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Describing Spirituality at the End of Life
Spirituality is salient to persons nearing the end of life (EOL). Unfortunately, researchers have not been able to agree on a universal definition of spirituality reducing the effectiveness of spiritual research. To advance spiritual knowledge and build an evidence base, researchers must develop creative ways to describe spirituality as it cannot be explicitly defined. A literature review was conducted to determine the common attributes that comprise the essence of spirituality, thereby creating a common ground on which to base spiritual research. Forty original research articles (2002 to 2012) focusing on EOL and includin...
Source: Western Journal of Nursing Research - July 24, 2015 Category: Nursing Authors: Stephenson, P. S., Berry, D. M. Tags: Review Article Source Type: research

Depicting Changes in Multiple Symptoms Over Time
Ridit analysis, an acronym for Relative to an Identified Distribution, is a method for assessing change in ordinal data and can be used to show how individual symptoms change or remain the same over time. The purposes of this article are to (a) describe how to use ridit analysis to assess change in a symptom measure using data from a longitudinal study, (b) give a step-by-step example of ridit analysis, (c) show the clinical relevance of applying ridit analysis, and (d) display results in an innovative graphic. Mean ridit effect sizes were calculated for the frequency and distress of 64 symptoms in lung transplant patients...
Source: Western Journal of Nursing Research - July 24, 2015 Category: Nursing Authors: Muehrer, R. J., Brown, R. L., Lanuza, D. M. Tags: Methods Article Source Type: research

Factors Associated With Forensic Nurses Offering HIV nPEP Status Post Sexual Assault
This study examines factors associated with FNEs offering nPEP to patients following sexual assault at two FNE programs in urban settings. Offering nPEP is mostly driven by site-specific protocol. At Site 1, in addition to open anal or open genital wounds, the presence of injury to the head or face was associated with FNEs offering nPEP (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 64.15, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [2.12, 1942.37]). At Site 2, patients assaulted by someone of Other race/ethnicity (non-White, non-African American) were 86% less likely to be offered nPEP (AOR 0.14, 95% CI = [.03, .72]) than patients assaulted by Whites. In...
Source: Western Journal of Nursing Research - July 24, 2015 Category: Nursing Authors: Draughon, J. E., Hauda, W. E., Price, B., Rotolo, S., Austin, K. W., Sheridan, D. J. Tags: Research Reports Source Type: research

A Qualitative Investigation of the Significance of Companion Dogs
Using a qualitative design, the purpose of this study was to examine how people describe their relationship with their dog and what they do that suggest this bond represents a meaningful relationship. Dog owners (N = 27) aged 19 years and older were invited to participate in one of seven focus group discussions. A qualitative content analysis revealed the presence of three themes: (a) the impact of dogs on interpersonal relationships, (b) dogs as subjective beings, and (c) psychological and health benefits of dogs. The second theme reflects the personal agency of dogs and their unique contributions to the human–dog r...
Source: Western Journal of Nursing Research - July 24, 2015 Category: Nursing Authors: Maharaj, N., Haney, C. J. Tags: Research Reports Source Type: research

Effect of Cardiac Arrhythmia Simulation on Nursing Students' Knowledge Acquisition and Retention
This study aims to evaluate the effect of simulation-based teaching on the acquisition and retention of arrhythmia-related knowledge among nursing students. A randomized controlled design involving a pretest–posttest was used. Nursing students were allocated randomly either to the experimental group (n = 47), who attended simulation scenarios on cardiac arrhythmia, or to the control group (n = 44) who received a traditional lecture on the same topic. A paired t test showed that the mean knowledge score at the posttest was significantly higher than at the pretest for both groups. However, participants in the experimen...
Source: Western Journal of Nursing Research - July 24, 2015 Category: Nursing Authors: Tubaishat, A., Tawalbeh, L. I. Tags: Intervention Studies Source Type: research

Effect of Psychosocial Skills Training on Functional Remission of Patients With Schizophrenia
This study was conducted as a two-group pretest–posttest design to determine the effect of psychosocial skills training on functional remission levels of patients with schizophrenia. A total of 100 patients were divided into the training group (n = 50) and the control group (n = 50). The data were collected using a Personal Information Form and Functional Remission of General Schizophrenia (FROGS) scale. The 13-session training program was given in the form of face-to-face group training and 45- to 60-min sessions twice a week. Training was completed by five groups. Every group comprised of 9 to 12 individuals on ave...
Source: Western Journal of Nursing Research - July 24, 2015 Category: Nursing Authors: Uzdil, N., Tanrıverdi, D. Tags: Intervention Studies Source Type: research

Achieving Tenure: Planning for a Marathon, Not a Sprint
(Source: Western Journal of Nursing Research)
Source: Western Journal of Nursing Research - July 24, 2015 Category: Nursing Authors: Vogelsmeier, A., Phillips, L., Popejoy, L., Bloom, T. Tags: Editorial Source Type: research

Midwest Nursing Research Society News
(Source: Western Journal of Nursing Research)
Source: Western Journal of Nursing Research - July 2, 2015 Category: Nursing Authors: Lach, H. W., Aaronson, L. S. Tags: Information Exchange Source Type: research

Effective Nurse Communication With Type 2 Diabetes Patients: A Review
Many type 2 diabetes mellitus patients have difficulties reaching optimal blood glucose control. With patients treated in primary care by nurses, nurse communication plays a pivotal role in supporting patient health. The twofold aim of the present review is to categorize common barriers to nurse–patient communication and to review potentially effective communication methods. Important communication barriers are lack of skills and self-efficacy, possibly because nurses work in a context where they have to perform biomedical examinations and then perform patient-centered counseling from a biopsychosocial approach. Trai...
Source: Western Journal of Nursing Research - July 2, 2015 Category: Nursing Authors: Mulder, B. C., Lokhorst, A. M., Rutten, G. E. H. M., van Woerkum, C. M. J. Tags: Review Paper Source Type: research

Breast Cancer Cause Beliefs: Chinese, Korean, and Mexican American Breast Cancer Survivors
This study examined causal attribution beliefs about breast cancer and the influence that these beliefs exert on health behavior change among breast cancer survivors (BCS). Focus groups with Chinese (n = 21), Korean (n = 11), and Mexican American (n = 9) BCS recruited through community- and hospital-based support groups were conducted. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and translated into English for thematic content analysis. Three themes concerning beliefs about breast cancer cause common to all three groups included (a) stress, (b) diet, and (c) fatalism. Causal beliefs corresponded to behavioral cha...
Source: Western Journal of Nursing Research - July 2, 2015 Category: Nursing Authors: Gonzalez, P., Lim, J.-W., Wang-Letzkus, M., Flores, K. F., Allen, K. M., Castaneda, S. F., Talavera, G. A. Tags: Research Reports Source Type: research

A Structural Model of Health-Related Quality of Life in Parkinson's Disease Patients
This study utilized structural equation modeling (SEM) to predict the HRQOL of patients with PD. Participants (N = 217) were patients diagnosed with PD (M age = 66.01). Demographic and disease-related characteristics, sleep quality, pain, depression, and HRQOL were investigated via a structured questionnaire. Participants’ functional factors were measured using physical function evaluations. The hypothetical model verified disease-related factors, depression, and pain as direct factors that significantly predicted HRQOL of patients with PD (Goodness of Fit Index = 0.93 and Comparative Fit Index = 0.96). These finding...
Source: Western Journal of Nursing Research - July 2, 2015 Category: Nursing Authors: Lee, J., Choi, M., Jung, D., Sohn, Y. H., Hong, J. Tags: Research Reports Source Type: research

Examining Dose of Diabetes Group Medical Visits and Characteristics of the Uninsured
Type 2 diabetes is a significant problem for the uninsured. Diabetes Group Medical Visits (DGMVs) have been reported to improve outcomes. However, it is not known if the increased workload of the health care team to treat and educate patients at multiple visits has an impact on patient functioning and well-being. The aim of this study was to explore the impact of dose of DGMVs on biophysical outcomes of care in uninsured persons with diabetes. No significant correlations were found between number of DGMVs attended and biophysical outcomes of care. However, the majority of patients attended two or less DGMVs in 1 year. Dose...
Source: Western Journal of Nursing Research - July 2, 2015 Category: Nursing Authors: Mallow, J. A., Theeke, L. A., Barnes, E. R., Whetsel, T. Tags: Intervention Studies Source Type: research

The Effects of a School-Based Atopy Care Program for School-Aged Children
This study derived guidelines that elementary health teachers can use in practice for school-aged children with AD. We concluded that there is sufficient evidence of effectiveness for the SACP to be used as a model for chronic disease management in school-aged children. (Source: Western Journal of Nursing Research)
Source: Western Journal of Nursing Research - July 2, 2015 Category: Nursing Authors: Ryu, H., Lee, Y. Tags: Intervention Studies Source Type: research

Continuing the Journey: Transitioning to the New Tenure-Track Faculty Role
(Source: Western Journal of Nursing Research)
Source: Western Journal of Nursing Research - July 2, 2015 Category: Nursing Authors: Chase, J.-A. D., Thiele, D. K. Tags: Editorial Source Type: research

Midwest Nursing Research Society News
(Source: Western Journal of Nursing Research)
Source: Western Journal of Nursing Research - June 12, 2015 Category: Nursing Authors: Lach, H. W., Buckwalter, K. C., Aaronson, L. S. Tags: Information Exchange Source Type: research