ABSTRACT
Family members of patients recovering from severe traumatic brain injuries have needs that are best met through early assessment and proactive intervention. A critical pathway addressing the needs of families during the acute and postacute phases of hospitalization was developed and implemented in the neuroscience intensive care and step-down units of a university hospital. A team of 10 neurosurgical nurses used and evaluated the program.
Subject(s)
Brain Injuries/psychology , Brain Injuries/rehabilitation , Family , Health Services Needs and Demand , Professional-Family Relations , Hospitalization , HumansABSTRACT
Obesity is becoming an increasingly important community health threat, accounting for more than 300,000 deaths per year in the United States. The cumulative economic impact of obesity and overeating is enormous. Factors contributing to the problem include eating food away from home, consuming large or excessive quantities of soft drinks and snack foods, and large portion sizes. Discriminating between portion and serving sizes and determining the appropriate number of serving sizes to consume on a daily basis are key to maintaining a healthy diet. The purpose of this project was to create a computer-assisted instructional tool delineating serving size from portion size. The tool can be used by health care professionals to provide direct instruction to individuals or as part of a group approach to healthy eating.
Subject(s)
Computer-Assisted Instruction/methods , Food Labeling , Nutritional Sciences/education , Patient Education as Topic/methods , Dietetics/education , Food Labeling/methods , Health Services Needs and Demand , Humans , Menu Planning/methods , Models, Educational , Models, Psychological , Nutrition Policy , Obesity/epidemiology , Obesity/etiology , Obesity/prevention & control , Program Evaluation , Psychology, Educational , Risk Factors , Teaching , United States/epidemiologyABSTRACT
Teaching an introductory course in research methods and critique to baccalaureate nursing students can be challenging for both students and instructor. One of the difficulties is teaching students to critique research while simultaneously learning basic terminology and research processes. A critique worksheet was developed to help students extract complex information from a research report for analysis and critique.
Subject(s)
Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate/methods , Nursing Research/education , Teaching/methods , Humans , Terminology as TopicABSTRACT
PURPOSE: To analyze and categorize the various forms of after-death communication (ADC) and describe the effects on the bereaved. METHOD: In this qualitative descriptive study of 9 men and 9 women, data were collected during in-depth interviews using the Grief and Mourning Status Interview and Inventory and semistructured interview questions. Transcripts of the interviews were analyzed and coded for content. FINDINGS: Four categories of ADCs were identified: (a) visions and dreams, (b) lost-things-found, (c) symbolic messages, and (d) sightings. Both men and women experience ADCs; however, women are more likely to discuss the events with others. CONCLUSION: Although not everyone encounters or recognizes the phenomenon of ADC, it is a common aspect of the bereavement experience. IMPLICATIONS: Nurses and other health care providers have an important role in supporting and educating the public, especially the bereaved, regarding the phenomenon of ADC.
Subject(s)
Adaptation, Psychological , Bereavement , Holistic Nursing/standards , Stress, Psychological/etiology , Widowhood/psychology , Adult , Attitude to Death , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Nurse's Role , Nursing Methodology Research , Sex Factors , Stress, Psychological/nursing , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
Spousal bereavement is one of the most profoundly disturbing events encountered in the human life span. Research has shown that conjugal bereavement has significant physical and psychological consequences for the surviving spouse. In American culture, men and women experience bereavement in different ways. The author used in-depth interviews in the tradition of phenomenology to collect data from 8 men aged 41 to 54 years who had experienced the death of their spouse within the previous 8 months to 6 years. The research revealed the lived experience of spousal bereavement to be a journey from the realization of irreconcilable loss through themes of responding to the loss and living through the loss toward reclamation and reconstruction of a life.
