The potential influence of a social media intervention on risky sexual behavior and Chlamydia incidence.

The purpose of this descriptive pilot study was to evaluate an evidence-based social-networking intervention aimed at reducing the incidence of Chlamydia among 15- to 24-year-olds. The intervention consists of a Facebook site that addresses signs, symptoms, treatment, screening, and prevention of Chlamydia infection. Findings included a 23% self-reported increase in condom utilization, and a 54% reduction in positive Chlamydia cases among 15- to 17-year-olds. Study results support that social media may be an effective mechanism for information dissemination and the promotion of positive behavioral changes among this population.

Three population-patient care outcome indicators for public health nursing: results of a consensus project.

OBJECTIVES: Difficulties in recruiting nurses into public health settings threaten the public's health. Gaps in existing data make determining the health impact of workforce changes numbers difficult to perform. Public health practice leaders are left to make difficult staffing and program decisions without knowing how the health of their vulnerable populations will be affected. The objective of this study was to identify indicators that could be used to document the effect of the shortage of public health nurses (PHNs) on the health of a population. DESIGN AND SAMPLE: A consensus-building process was used. Nursing directors from 6 local health departments (LHDs) in 2 states participated along with 3 public health system researchers. RESULTS: The findings from this collaborative process suggest that it is possible to identify outcome indicators across states and multiple LHDs that may be sensitive to PHN staffing levels and interventions. Possible connections between PHN staffing and each population-patient care indicator (rates of Chlamydia, first trimester prenatal care, early childhood immunization) are presented. CONCLUSIONS: The process used here in identifying these indicators and the proposed nursing-sensitive population outcome indicators themselves provide a template for the development and analysis of additional outcome indicators sensitive to the quality of nursing and other health care.

Creating a brand image for public health nursing.

Public health nurses (PHNs) have declined as a proportion of both the nursing and the public health workforces in the past 2 decades. This decline comes as 30 states report public health nursing as the sector most affected in the overall public health shortage. Taken together, these data point to a need for renewed recruitment efforts. However, the current public images of nurses are primarily those of professionals employed in hospital settings. Therefore, this paper describes the development of a marketable image aimed at increasing the visibility and public awareness of PHNs and their work. Such a brand image was seen as a precursor to increasing applications for PHN positions. A multimethod qualitative sequential approach guided the branding endeavor. From the thoughts of public health nursing students, faculty, and practitioners came artists' renditions of four award-winning posters. These posters portray public health nursing-incorporating its image, location of practice, and levels of protection afforded the community. Since their initial unveiling, these posters have been distributed by request throughout the United States and Canada. The overwhelming response serves to underline the previous void of current professional images of public health nursing and the need for brand images to aid with recruitment.

Making a case for acute ischemic stroke.

Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United States and the number one cause of adult long-term disability. Disability in stroke survivors includes hemiparesis, aphasia, inability to walk without assistance, dependence on others for activities of daily living, depression, and institutionalization. Immediate recognition of acute ischemic stroke (AIS) signs and symptoms is required because many treatment options are time sensitive. Hospital transport via activation of 911 and emergency medical services (EMSs) removes delays to urgent diagnosis and intervention. Intravenous (IV) recombinant tissue plasminogen (rt-PA) is a time-sensitive reperfusion strategy. The American Heart Association (AHA) and American Stroke Association (ASA) recently revised recommendations that the time window for IV rt-PA be expanded from 3 hours to 4.5 hours after symptom onset in patients with mild to moderate stroke. Supportive therapies include crystalloid IV solutions, adequate oxygenation, and normothermia. Best rest is desired along with oxygen supplementation. Avoidance of fever is paramount since fever can contribute to negative outcomes. It is the purpose of this article to review risk factors, stroke symptoms, epidemiology, and current drug therapy of AIS. Standards of care will be reviewed.

Self-reported competency of public health nurses and faculty in Illinois.

Having a public health workforce with a high level of competency is a prerequisite for having an effective public health system. The purpose of these two studies was to assess the competency level of practicing public health nurses (PHNs; n=168) from 50 local health agencies and public health nursing faculty (n=46) from 31 nursing programs in Illinois. The questionnaire consisted of nine reliable scales using self-reported levels of competence in each PHN competency domain. Overall, PHNs reported only feeling competent in one domain: "linking people to services." Although PHN faculty felt competent across the nine domains, they did not report feeling competent to teach any of the domains. Thus, PHNs and public health nursing faculty need education and training to meet the professionally established level of competence.

Higher-order factor analysis of an instrument with dichotomous data.

This article reports the use of higher-order factor analysis to examine the underlying dimensions of an instrument designed to measure community acceptance of nurse practitioners/physician's assistants. The instrument consisted of both dichotomous and Likert scale items. Use of factor analysis with dichotomous data is controversial. Higher-order factor analysis provides a potential solution to this dilemma. Following initial factor analysis using maximum likelihood extraction with oblique rotation, the factor correlation matrix was factored to obtain second order factors. The second order factors were interpreted using the factor pattern matrix and examining correlations of individual survey items with the second order factors. This procedure provides additional factorial validity of the underlying uni- and multidimensional concepts related to acceptance of NPs and PAs in rural settings: knowledge, competence, access, and trust.