The Impact of HeartMath Resiliency Training on Health Care Providers.

BACKGROUND: Health care providers must think clearly and make critical decisions under stressful circumstances. Providing effective strategies for managing stress in the moment helps mitigate the physical, emotional, and psychological impacts associated with caring for others and promotes resiliency. Staff may also utilize these techniques with patients and their families to help alleviate the symptoms of stress that may be experienced as the result of illness. AIM: The purpose of this study was to measure whether HeartMath techniques reduce stress and improve resiliency in health care providers. METHODS: Study participants were asked to complete the Personal and Organizational Quality Assessment-Revised 4 Scale (2016) immediately before the start of training and then again 4 to 6 weeks after completion of the class. Participants were also asked to voluntarily share their experiences using HeartMath techniques personally or with family, friends, and patients. RESULTS: Significant improvements were found in 3 of 4 primary scales (organizational stress, emotional stress, and physical stress) and in 6 of 9 subscales on the Personal and Organizational Quality Assessment-Revised 4 Scale indicating a positive impact on employee health, well-being, and performance. Stories shared by participants posttraining indicated that HeartMath techniques were being used personally and with patients as an adjunct in the management of pain, anxiety, and insomnia. CONCLUSIONS: This study supports existing evidence that HeartMath techniques are effective in managing stress and increasing resiliency. These techniques are also valuable tools for health care providers to use with patients and their families in the management of symptoms such as pain, anxiety, and sleeplessness related to hospitalization and illness.

Reducing Anxiety and Improving Engagement in Health Care Providers Through an Auricular Acupuncture Intervention.

BACKGROUND: Stress and anxiety are experienced by health care providers as a consequence of caregiving and may result in physical, emotional, and psychological outcomes that negatively impact work engagement. AIM: The purpose of this study was to determine whether auricular acupuncture can reduce provider anxiety and improve work engagement. METHODS: Study participants received 5 auricular acupuncture sessions within a 16-week period utilizing the National Acupuncture Detoxification Association protocol for treating emotional trauma. Each participant completed the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES-9) prior to their first session and again after their fifth treatment. RESULTS: Significant reductions were found in state and trait anxiety (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory), as well as significant increases in the overall scores on the UWES as compared with baseline. Only the dedication subcategory of the UWES showed significant improvement. CONCLUSIONS: Engagement has been linked to increased productivity and well-being and improved patient and organizational outcomes. Providing effective strategies such as auricular acupuncture to support health care providers in reducing anxiety in the workplace may improve engagement.

Auricular acupuncture to relieve health care workers' stress and anxiety: impact on caring.

BACKGROUND: The caring relationship between individual health care providers and patients is a critical component of healing. However, caring can result in physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual symptoms in providers that can interfere with their capacity to enter into these relationships. PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate whether auricular acupuncture is an effective tool for reducing health care provider stress and anxiety and, second, to determine if auricular acupuncture impacts provider capacity for developing caring relationships with patients. METHODS: Preintervention and postintervention surveys were evaluated to see if auricular acupuncture was associated with changes in State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Professional Quality of Life, and Caring Ability Inventory scores. RESULTS: Compared with baseline, participants had a significant reduction in state anxiety (STAI), trait anxiety (STAI), burnout, and secondary traumatic stress scores (Professional Quality of Life). Significant increases were noted in courage and patience, 2 dimensions of the Caring Ability Inventory. CONCLUSIONS: Auricular acupuncture is an effective intervention for the relief of stress/anxiety in providers and supports heightened capacity for caring.

Development of a hospital reiki training program: training volunteers to provide reiki to patients, families, and staff in the acute care setting.

Creating a healing and healthy environment for patients, families, and staff is an ongoing challenge. As part of our hospital's Integrative Care Program, a Reiki Volunteer Program has helped to foster a caring and healing environment, providing a means for patients, family, and staff to reduce pain and anxiety and improve their ability to relax and be present. Because direct care providers manage multiple and competing needs at any given time, they may not be available to provide Reiki when it is needed. This program demonstrates that a volunteer-based program can successfully support nurses in meeting patient, family, and staff demand for Reiki services.

Identification of peroxiredoxin-5 in bovine cauda epididymal sperm.

Developing spermatozoa require a series of posttesticular modifications within the luminal environment of the epididymis to achieve maturation; this involves several surface modifications including changes in plasma membrane lipids, proteins, carbohydrates, and alterations in the outer acrosomal membrane. Epididymal maturation can therefore allow sperm to gain forward motility and fertilization capabilities. The objective of this study was to identify maturation-dependent protein(s) and to investigate their role with the production of functionally competent spermatozoa. Lectin blot analyses of caput and cauda sperm plasma membrane fractions identified a 17.5 kDa wheat germ agglutinin (WGA)-binding polypeptide present in the cauda sperm plasma membrane not in the caput sperm plasma membrane. Among the several WGA-stained bands, the presence of a 17.5 kDa WGA-binding polypeptide band was detected only in cauda epididymal fluid not in caput epididymal fluid suggesting that the 17.5 kDa WGA-binding polypeptide is secreted from the cauda epididymis and binds to the cauda sperm plasma membrane during epididymal transit. Proteomic identification of the 17.5 kDa polypeptide yielded 13 peptides that matched the sequence of peroxiredoxin-5 (PRDX5) protein (Bos Taurus). We propose that bovine cauda sperm PRDX5 acts as an antioxidant enzyme in the epididymal environment, which is crucial in protecting the viable sperm population against the damage caused by endogeneous or exogeneous peroxide.

Isolation of a calcium-binding protein of the acrosomal membrane of bovine spermatozoa.

The mammalian sperm acrosome reaction is a calcium-dependent exocytotic event characterized by extensive fusion between the plasma and the outer acrosomal membrane. The mechanisms by which elevation of cytosolic calcium initiates the membrane fusion process are not understood and the present study was undertaken to identify calcium-binding proteins in the acrosomal membrane (AM) of bovine spermatozoa. Sperm heads, purified from sonicated spermatozoa, were used to isolate an acrosomal membrane-enriched fraction on Percoll density gradients. Using SDS-PAGE and a (45)Ca(2+)-blot overlay assay, calcium-binding proteins of 64, 45, 43, and 39kDa were identified in the AM enriched fraction. Phase separation analysis with Triton X-114 identified the 64kDa polypeptide as an integral membrane protein. The 64kDa polypeptide was purified and utilized to prepare a polyclonal antiserum. Both light and electron microscopic immunocytochemistry demonstrated that the protein was distributed throughout all domains of the acrosomal membrane. These results identify a 64kDa calcium-binding integral membrane protein of the mammalian acrosome. Its potential function in calcium-dependent membrane fusion events of the acrosome reaction and in fertilization is discussed.

Use of the revised Posttraumatic Growth Inventory for Children.

Posttraumatic growth (PTG; positive change resulting from the struggle with trauma) was examined among children impacted by Hurricane Katrina. The revised Posttraumatic Growth Inventory for Children (PTGI-C-R) assessed PTG at two time points, 12 (T1) and 22 months (T2) posthurricane. The PTGI-C-R demonstrated good reliability. Analyses focused on trauma-related variables in predicting PTG. Child-reported subjective responses to the hurricane and posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) correlated with PTG at T1; however, in the regression, only PTSS significantly explained variance in PTG. At follow-up, T1 PTG was the only significant predictor of PTG. Findings suggest that the PTGI-C-R may assist efforts to understand children's responses posttrauma.