Effect of Screen Time on Recovery From Concussion: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: There are limited data to guide screen time recommendations after concussion. Objective: To determine whether screen time in the first 48 hours after concussion has an effect on the duration of concussive symptoms. Design, Setting, and Participants: This randomized clinical trial was conducted in the pediatric and adult emergency departments of a tertiary medical center between June 2018 and February 2020. Participants included a convenience sample of patients aged 12 to 25 years presenting to the emergency department within 24 hours of sustaining a concussion. A total of 162 patients were approached, 22 patients met exclusion criteria, and 15 patients declined participation; 125 participants were enrolled and randomized. Interventions: Patients were either permitted to engage in screen time (screen time permitted group) or asked to abstain from screen time (screen time abstinent group) for 48 hours after injury. Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome was days to resolution of symptoms, defined as a total Post-Concussive Symptom Scale (PCSS) score of 3 points or lower. Patients completed the PCSS, a 22-symptom scale that grades each symptom from 0 (not present) to 6 (severe), each day for 10 days. Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox regression modeling were used to compare the 2 groups. A Wilcoxon rank sum test was also performed among participants who completed the PCSS each day through recovery or conclusion of the study period. Results: Among 125 patients with concussion, the mean (SD) age was 17.0 (3.4) years; 64 participants (51.2%) were male. A total of 66 patients were randomized to the screen time permitted group, and 59 patients were randomized to the screen time abstinent group. The Cox regression model including the intervention group and the patient's self-identified sex demonstrated a significant effect of screen time (hazard ratio [HR], 0.51; 95% CI, 0.29-0.90), indicating that participants who engaged in screen time were less likely to recover during the study period. In total, 91 patients were included in the Wilcoxon rank sum test (47 patients from the screen time permitted group, and 44 patients from the screen time abstinent group). The screen time permitted group had a significantly longer median recovery time of 8.0 days (interquartile range [IQR], 3.0 to >10.0 days) compared with 3.5 days (IQR, 2.0 to >10.0 days; P = .03) in the screen time abstinent group. The screen time permitted group reported a median screen time of 630 minutes (IQR, 415-995 minutes) during the intervention period compared with 130 minutes (IQR, 61-275 minutes) in the screen time abstinent group. Conclusions and Relevance: The findings of this study indicated that avoiding screen time during acute concussion recovery may shorten the duration of symptoms. A multicenter study would help to further assess the effect of screen time exposure. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03564210.

Nurses' Perspectives on Family Caregiver Medication Management Support and Deprescribing.

Nurses who care for patients with life-limiting illness operate at the interface of family caregivers (FCGs), patients, and prescribers and are uniquely positioned to guide late-life medication management, including challenging discussions about deprescribing. The study objective was to describe nurses' perspectives about their role in hospice FCG medication management. Content analysis was used to analyze qualitative interviews with nurses from a parent study exploring views on medication management and deprescribing for advanced cancer patients. Ten home and inpatient hospice nurses, drawn from 3 hospice agencies and their referring hospital systems in New England, were asked to describe current practices of medication management and deprescribing and to evaluate a pilot tool to standardize hospice medication review. Analysis of the 10 interviews revealed that hospice nurses are receptive to a standardized approach for comprehensive medication review upon hospice transition and responded favorably to opportunities to discuss medication discontinuation with FCGs and prescribers. Effective framing for discussions included focus on reducing harmful and nonessential medications and reducing caregiver burden. Results indicate that nurses who care for hospice-eligible and enrolled patients are willing to discuss deprescribing with FCGs and prescribers when conversations are framed around medication harms and their impact on quality of life.

School-Based Positive Youth Development: A Systematic Review of the Literature.

BACKGROUND: The values, perspectives, and behavior patterns that begin in adolescence can continue throughout one's life. Because of these lifetime effects, much research has focused on adolescent risk and prevention, but a new body of knowledge investigates protective factors and strengths. Positive youth development (PYD) increases internal and external assets during adolescence and is often based within communities. This review, however, focuses on school-based PYD interventions because these institutions are the largest youth-serving institutions in the country. METHODS: This review considered 711 PYD school-based programs found using 4 databases. We included articles published after 2000, and did not review those reporting on regular school curriculum or activities. RESULTS: The 24 remaining articles describe PYD programs that fall under 3 general categories: curriculum-based, leadership development, and student-based mentorship programs. CONCLUSIONS: Evaluations indicate that programs increase intrapsychic measures of well-being in youth as well as social confidence and healthy behaviors. However, it is important to not only include "at-risk" persons in programming, because a mixed group of young people encourages a more positive peer-to-peer climate. In addition, peer mentorship activities should be actively facilitated by an adult supervisor to ensure positive communication and trust between the mentor and mentee.