Cancer-related patient education: an overview of the last decade of evaluation and research.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To provide an overview of cancer-related patient-education research to determine future research needs. DATA SOURCES: A literature search of peer-reviewed articles from 1989-1999. Databases that were searched included Medline, CINAHL, HealthStar, ERIC, CancerLit, and PubMed. DATA SYNTHESIS: 176 articles were analyzed and synthesized into narrative form. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with cancer want and benefit from information, especially when making treatment decisions. Education helps patients manage side effects and improves adherence. Literacy is an important factor in materials development. The efficacy of computer-assisted learning, audio and video programs, and telephone interventions is supported in a variety of patient groups. Pain education can improve pain control, but the impact on fatigue has not been well researched. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE: Patient education is an important component of nursing care. Research has confirmed its impact in many areas but questions still remain.

Structure-activity relationships of mineral dusts as heterogeneous nuclei for ammonium sulfate crystallization from supersaturated aqueous solutions.

Mineral inclusions, present in aqueous atmospheric salt droplets, regulate crystallization when relative humidity decreases by providing a surface for heterogeneous nucleation and thus reducing the critical supersaturation. Although laboratory studies have quantified these processes to some extent, the diverse atmospheric mineralogy presents more chemical systems than practically feasible for direct study. Structure--activity relationships are necessary. To that end, in the present work the interactions of ammonium sulfate with corundum, hematite, mullite, rutile, anatase, and baddeleyite were studied by diffuse reflectance fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (DRIFTS) and by epitaxial modeling. The spectroscopic results show that shifts in sulfate peak positions due to chemisorption are not a correlative indicator of the efficacy of heterogeneous nucleation. In contrast, epitaxial modeling results of unreconstructed surfaces explain the sequence of critical supersaturations for constant particle size. If validated by further work, this computer modeling method would provide an important structure--activity tool for the estimation of heterogeneous nucleation properties of the atmospheric mineralogy.

An outcomes model prototype: integrating continuing education learning into practice.

BACKGROUND: A method for measuring the downstream effects of a continuing education conference on nursing practice was developed and tested. METHOD: In collaboration with conference faculty, the authors developed an assessment of knowledge and nursing experience related to the course content. Knowledge about the conference content was measured before the conference and at its conclusion. Experience was measured before the conference and 3 months after. RESULTS: Increases were found in both knowledge and experience, indicating that knowledge gained at the conference was integrated into nursing practice. CONCLUSION: Based on positive findings from this pilot, the method will be tested further.

C-terminal peptide sequencing using acetylated peptides with MSn in a quadrupole ion trap.

MS/MS has been used to sequence peptides and small proteins for a number of years. This method allows one to isolate the peptide of interest, which makes it possible to analyze impure samples and unseparated mixtures, such as protein digests. Collision-induced dissociation (CID) of the selected peptide ion generates the product ions that provide sequence information. However, often the MS/MS spectrum does not provide adequate information for complete sequence determination. The quadrupole ion trap has the capability to do multiple stages of mass spectrometry, MSn, which can increase the information available to determine the peptide sequence. A regular and predictable dissociation pattern for peptides further simplifies this analysis. By forming predominantly one type of ion, ambiguity is removed as to whether the ion is N- or C-terminal. This pattern can also be advantageous in that ion intensity remains concentrated for the next stage of MS/MS. In this work, a method to take advantage of the MSn capabilities of the quadrupole ion trap by controlling the dissociation pathways is explored. Dissociation is altered by acetylating the N-terminus of the peptide. MSn of a variety of acetylated peptides is used to determine the effects of the identity of the C-terminal residue and the length of the peptide on the dissociation pathways observed.

Storytelling. A strategy for living and coping with cancer.

The purpose of this focused program evaluation was to explore attitudes and beliefs about storytelling as a strategy for coping with cancer among participants who attended a cancer-related storytelling workshop. The response rate was 70% (n = 94) and included persons with a diagnosis of cancer, their loved ones, and members of the public. The program coordinators used a theoretical model described by Heiney (1995) that explains how storytelling may produce therapeutic effects in four domains: cognitive, affective, interpersonal, and personal. A questionnaire was designed to determine the extent that conference participants perceived therapeutic benefits in these domains as a result of attending the workshop. Statistical analysis consisted of descriptive summaries of individual questions and domain scores. Findings showed that 97% of the respondents agreed that storytelling was a helpful way to cope with cancer. Most of the respondents reported agreement with the therapeutic benefits of storytelling in all domains, with 85% agreeing that hearing others' stories of living with cancer gave them hope. Although the results of the evaluation were very positive, further study is needed to demonstrate the efficacy of storytelling as a strategy for coping with cancer.