding the quality of nursing care. To learn about a project that explored those barriers and attempted to implement night-shift naps, read “Napping on the Night Shift: A Two-Hospital Implementation Project.”

Some other articles of note in the May issue:

CE Feature: “Intrathecal Pumps for Managing Cancer Pain.” Among patients with cancer, moderate to severe pain is prevalent and can be refractory even with the use of systemic opioids, which may cause adverse effects that are difficult to manage at the doses required to control pain. When delivered intrathecally, however, opioids and adjuvant analgesics may provide greater pain relief at dramatically lower doses and with fewer adverse effects. This article provides an overview of intrathecal pump therapy, including its benefits and potential risks and complications; the medications that can be delivered intrathecally; and the nursing […]

Diane Szulecki, editor2016-11-21T13:01:16-05:00April 29th, 2016|Nursing, nursing perspective, nursing research|0 Comments

‘Do You Consider Yourself Healthy?’ Study Sheds Light on RNs’ Lifestyle Practices

By Sylvia Foley, AJN senior editor

Over the past decade, the lifestyle practices of nurses and their connection to quality of care and patient outcomes have been gaining attention. Indeed, according to the patient-centered, relationship-based care model, one of the main conditions for optimal care is that providers engage in healthy self-care behaviors. Yet there is some evidence suggesting that RNs don’t consistently do so, especially when it comes to exercise and stress reduction—even when they believe they should.

Nurse researchers Karen Thacker and colleagues recently conducted a study to learn more. They report their findings in this month’s CE–Original Research feature, “An Investigation into the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Practices of RNs.” Here’s a brief summary:

Purpose: To gather baseline data on the health-promoting lifestyle practices of RNs working in six major health care and educational institutions in southeastern Pennsylvania.
Methods: The 52-item Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile II instrument was used to explore participants’ self-reported health-promoting behaviors and measure six dimensions: health responsibility, physical activity, nutrition, interpersonal relations, spiritual growth, and stress management.
Results: Findings revealed that physical activity and stress management scores were low for the entire group of RNs. There were statistically significant differences between nurses 50 years of age and older and those 30 to 39 years of age for the subscales of health responsibility, nutrition, and stress management, suggesting that older nurses are more concerned about […]

Guest Author2016-11-21T13:01:18-05:00April 15th, 2016|Nursing, nursing perspective, nursing research, personal health practices|0 Comments

AJN in April: Nurses and Self-Care, Late HL Treatment Effects, POC Blood Glucose Meters in ICUs, More

AJN0416.Cover.Online

On this month’s cover is a 1924 portrait of the Grace Hospital School of Nursing basketball team in Detroit. Most nursing schools had basketball teams in their early days—as far back as the 1920s. This photo of the Grace Hospital team was featured in the September 1924 issue of AJN in an article on basketball in Detroit nursing schools.

Understanding the importance of maintaining physical well-being is a fundamental aspect of nursing. For a variety of reasons, including competing priorities and the demands of caring for others, nurses may not practice sufficient self-care. To read a study that analyzed how today’s RNs fare in terms of health-promoting behaviors like physical activity, stress management, and more, see “Original Research: An Investigation into the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Practices of RNs.” While “physical activity and stress management scores were low for the entire group of RNs,” there were some notable differences between age groups of nurses.

Some other articles of note in the April issue:

CE Feature: “Cardiotoxicity and Breast Cancer as Late Effects of Pediatric and Adolescent Hodgkin Lymphoma Treatment.” This second article in a series on cancer survivorship care from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center reviews the late adverse effects associated with the management of Hodgkin lymphoma (HL). Nurses’ familiarity with and attention to the late effects of the chemotherapy and radiation therapy used to treat HL, which include breast cancer as […]

Diane Szulecki, editor2016-11-21T13:01:20-05:00March 25th, 2016|Nursing, nursing research|0 Comments

‘Less Codes, Less Death’: A Study Explores Nurses’ Perceptions of the Benefits of Rapid Response Teams

By Sylvia Foley, AJN senior editor

For any given health care program, staff perceptions about how well it works will affect its use and maintenance. This is the case with regard to rapid response teams (RRTs). Nurse leaders’ perceptions of the benefits of RRT teams will influence their support for these teams; and the perceptions of RRT members and end users similarly will influence use. Yet little is known regarding such perceptions.

Nurse researcher Deonni Stolldorf recently conducted a study to learn more. She reports on her findings in one of this month’s Original Research features, “The Benefits of Rapid Response Teams: Exploring Perceptions of Nurse Leaders, Team Members, and End Users.” Here’s a brief summary:

Objective: This study sought to explore and compare the perceptions of nurse leaders, RRT members, and RRT users regarding the benefits of RRTs.
Methods: A qualitative, multiple-case study design was used. Semistructured interviews were conducted with nurse leaders, RRT members, and RRT users at four community hospitals, as part of a larger mixed-methods study examining RRT sustainability.
Results: All participants reported perceiving various ways that RRTs benefit the organization, staff members, and patients. Variations in the benefits perceived were observed between the three participant groups. Nurse leaders’ perceptions tended to focus on macro-level benefits. RRT members emphasized the teaching and learning opportunities that RRTs offer. RRT […]

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Guest Author2016-11-21T13:01:24-05:00March 4th, 2016|Nursing, nursing perspective, nursing research|3 Comments

AJN in February: Latino RNs in the U.S., Nurse Bullying, Hypoglycemia in Older Adults, More

On this month’s cover, nurse Sarah Carruth comforts a young patient at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, DC. This photo is the second-place winner of AJN’s 2015 Faces of Caring: Nurses at Work photo contest, in which readers worldwide submitted candid photos of nurses on the job.

When the child’s parents had to leave the room and he became unsettled, Carruth held him and comforted him with a stuffed toy. She says the photo captures the important type of quiet moment that often gets lost in the bustle: “It can be so busy that you forget about the times when you get to show that you care.”

Having worked as a pediatric nurse for 15 years, Carruth knows that meeting the emotional needs of children is a crucial aspect of caring for them. “It’s not just about giving medicine and assessing vital signs,” she says. “They need the time to be loved.”

Some articles of note in the February issue:

Original Research: “Latino Nurses in the United States: An Overview of Three Decades (1980–2010).” Latinos are underrepresented in the nursing workforce. The authors of this article find that while the overall number of Latinos has grown dramatically in the U.S. over the 30-year study period, the number of Latino nurses has not. As the Latino population in the U.S. continues to increase, nursing education programs and institutions will need to do more […]

Diane Szulecki, editor2016-11-21T13:01:31-05:00January 29th, 2016|Nursing, nursing research|0 Comments